Valley Central Emergency Veterinary Hospital

 
Dr. Christopher Smith grew up in Connecticut and started working for a veterinarian when he was 15 years old.  Dr. Smith graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.  After graduation he initially worked as an associate veterinarian before accepting a position as Medical Director for VCA Detwiler Animal Hospital in Reading, PA between 1998 and 2009.  During this time he also worked on a part time, intermittent basis doing emergency and critical care at West Chester Animal Hospital in West Chester, PA and Berks Animal Emergency Center in Reading, PA.  He served as president of the Schuylkill Valley Veterinary Medical Association from 2004-2007 and has served as an alternate trustee to the PVMA for 6 years. In 2009 Dr. Smith joined the team at VCEVH.  In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and smallmouth bass fishing on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers.

Dr. Ann Bastian graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.  She has worked as an Associate Veterinarian at various hospitals and emergency centers in the Reading area and served as Medical Director for Healthy Pet Corporation in Pottstown, PA.  Prior to joining VCECH, Dr. Bastian provided emergency services at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of York in York, PA for over a year.  In 2009, Dr. Bastian joined the team at VCECH.  She enjoys training and showing performance Paso Finos, reading, needlework, and spending time with her family and friends.

Dr. Laura Fox graduated with a BA in zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2000.  She then worked as a veterinary assistant at Columbus Veterinary Emergency Services before earning her DVM from The Ohio State University in 2006.  Laura then transplanted to DeLand, Florida, where she was a general practitioner and relief vet for two years.  Realizing she missed both emergency medicine and snowy winters, Laura returned north for an internship with MVA Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services in Rochester NY before joining Valley in 2009.  In her limited spare time, she enjoys knitting, camping, playing the piano, and being tormented by her cats.

Dr. Lori Schluth is a 2008 graduate of The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.  She went on to complete an internship at The Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital of the ASPCA in NYC and then spent one year as a staff veterinarian at The Humane Society of Berks County.  She joined the team at VCEVH in September of 2010.  Her special interests include emergency medicine, animal welfare, shelter medicine, surgery and dentistry.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and her English Setter.

Dr. Karen Patton was raised on a farm in western Kansas. She completed her BS in Biology from Tabor College in Hillsboro, KS. in 2003 and worked for a short time as a lab technologist in human medicine. She returned to school at and received her degree in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 2008.  Drawn by her special interest in internal medicine and emergency care, Dr. Patton completed an internship in internal medicine, surgery and emergency medicine.

Dr. Patton joined the team at VCEVH in 2011 after expanding her experience and skills in a progressive emergency practice in Northeast Pennsylvania. She continues her interest in emergency and critical care medicine, internal medicine and cardiology. 

Dr. Heather Regan is originally from Nanticoke, Pennsylvania and completed her undergraduate degree at Penn State University. She attended The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, where she earned her VMD in 2007. She has been working as an emergency veterinarian since that time and joined the team at Valley Central Emergency in January of 2012. 

Dr. Regan resides with her husband and daughter in Lehigh County.

 

Dr. Steven Marks graduated from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988.  After graduation he initially worked with Quakertown Veterinary Clinic in Quakertown, PA and has a wealth of experience in zoo medicine, general practice and emergency medicine.  Dr. Marks has worked for the Pittsburgh Zoo and owned several veterinary practices.  

In 2007, Dr. Marks joined the team at Valley Central Emergency Veterinary Hospital (VCEVH) initially on a relief basis and subsequently full time.  Dr. Marks served as Medical Director at VCECH 2008-2009 and now enjoys blending his emergency and critical care medicine with running his own practice.  Dr. Marks presently lives in Richlandtown, PA with his wife and four children.  In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, endurance trail riding on his Arabians, scuba diving, travel, hiking, and camping.