OMAHA, Neb - Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has officially opened the Bill and Berniece Grewcock Veterinary Hospital.

Located on the northeast side of the zoo, the new 32,000-square-foot hospital replaces a 30-year-old facility and will benefit the zoo's more than 39,000 animals.

“It's very exciting that we've gotten to this point where the hospital is now complete and we're ready to start using it for the animals,” said Dr. Luis Padilla. “Today marks a huge milestone in how we naturally evolve to the next level of behavior and start showing off the world, a lot of transparency and what it means that our animals have access to and how our veterinarians take care of them.”

The hospital brings together all major medical services under one roof, including dedicated spaces for quarantine and hospitalization, intensive care units, and a kitchen for preparing animal diets, among other things.

The facility will also serve to train future leaders with a residency program through the American College of Zoological Medicine, one of only 32 in the country.

“Having a hospital like this right in Omaha is going to attract a lot of veterinary tablet we hope that will be encountered the wealth of wildlife conservation collaborations, and it will attract scientists here. It also elevates the reputation of Omaha, the generosity of our community to big projects like this,” said Padilla.

The $45 million dollar project was made possible by the generosity of more than 10,000 community donors.