Dr. Laura Surovi scheduled to speak at Willoughby Hills church

Marah Morrison, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Mar. 6—First Covenant Church in Willoughby Hills will soon be hosting its first Community Lunch for the 2023 season.

The event is scheduled to take place March 18 at 12:30 p.m. at the church, located at 29400 Chardon Road. Admission is $7 and reservations are required. Those interested in attending may make a reservation by March 15 by calling 440-781-1555. .

The church plans to host six Community Lunch events with a speaker featured at each, according to Donna Kautz, a member of First Covenant who will be selecting the speakers.

For the event's first speaker, Kautz decided to choose Dr. Laura Surovi, who recently opened Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation alongside her husband, Michael Sivo.

A Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist and a Certified Veterinary Chinese Herbalist through the Chi Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Surovi and Sivo opened the new facility at 28915 Chardon Road in October.

The rehab center has been averaging 80 to 100 patients weekly. Since opening the doors to the public, both Surovi and Sivo have found that many patients are traveling great distances for the variety of services offered for pets.

"We are seeing a variety of cases and people coming as far as Canada, which is interesting," Surovi said. "It is a unique facility in that we offer not only so many services under one roof, but some of the things we offer are not readily available in other places."

Surovi and Sivo credit the number of clients to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which is the only one statewide, into Pennsylvania and Michigan. In addition, the shockwave therapy offered at the facility is not typical in the area.

Surovi has found that the water therapy offered, whether done in the pool or by using the water treadmills, is a great tool for strengthening and for pets who have neurologic issues.

"We didn't want an overly clinical environment," Surovi said. "We wanted it to be homey."

The world of rehab is another dimension, Surovi said, noting that she gradually got her education to be able to offer what's offered at the new facility.

"It did start with a mobile practice right as the pandemic was unfolding," she recalled. "We got this piece of land and I was a little shell shocked. It's been positive."