North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 90. Medicine and Allied Occupations § 90-181.1. Facility names and levels of service

(1) “Animal health center” or “animal medical center” means a veterinary facility in which consultative, clinical, and hospital services are rendered and in which a large staff of basic and applied veterinary scientists perform significant research and conduct advanced professional educational programs.

(2) “Emergency facility” means a veterinary medical facility whose primary function is the receiving, treatment, and monitoring of emergency patients during its specified hours of operation. At this veterinary facility a veterinarian is in attendance at all hours of operation and sufficient staff is available to provide timely and appropriate emergency care. An emergency facility may be an independent veterinary medical after-hours facility, an independent veterinary medical 24-hour facility, or part of a full-service hospital or large teaching institution.

(3) “Mobile facility” means a veterinary practice conducted from a vehicle with special medical or surgical facilities or from a vehicle suitable only for making house or farm calls; provided, the veterinary medical practice shall have a permanent base of operation with a published address and telephone facilities for making appointments or responding to emergency situations.

(4) “Office” means a veterinary facility where a limited or consultative practice is conducted and which provides no facilities for the housing of patients.

(5) “On-call emergency service” means a veterinary medical service at a facility, including a mobile facility, where veterinarians and staff are not on the premises during all hours of operation or where veterinarians leave after a patient is treated. A veterinarian shall be available to be reached by telephone for after-hours emergencies.

(6) “Veterinary clinic” or “animal clinic” means a veterinary facility in which the practice conducted is essentially an out-patient practice.

(7) “Veterinary hospital” or “animal hospital” means a veterinary facility in which the practice conducted includes the confinement as well as the treatment of patients.