Lakefield Veterinary Group, a family of 50+ hospitals and growing, is excited to announce its new Chief Medical Officer, Mark McConnell, BVMS, MRCVS. Dr. McConnell will be replacing Gary Goldstein, DVM, FAVD, DipAVDC, who will be stepping into a new role, Executive Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions. Dr. Goldstein will continue to focus on facilitating and nurturing relationships with doctors seeking to transition their practices, while Dr. McConnell will provide medical oversight, direction, and leadership for all veterinary professionals and all aspects of veterinary healthcare delivery for Lakefield Veterinary Group.
Dr. McConnell started his new role on July 15, 2020; however, he is not new to the Lakefield Family. He was the co-owner of the Emergency Veterinary Hospital of Springfield (EVH) in Springfield, Oregon, which joined Lakefield Veterinary Group in April of 2019. Dr. McConnell’s distinguished career began at the University of Idaho, followed by the University of Glasgow, in Glasgow, Scotland. He joined the team at EVH in 1993 as a staff veterinarian and, within a year, became the Chief of Staff and the Hospital Manager.
Dr. McConnell has always been passionate about maintaining quality standards at EVH and within the veterinary profession. As such, he not only worked to have EVH AAHA accredited, but he was a member of the AAHA Board of Directors for four years. In addition, he held the illustrious position of President of AAHA from 2017-2018. Dr. McConnell has held several additional positions in the veterinary profession, including a position on the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board from 2005-2014, Oregon Veterinary Medical Board Chair from 2012-2014, and AAHA representative for the AVMA Telehealth Coalition. He has also been involved with AAVSB, serving three terms on Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE). He was recently approved by the AAVSB Board of Directors to be a consultant for the RACE committee.
“We at Lakefield Veterinary Group are honored to have Dr. McConnell on our team. His experience in all aspects of veterinary care will be a huge asset to Lakefield. I look forward to working alongside Dr. McConnell to continue to build a company focused on preserving doctors’ local-legacy and offering veterinarians the freedom to practice medicine.” Mollie Hoff, President.