The Tennessee Aquarium is building a $5 million veterinary hospital inside its River Journey building in downtown Chattanooga, with construction aimed at a June 2027 opening. The new facility will give the aquarium's animal health team a dedicated headquarters stocked with surgical tools, X-ray machines and dental equipment, some of which staff will be able to mobilize directly into exhibits to treat animals where they live.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, construction of the animal hospital will cost $5 million, and the facility will house three exam spaces, a surgery suite, a radiology lab with a CT machine and a lab space for necropsies. The newspaper reported the new hospital will comprise 3,000 square feet, while Local 3 News, which first reported on the announcement, put the figure at 3,100 square feet — the two outlets differ slightly on the exact size. The aquarium has already raised more than 60% of the funds needed for the hospital through a private capital campaign, per the Times Free Press report.
A Training Pipeline for Future Vets
Alongside the construction announcement, the aquarium revealed new partnerships with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville and Chattanooga State Community College's veterinary technology program, according to the same report. The aquarium will offer recurring externships, fellowships and internships to students in those programs, and the partnership with UT will also allow for collaborative research between aquarium staff and university veterinary medicine personnel, the Times Free Press noted.
Local 3 News reports that the new veterinary program may offer full-time jobs to some students after graduation, and that Dr. Chris Keller said the program could result in 50 to 100 veterinarians having spent time at the Tennessee Aquarium over the next 10 years. Aquarium CEO Andy Wood said the aquarium needs better facilities, more team members, more partnerships and more opportunities to innovate, per Local 3 News, and he added that sharing the aquarium's excellence could impact millions of animals.
This isn't the aquarium's first foray into veterinary training. Its existing preceptorship already allows visiting students to spend two weeks with Dr. Christian Keller and aquarium staff, working 40 hours a week alongside a temporary $100-per-day stipend for up to 10 days. Applicants must be in their final clinical year at an accredited school of veterinary medicine. Keller has served as the Tennessee Aquarium's veterinarian since 1991 and holds an appointment as an adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
Why the Timing Matters
The expansion arrives amid warnings about a nationwide veterinarian shortage. A 2024 study commissioned by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges projected a need for 70,092 new veterinarians through 2032, while only 52,926 graduates are expected — a gap the study's authors say would leave the field roughly 17,166 veterinarians short, according to the AAVMC report. The same study said the profession would need at least 1,600 additional veterinary-program seats by the early 2030s.
The pressures extend beyond open positions. The AAVMC study found that more than 40% of veterinarians were considering leaving the profession before retirement.
A Model Already Running in Georgia
The Tennessee Aquarium's approach echoes a program already operating at Georgia Aquarium, where veterinary students can pursue hands-on externships in aquatic animal medicine, clinical care, diagnostics and research. That program is based out of the Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health.
Georgia Aquarium's externships run four to six weeks and require students to be enrolled in a veterinary degree program during their final clinical year, a shorter commitment structure than Chattanooga's current two-week preceptorship. As Chattanooga's own hospital takes shape over the next several months, it positions the Tennessee Aquarium to build out a similar pipeline of trained specialists closer to home.
