What Eva Evans says it takes to build a dream veterinary clinic
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Veterinary clinic design is getting renewed attention as podcast hosts and industry suppliers turn startup planning into a strategic conversation, not just a construction project. In Vet Life Reimagined, released November 10, 2025, Dr. Megan Sprinkle interviewed Eva Evans, DVM, MBA, on how to build a "dream" clinic from scratch, while Patterson Veterinary has separately published podcast discussions focused on making new-build projects a reality and on hospital design basics. Together, the conversations reflect a broader shift in the profession: more veterinarians are treating facility design as a clinical, cultural, and financial decision. (buzzsprout.com)
Evans brings firsthand startup credibility to that discussion. According to City Pets Animal Care, she developed the concept for the Nashville practice in 2015 and opened it after nearly two years of planning and buildout. She has since expanded her footprint, and Alitura Veterinary Care now markets an integrative, full-service Nashville practice under her leadership. In the podcast, Evans framed the process around clarity of purpose, arguing that a clinic can't be "everything to everyone," and that founders need a defined vision before they can make good decisions on space, services, staffing, and technology. (citypetsanimalcare.com)
One of the clearest themes in the episode is location strategy. Evans said she used publicly available neighborhood and population data, Google Maps, and local development patterns to identify urban areas that were growing but underserved by veterinary care. She described looking not only at existing clinics, but also at signals of durable neighborhood growth, including housing density and adjacent businesses that suggest people are living, working, and staying in the area. That advice aligns with broader startup guidance from AAHA and practice-planning resources that treat location choice as one of the most consequential decisions in a de novo build. (buzzsprout.com)
The design discussion went beyond real estate. In the transcript, Evans pointed to overlooked details that matter in veterinary settings, including avoiding floor-level air returns because of contamination and odor concerns in spaces where animals may vomit, urinate, or have diarrhea. She also stressed designing from the animal's and pet parent's perspective, not just from a conventional office-building template. That thinking mirrors long-running guidance from Fear Free, AAHA, and design specialists, which recommends minimizing stressful waiting-room time, considering species separation, and building layouts that improve workflow, cleanliness, and patient comfort. (buzzsprout.com)
Industry commentary supports that direction. Patterson's own Fear Free design guidance says practices can scale low-stress design choices from simple room-level changes to separate entry or treatment flows, and notes that checkout in the exam room can reduce stress by keeping patients out of crowded common spaces. AAHA coverage has also highlighted indoor-outdoor exam rooms and architecture choices shaped by curbside-era lessons, while architects interviewed by veterinary trade outlets have tied layout decisions directly to productivity, staffing efficiency, and the ability to add revenue-generating clinical space. (pattersonvet.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the bigger story is that clinic design has become a practice model decision. A poorly chosen site or inefficient floor plan can lock a hospital into years of workflow friction, staffing strain, and avoidable stress for patients and pet parents. A better-designed clinic can support fear-free handling, smoother communication, stronger infection control, and more efficient use of doctor and technician time. In a capital-intensive environment, those choices affect not just aesthetics, but case flow, team retention, and long-term margin. (aaha.org)
The forward question is whether more veterinarians will apply these principles early enough. As startups, relocations, and remodels move ahead, the clinics that stand out are likely to be the ones that combine demographic discipline, operational planning, and low-stress design rather than treating construction as a late-stage vendor exercise. Evans' comments suggest that founders who stay close to their values, understand their market, and pressure-test every design choice against real veterinary workflows may be better positioned than those chasing a generic concept of a "modern" hospital. That is partly an inference from the sources, but it's well supported by the startup and design guidance now circulating across the profession. (buzzsprout.com)
What to watch: Watch for more clinic projects to emphasize fear-free traffic flow, species-sensitive layouts, flexible exam spaces, and neighborhood-level market analysis as veterinary teams plan 2026 builds and remodels. (aaha.org)