COVID-19

**Important update**

Due to the rising number of cases of COVID-19 in the area we are going to be changing the workflow of the practice. We are doing this in an effort to continue to provide quality medical care while keeping you and your family safe. Effective Monday March 16, only members of The Animal Hospital staff will be permitted inside the hospital building. We appreciate your understanding of this.

For scheduled medical and surgical appointments:

• Please call us when you arrive in the parking lot and remain in your vehicle.

• A care professional associated with your appointment will discuss your needs by phone when you arrive. At the end of the phone conversation, a care professional will come to the parking lot to bring your pet into the building for evaluation.

• After the medical team evaluates your pet, you will receive a phone call from your veterinarian to discuss recommendations and a plan moving forward. Verbal consent for treatment and diagnostics will be authorized via this phone call.

• Once the care of your pet is complete, the discharge process will be discussed. At that time a customer service representative will discuss payment options.

• We understand that extenuating circumstances will arise and we will work with you to accommodate these situations.

• Food and medication pick up:

• Please call ahead and allow 24-48 hours for us to prepare the product.

• Call us when you arrive to the hospital parking lot and we will either bring the medication to your car or leave it in the medication pick up box (only if prearranged).

• By the middle of April, you will be able to order your pets’ medications and food through our new online pharmacy with home delivery! More to come on this.

The Animal Hospital has always been dedicated to keeping our staff, clients and patients as safe as possible; it is something that we strive to maintain and are proud of. Our clients and patients are so important to us – we consider you extended family and have for decades. We are closely monitoring the national and local spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as Coronavirus Disease.

We are making the following adjustments in the way we run our practice during this time to preserve everyone’s safety.

• We ask that if you or your family member has had a fever, cough or other flu-like symptoms in the last 72 hours that you please call our office to reschedule your appointment. *If your pet is ill and you do not feel like you should postpone their appointment, ask about our drop-off option or telemedicine (coming soon!).

• Our office is now a handshake / hug free zone. Please do not take offense to this. Limiting interpersonal contact has been shown to decrease the spread of this virus.

• All garbage cans in our exam rooms have foot levers – please be mindful to use these as opposed to lifting the lid with your hands.

• Most of our exam rooms have sinks and anti-bacterial soap. Do not hesitate to utilize these to wash your hands. We also have hand sanitizer available throughout the hospital for your use.

• At this time there are no reports of animals becoming ill from this novel Coronavirus. However, the CDC has made a few suggestions for pet owners that may have flu-like symptoms.

• We all know our pets can be very comforting when we aren’t feeling well, but it is suggested to maintain separation and avoid direct contact as much as possible. This includes petting, snuggling, kissing/licking and sharing food. You may have to call upon others to help you with your pet.

• If you must be the one to care for your pet, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before and after. It is not a bad idea to wear gloves or a face mask, either.

Our staff has been thoroughly trained to be conscious of possible contagious illness. We are well versed in the necessary cleaning protocol for common contagious illnesses such as Kennel Cough, Feline Upper Respiratory Infections, intestinal parasites, etc. We are taking this knowledge to the next level and applying it to our human clients in an effort to keep our hospital as clean and aseptic as possible to ensure a safe environment for your family and ours. We would appreciate your cooperation and understanding if we respectfully ask you to reschedule your appointment or wear a mask or gloves. We stand by our promise to offer state of the art medicine with hometown values. We will all get through this together as long as we are mindful and proactive in preventing the spread of this virus.

If you would like additional information on how you can help the community and limit the spread of this virus, please do not hesitate to ask. We have a handout with suggestions from the CDC that we can either print out or email to you. Our hearts go out to any families that may be affected by COVID-19.

Telemedicine:

• If you are an established patient, ask our team about our telemedicine option.

• More to come on this soon!
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We know that this will be a significant change for everyone and we appreciate your patience as we work together to reduce the impact of this virus on our community.