Grant: 20-002C
Project Title: Advanced Diagnostic Equipment for the Volusia County Marine Science Center
Project Manager: Allison Bernstein
Organization: Volusia County Marine Science Center (Florida Government)
Grant Amount: $12,195.00
Completion Date: 2021-05-12
Summary: This project will allow the Marine Science Center turtle hospital to provide a higher standard of care to our patients. The equipment would provide faster diagnostic tools to better suit treatment time. The acquisition of new equipment will be a benefit to the turtles and the conservation efforts of our facility.
Results: During the scheduled period of the license plate grant, the grantee was able to purchase a VETSCAN VS2, pipettes, rotors, roll paper, green top plasma separators and transfer pipettes to fulfil the received funds. All funds were spent in a timely manner and in compliance with the allotted fund schedule. The receipts were received shortly thereafter from the county purchasing department to collaborate with invoices received.
Since receiving the VETSCAN VS2 the Volusia Marine Science Center has been able to run in-house bloodwork on more than 200 sea turtles. We have had a record year thus far for sea turtle intakes and the addition of this equipment has streamlined our ability to complete intake and follow up bloodwork in a timely manner. We are now able to get results much quicker allowing for treatment plans to be facilitated within minutes, not days. We are also saving on staff time that would be needed to package bloodwork samples, coordinate pick up or relay drop offs. The additional funds were utilized to purchase supplies that are necessary for the machine. The machine itself is compact and fits nicely in our workspace. It is touchscreen and user friendly which is important for streamlining intake processes. We have encountered few problems with the equipment and have found the company and customer support very easy and quick to respond.