In the early months of 2026 The Henry Doorly Zoo plans to open its new animal hospital. The 32,000 sq. ft. building, The Bill and Berniece Grewcock Animal Hospital, will replace its over 30 year-old former facility. The zoo, which holds over 39,000 animals, is laying the new clinic in the Northeast end of the property. Featuring new technology and special care methods, the new animal hospital is expected to significantly improve the care of the animals and the jobs of the veterinarians.
The hospital will feature many new additions and forms of technology including spaces for hospitalized patients, an intensive care unit (ICU), a special animal diet kitchen, a pharmacy, a clinical pathology lab, surgical suite and dental suite. Most importantly though is the new addition of a CT scanner which is a first for the Henry Doorly Zoo.
“It will greatly improve our opportunities to provide healthcare,” zookeeper Sierra Hagedorn said.
“We’ve had to do outpatient visits and go to other facilities in the past so having our own CT scanner will put less stress on the animals and will make it faster to get results,” she said.
The other new systems will be very significant as well. The new hospital plans to have specific rooms for different species at the zoo. It will include a larger stall for the Zoo’s larger animals that need special care.
“It will hopefully increase our capabilities because it’s much larger than our current hospital and has bigger stalls for large animals which is a huge focal point for us,” Hagedorn said.
There will be separate cold rooms with water features for animals like penguins and puffins. There will also be rooms with grated flooring that allows the room to flood specifically for ducks and other aquatic animals. Another significant room will have cameras and video systems to allow employees to monitor venomous animals without disrupting them. While the zoo has already treated some wild animals in the past, this new hospital will increase their ability to do that even more. If an injured animal is in Omaha or if there’s an opportunity to help care for a wild animal, the zoo doesn’t turn it down.
“Already we have treated wild animals in the past so if we come across more in the future we will help care for them because we have the means to,” Hagedorn said.
The hospital will significantly improve the care of animals. Because of its larger space, it will provide bigger stalls for animals and increase the ability of the Zoo staff to treat injured animals. It also will improve the experience for Zoo guests. Starting in 2026, guests will be able to book private tours and view procedures from behind a glass wall in the hospital.
