WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital has been put on "probationary accreditation." As News 18 previously reported, the hospital's accreditation is at risk because its facilities are no longer up to regulation codes.

Probationary accreditation means that the university has two years to fix the problem. Luckily, the state budget passed the legislature yesterday.

The budget includes the full amount that Purdue President Mitch Daniels lobbied for from the state to help rebuild the new hospital. Purdue University has also committed $35 million to the new hospital project, an amount that includes fundraising by the College of Veterinary Medicine. The total project will cost $108 million.

Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine Dean, Willie Reed, gave News 18 a statement regarding the money gained from the state budget, and the change in accreditation status:

"We are very excited by the news that the Indiana General Assembly has approved a $73 million appropriation toward construction of a new Veterinary Teaching Hospital! With this support, and pending the state budget bill being signed by the governor and the hospital project receiving formal approval by the Purdue Board of Trustees, we can say that the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine's dream of having a new state-of-the-art hospital facility will become a reality.

"The timing of this development could not be more fortuitous. The new Veterinary Teaching Hospital will address a key issue affecting our College's accreditation. After the accreditation review team from the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Council on Education (COE) visited our College last fall, the COE cited problems with the existing hospital facility as a "major" deficiency. We recently were notified that, as expected, our accreditation status therefore was changed from "full accreditation" to "probationary" accreditation. While this designation has no near term effect – we remain an accredited College of Veterinary Medicine – it does highlight the urgency of building a new hospital facility. The new Veterinary Teaching Hospital project is exactly what we need to correct the deficiency and restore the College's full accreditation status.

"Again, this temporary change in accreditation status has no impact on our day-to-day operations – we will continue granting accredited degrees and our renowned Veterinary Teaching Hospital will continue providing outstanding medical care including advanced specialty and emergency treatment for all animals. The development that WILL affect our College for years to come is the state appropriation just approved by the Indiana legislature that enables us to look forward with excitement to the fulfillment of our long-awaited dream of a new hospital facility. As our College celebrates its 60th Anniversary, and the 150th Anniversary of Purdue University, we truly are poised to take our next Giant Leap!"