Nancy - In one of my past lives, I was the Administrator of the animal
facilities here at UMAB. Staffing of the facilities and care of the animals
is up to the facility director - ours was a DVM/PhD. The focus of his/her
decisions regarding staffing is based on compliance with PHS Guidelines for
the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. If those guidelines can be met -
with one animal caretaker or 20 caretakers - then you're in compliance.

Best Regards - Bob Mitchell

At 10:17 AM 12/20/96 CST, you wrote:
>I have a faculty member who is insisting any assurance of compliance with
>animal regulations must include permanent staff for the animal facilities
>and when an assurance includes a staff position, but the position is not
>filled, the university is not in compliance.  (Note:  We are a
>self-evaluating institution and do not currently have any funded grants
>involving animal research.)  My question is, has anyone out there ever seen
>any documentation saying permanent staff are required for an animal
>facility?  And, if such a position is not filled -- but other arrangements
>are made to care of the animals - is the institution not in compliance.
>
>**********************************
>LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.
>
>Nancy Kay Peterson
>Director of Grants
>Somsen Hall 202-C
>Winona State University
>Winona, MN  55987
>Phone:  507/457-5519
>FAX:    507/457-2415
>
>

*******************************************
Robert F. Mitchell, Jr.
Administrator
Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
University of Maryland at Baltimore, School of Medicine
xxxxxx@umabnet.ab.umd.edu
phone   410-706-3562
fax     410-706-0032