OSU Veterinary Authority asks lawmakers for $295 million hospital recapitalization, urges action on accreditation and rural vet pipeline

Dr. Jim Hess, CEO of the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority, told the Senate subcommittee the Ohio State University veterinary program faces urgent capital and workforce needs, including a $295 million proposal to recapitalize the animal teaching hospital and steps to address an accrediting‑body probation.

Hess said the College of Veterinary Medicine is “currently on probation with the accrediting body,” and that two factors — insufficient clinical caseload at the teaching hospital and aging facilities — drive the risk. He said improving facilities is essential to recruit clinical subspecialists, increase referrals and expand clinical activity that trains students in large‑animal and food‑animal medicine.

Hess outlined several budget priorities. He described a three‑year plan to hire subspecialists (radiology, oncology, neurology) and said the incremental cost to finish that plan is roughly $2.1 million. He urged a change in the college’s student funding mix — increasing in‑state enrollments — and estimated it would cost “a little over $5,000,000 a year” to close the tuition gap between out‑of‑state and in‑state students for the full class. Hess said the $600,000 already appropriated under the Lee Denny Act helped create eight scholarship awards and asked the committee to consider making that scholarship recurring.

To address an immediate access problem for rural producers, Hess proposed a mobile food‑animal veterinary program. He said a startup request of about $3 million would pay for eight mobile practitioners, equipment and vehicles; he described the program as targeted to non‑competitive areas that lack private large‑animal veterinary services. Hess said such a program could be partially self‑sustaining over time through billable clinical activity.

Hess also described a Legacy Fund–backed capital strategy for rebuilding the teaching hospital and proposed financing the debt service rather than a one‑time direct appropriation; he estimated annual debt service near $14.7 million on a $295 million facility. He acknowledged that private fundraising and foundation support would be part of the plan but said the scale of the project makes state support critical for timely recapitalization.

Senators pressed Hess on fundraising and accreditation. Senator Croner asked whether the OSU Foundation could cover the hospital cost; Hess said private fundraising will be pursued but is unlikely to fund the full project. Senator Yek pressed whether accreditation and probation were the same issue previously addressed by past appropriations; Hess said the probation was imminent for reasons tied to clinical volume and facilities, and that two years of a targeted three‑year plan were intended to address those gaps.

Hess said the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ODL) at OSU will resume full toxicology services effective May 1, and he reported $600,000 appropriated under the Lee Denny Act had been fully committed to scholarships with more applicants than slots.

Ending: The committee heard detailed cost estimates and program plans and raised questions about fundraising, recurring scholarship funding and prioritization of capital projects; members asked OSU to follow up with more precise fiscal plans and potential phasing.