New Bolton Center Looking For Volunteer “Foal Sitters” For Equine NICU

Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center is recruiting volunteers to assist veterinarians and staff in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during the busy foaling season.

Registration to be a volunteer “foal sitter” takes place in December, with an orientation to follow in January. Foal sitting volunteer shifts start in February and go through June. For more information and to register, email foalsitters@nicuvet.com.

A tradition for nearly 30 years, New Bolton Center enlists more than 90 foal sitters each year, about half of them returning volunteers. Some foal sitters have participated for years, and include local horse owners and enthusiasts, as well as university and high school students. Foal sitters must be at least 16 years old. Second-year Penn Vet students also foal sit for five shifts of six hours each as part of an elective course.

“The foal sitters are very important,” said Dr. Jon Palmer, Chief of New Bolton Center’s NICU and Director of Perinatal/Neonatal Programs. “To deliver the level of intensive care that we do, we need help. Foal sitters are vital to our operation.”

Two foal sitters are assigned to each of three daily shifts: 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am.

“Most mares foal between 10 at night and 6 in the morning,” Dr. Palmer said. “It is much more active at night. If you want to see the birth of foal, that’s when you want to be around.”

Possible duties for foal sitters include: holding foals upright when they are lying down, assisting staff as they stand and turn foals, milking mares and storing the milk, monitoring equipment for alarms, changing bedding, restocking treatment areas, and cleaning equipment and hospital areas.

Laura Ramspacher, a foal sitter for the past two years, is an operating room nurse at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I love being a foal sitter,” Ramspacher said.

“It’s just so nice to be there. It’s fun,” she continued. “I enjoy crossing over into a different kind of medicine. It’s really neat to see how the two worlds are similar, but also different.”

To learn more about Ramspacher’s experience as a foal sitter, click here.

Foal sitting can be a very physical activity, but Dr. Palmer said some foal sitters have been well into their 70s. “No matter what your age, you need to know your physical limitations and not take on a foal sitting job that is too much for you,” he said. “But no matter what your limitations are, there is always something you can do to help.”

For more information about Dr. Palmer and the Neonatal Intensive Care Service, click here.

About Penn Vet
Penn Vet is a global leader in veterinary medicine education, research, and clinical care. Founded in 1884, Penn Vet is the only veterinary school developed in association with a medical school. The school is a proud member of the One Health Initiative, linking human, animal, and environmental health.

Penn Vet serves a diverse population of animals at its two campuses, which include extensive diagnostic and research laboratories. New Bolton Center, Penn Vet’s large-animal hospital on nearly 700 acres in rural Kennett Square, PA, cares for horses and livestock/farm animals. The hospital handles more than 4,000 patient visit a year, while the Field Service treats nearly 36,000 patients at local farms. In addition, New Bolton Center’s campus includes a swine center, working dairy, and poultry unit that provide valuable research for the agriculture industry. Ryan Hospital in Philadelphia provides care for dogs, cats, and other domestic/companion animals, handling more than 31,000 patient visits a year.

For more information, visit www.vet.upenn.edu.