Grant: 25-026C
Project Title: Maintaining Sea Turtle Healing Center Patient Capacity with Vital Procedural and Treatment Supplies
Project Manager: Trevor Zachariah, DVM, MS, DACZM
Organization: East Coast Zoological Society of Florida (Brevard Zoo) (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $14,623.25
Completion Date: 2026-06-03
Summary: East Coast Zoological Society of Florida will purchase critical supplies that support the operational needs of its Sea Turtle Healing Center (Healing Center), a behind-the-scenes, 2,400 square foot facility dedicated to rehabilitating sick and injured sea turtles at Brevard Zoo. Run by two full-time staff members with support from 65 regular volunteers and a world-class veterinary team, the Healing Center takes in rescued sea turtles and rehabilitates them back to health through nutrition, medical care, and enrichment. Over the past five years, the Healing Center has responded to an average of 103 sea turtles per year, up 102% from an average of 51 a year when the center first opened. This grant will be used to purchase some of the most vital supplies the Healing Center requires to continue operating at full capacity, including salt, i-STAT CG8+ cartridges for blood gas analysis, and dexmedetomidine to sedate sea turtle patients for most procedures. These supplies are used daily to maintain the Healing Center's annual capacity and improve conservation outcomes for sick and injured marine turtles.
Results: East Coast Zoological Society of Florida, Inc. (now known as East Coast Zoological Foundation) received a grant to purchase critical supplies that support the operational needs of its Sea Turtle Healing Center, a behind-the-scenes, 2,400 square foot facility dedicated to rehabilitating sick and injured sea turtles at Brevard Zoo. This grant provided some of the most vital supplies that the Sea Turtle Healing Center requires to continue operating at full capacity, including salt, i-STAT CG8+ cartridges for blood gas analysis, and dexmedetomidine to sedate sea turtle patients for most procedures. These supplies are used daily to maintain the Center's annual capacity and improve conservation outcomes for sick and injured marine turtles. The Sea Turtle Healing Center purchased blood gas analysiscartridges, salt, and dexmedetomidine, and kept records on the use of these supplies on patients. By the end of the grant period, a total of 16 bottles of dexmedetomidine were purchased, 7 less than was projected. This was due to less demand for this medicine during the grant period. Other budget variances are due to the fact that the total cost of the blood gas cartridges came in slightly lower while salt was slightly higher than projected. Overall, the team responded to 100 turtles, treated 65, and released 22. They administered 54 blood gas cartridges to 37 turtles and administered dexmedetomidine 120 times to 54 turtles.