Collaborative Animal Research/Teaching Enhancement (CARE)
What is the Care program? CARE is a program designed to enhance the quality of animal care and use at CSU. The components of the program are;
- Frequent, open communication
- Scheduled visits
- Improvements to the Animal Care Program such as decreasing regulatory burden, increasing efficiency, enhancing animal welfare
What are Care Visits? There are three main types of CARE visits. All CARE visits are scheduled with with the appropriate Investigators and/ or staff. You can expect any CARE visit to be a friendly encounter, and we encourage questions, comments and suggestions for improvement of the Animal Care Program.
- Routine animal facility tours are regularly scheduled for all animal use areas. During these tours we ensure that animals are properly cared for, evaluate the safety and security of the facility and equipment and talk with any staff who are present to offer assistance and resources for any problems or concerns.
- CARE meetings are scheduled with a PI and their staff. During these meetings we will choose one or two protocols to review and discuss animal use in general. We typically request a follow-up visit when we may observe a procedure.
- Procedural observations are scheduled with PI’s and/ or their staff. These observations will always be at the convenience of the researcher, and will not interfere with the study. A procedural observation may take place within the lab, through a window, by reviewing a video tape, or another un-obtrusive manner.
Following a CARE visit we will provide feedback to researchers including any requested information or resources, training recommendations if appropriate, kudos for excellent work, and any suggestions that we may have.
Who are the Care Visitors? The CARE visitors are the University Veterinarian and the Animal Program Coordinator. Feel free to contact one of us if you have any questions about CARE. At times we may be accompanied by one or more of the Comparative Medicine Veterinary Residents or another visitor.
More details are also available on the Introducing the CARE Program flyer.