We hope all of our clients and our four-legged friends are doing well during this difficult time.
As our country is slowly starting to re-open, we at Palmer Animal Hospital are also trying to do all that we can to serve our clients while still keeping everyone as safe and healthy as possible. Since the outbreak began, we have had a “Staff Only” policy in our office and have been doing curbside service for all visits and transactions. Beginning on Monday, June 22nd, we will be taking our first baby-step back towards the pre-COVID days. Beginning on that day, clients that are arriving at our office for an appointment with their pet will have the option of accompanying their pet into the exam room. This way clients will be able to directly communicate with the doctor and will not have to stay in their vehicle (which we worry about as summer approaches). Clients will be escorted into the exam room by a technician. Once the doctor discusses the reason for the visit with the client, they may be asked to wait in the waiting room while their pet is examined. Invoicing for appointments will be done at designated spots at our front desk. Everyone entering the building will be required to wear a face mask. We still ask that clients complete the online forms for their pet’s visit so we can better serve you. All other transactions such as medication and food pick-up will continue to be done entirely curbside. We hope that these changes will achieve multiple goals—getting us back to personable service, increasing our efficiency during the COVID protocols, and continuing to keep everyone safe and healthy.
As we stated in our last update, we are currently booking about 2 weeks in advance for appointments such as well pet care, vaccinations and routine visits. We do reserve several same day appointments for sick patients, but there are days when we have no openings to be able to see any more patients. This means that there are days when we will not be able to see your pet. It doesn’t mean we don’t want to, but it is physically impossible for us to do so and implement the COVID procedures we are required to follow. We are doing our best to care for as many patients as possible through telephone consults and refilling/updating treatments as needed for each case, but there are only so many patients we can get in and out of our office each day while obeying the required COVID protocols. We hope all of our clients appreciate that these are definitely trying times and they will be with us for quite a while. Palmer Animal Hospital will continue to work to provide excellent care for our patients, and hope our clients will be patient with us.
So, if your pet needs to come in, call us. If they are sick, the earlier in the day you call, the more likely we will have openings. We will do all we can to care for your pet. For routine care, expect at least a week’s notice for an appointment.
When you come to the office, understand that we are working as hard as we can to service our clients and patients in a timely matter, but following the COVID protocols takes more time. If we are unable to see your pet, we will refer you to one of the local emergency hospitals–not because we want to, but because we cannot physically see the number of patients we have seen in the past. Hopefully, all of us, humans and pets, will get through these times healthy and well.
We look forward to when all of this will be behind us, but at this time it is impossible to see when that will be.