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Kristen Baumgartner

DVM

Staff Veterinarian

Emergency & Critical Care

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Dr. Kristen Baumgartner grew up in Colorado and spent her formative years riding horses and competing in dressage. She received a master's degree in toxicology and doctor of veterinary medicine from Colorado State University. She then went on to complete a small animal rotating internship at Iowa State University, where she discovered a fondness for emergency medicine. She enjoys the diversity of cases seen in emergency medicine, but her special interests are in cardiac diseases of companion animals. Dr. Baumgartner describes the best part of her job as the unique way she gets to help others. Dr. Baumgartner and her husband share their home with two Dobermans, a French Bulldog, and many fish. In her free time, she enjoys working in her garden, home improvement projects, aquascaping her aquariums, baking, running, and playing board games with family and friends.

Emergency & Critical Care

Our Emergency and Critical Care units can assist in all of the following situations:

Evaluation and treatment of walk-in patients and referred cases, 24-hours per day, 365 days per year
Initial diagnostics (digital radiographs, brief ultrasound, ECG, blood pressure)
Arrangement of further diagnostics and consultation with other internal specialties
Initial stabilization and therapy for variety of trauma and medical illnesses
Continuous care and therapy for hospitalized patients, including case coverage for specialty services overnight and on weekends
Surgical repair of minor wounds and other injuries
Emergency soft tissue surgery such as GDV/gastropexy, enterotomy, resection/anastamosis, pyometra, Cesarian section, splenectomy
Oxygen therapy and respiratory support
Nutritional support: enteral and total parenteral
Advanced pain management
Transfusion therapy including blood typing, cross matching, plasma, packed red cells, cryoprecipitate
Arterial and central venous blood pressure monitoring
Pulse oximetry
Blood gas evaluation and monitoring
End-tidal carbon dioxide measurement
Electrocardiography (ECG) continual monitoring

Our ICU's specialized services and equipment:

24-hour care and monitoring by veterinarians and veterinary technicians
Complete diagnostic lab for immediate test results
Blood gas analyzer
Emergency surgery
Small animal ICU equipment
Digital radiography and ultrasound
Oxygen therapy
Pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2, blood pressure and continuous ECG monitoring
Continuous rate infusion for IV fluids and medications
Advanced pain management
Video-endoscopy
Nutritional support

What is Critical Care?

While an emergency is unfolding, or throughout recovery from a serious illness or accident, ongoing diagnostic and therapeutic care and constant monitoring of your pet's condition may be required. Many emergency and critical care facilities offer 24-hour supervision of critically ill pets and, just as in human hospitals, may have dedicated Intensive Care and Critical Units (ICU/CCU). Such facilities are equipped to provide oxygen therapy, cardiac monitoring, blood transfusion, and nutritional support. Such facilities also typically have advanced diagnostic capabilities onsite, such as ultrasound, echocardiography, CT scan and MRI.

Will My Regular Veterinarian Still Be Involved?

Most emergency hospitals work on a referral basis with general practitioners. In some cases, your pet will only be referred to the emergency service for after hours care. In other cases, your pet may be in the care of the emergency and appropriate specialist for the duration of the emergency and recovery, but then referred back to your general practitioner veterinarian for follow up and routine care.

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