Earlier this week we posted that we were dealing with a COVID situation at our office as we did have some staff members test positive.    COVID protocols required us to quarantine the majority of our staff, and so we were only able to have a minimal crew for most of the week.   The situation is now under control with no new cases since the weekend and most of the staff are back on the job.   We are sorry if this limited our ability to provide services for any of our patients, but I can assure you that those that were able to work gave it all they had.  We finally  had a more normal day on Friday, and hope to be back to business as usual next week.   As you can imagine, we are going to be extra-vigilant in following our COVID protocols to ensure this situation has ended.    Luckily most of our staff will be fully vaccinated over the course of the next week, so future implications should be minimal.

We had previously posted that we were going to be allowing clients back in the office for appointments in early May.   Well, this situation has delayed that for a bit.  We need to be sure everyone at our office is totally healthy and that no further cases appear.   The  “reopening” is now planned for Monday, May 17th.    We appreciate the patience of all of our clients, and we look forward to seeing you as much as you do being back in our office with your pets.    Keep in mind that EVERYONE entering our office must follow our COVID protocols.   That means the everyone must social distance and also wear a mask/face covering that overs their nose and mouth.

Stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you (in person!) soon.

 

We had a COVID situation arise at our office this weekend which will markedly limit our staffing, hours and availability for the next few days.    The office will be open, but we ask for your patience as the available staff will have their hands full trying to keep up with the already reduced schedule.   We are working to resolve the situation as soon as possible.    Here are some things you can do that will help us (help you) out:

—if you get our voicemail, please leave a message and the staff will return your call when they are available.   Note:  this will likely take longer than usual.

—try contacting us by email at:  info@palmeranimalhospital.net .   Again, response time is going to be longer than usual

—if you have an emergency that cannot wait, please call one of the local animal emergency hospitals:

—Mountain View Emergency (Hagerstown) : 301-733-7339

—CARE (Frederick) :  301-662-2273

—we will be rescheduling many appointments and surgeries until we are able provide more normal levels of staff and care

—please be sure to call the office before coming in for any reason to be sure we are able to help you

—we will be trying to take care of as many patients as possible by phone and email, but again, it may take extra time for us to respond.

Thank you for your patience.   We look forward to talking to you soon.

 

Spring is now here, so we wanted to give our clients an update on our COVID protocols.   As we see many parts of the country relaxing restrictions, we are getting more questions about our policies.  At this time we are still doing 100% curbside service, that is clients are not allowed in our building with their pets for appointments.   The reasons that we continue to be curbside is that: 1st) COVID rates still remain around 5% in our county and with relaxed restrictions there are concerns that another spike could occur; 2nd) when we reduced our curbside protocol last Fall, we had a couple of “near misses”, that is clients that were in our office that later became positive; and 3rd) and most importantly, our staff has had a great deal of difficulty obtaining vaccination appointments even though we have qualified for some time.   The good news is that most of our staff is starting their vaccination series by the end of March, and should be fully vaccinated by the end of April.   That means that starting in May 2021, we will again be offering our clients the option of accompanying their pets into appointments.    We look forward to seeing you in person again as it is a much more enjoyable and efficient way to do business.   Still expect us to require clients to wear a proper mask and social distance while in the office, and we will continue curbside service for medication and pet food pickup.

We will be closed today, Thursday, Feb 18th due to the winter storm.   There are several inches of snow already on the ground and the forecast is predicting sleet and freezing rain all day.   Even the main roads including Rt 40 are not clear, so it is not safe for our staff or clients to travel.   We are working to reschedule appointments and we should be open tomorrow (assuming the weather forecast is correct).   If you are unable to reach us today (as we will have limited staff and very short hours), please either leave a message on our phone system or send us an email at info@palmeranimalhospital.net.

Stay safe!

This winter just seems to keep going on and on.   We are again expecting winter weather with significant snowfall beginning tonight, Feb 17th, and lasting potentially through Friday, Feb 19th.   If there is significant accumulation, the ability of our staff to travel into work will be limited, so our services may be limited.   If your pet has an appointment tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 18th, you need to call our office before coming here to be sure that  1) we are here, 2) we are open, and 3) that we are able to see your pet.   We try our best to offer the services our patients need, but the safety of our staff (and clients) is always our first concern.

Stay safe, and remember to call before coming in.

301-371-3333

 

Hopefully everyone is staying safe during this current winter storm.   We are currently open today, Monday, Feb 1st, but due to more expected snowfall and freezing conditions, we will be closing early at 5PM today.  We expect to be open for business tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb 2nd depending on the weather and road conditions.    There may be a reduced schedule if our doctors and staff have difficulty traveling.   Before you come to our office for an appointment or to pickup medications, please call first to be sure we are open and able to provide service.

Philip Palmer, DVM

We hope everyone is safe at home enjoying this white winter weather.    The snow is supposed to continue throughout the day tomorrow, Monday, Feb 1st.     We are unsure as to how much of our staff is going to be able to safely arrive at our office for work.   So please, be sure to call the office and talk to a LIVE staff member before coming for your appointment.   Hopefully, we will be there and be able to take care of your pets needs.   If we are not able to have staff arrive, then we will reschedule our appointments as quickly as possible.   So enjoy the snow, and stay safe!

 

With COVID protocols in effect, we know that most of our clients have not physically been our office lately, and therefore do not know that we lost Oscar on Dec 11, 2020. He was our resident hospital cat for 14 years and dearly loved by the staff and clients alike. Most days you could find him sacked out on the front desk waiting for one of our staff to save him from “starvation” by giving him treats. Oscar had been having some health issues for a while and we are happy that we were able to keep him happy and going for as long as we did. There was not a dry eye in the office the day we had to let him go and he will be dearly missed.

Do not worry—Oscar will not be forgotten!!! We have made a special urn to remember him by and it will be at the front desk for some time.   When you are finally able to come into our office personally, please feel free to pay Oscar a little visit.   There will also be an LED memorial to him and Buttons (Oscar’s previous “boss” who left us in 2005).

As the snow falls heavily today, we will be closing our office early so that our staff can get home safely.
The office will officially close at 1:00PM and all afternoon appointments are cancelled. We are planning on being open for business on Thursday, Dec 17th, but if you have an appointment, please call the office first to be sure we are open and able to see your pet. Stay safe and enjoy the snow day!

With the greatly increased numbers and rates of COVID in our area, Palmer Animal Hospital has again instituted 100% CURBSIDE SERVICE. This means that only staff and patients are allowed in the building—clients must remain in their vehicles in the parking lot.

When clients arrive at the office, they need to call into the front desk as we have been doing for the entire COVID crisis. Staff members will come to you to bring your pet in for it’s appointment. It is very important that our clients fill out the appropriate ONLINE FORM for their visit so we can more efficiently serve you. This change in service will take more time and effort for us to see appointments, but it is what we need to do to keep our staff safe, and to remain open to serve your pets.

If you need to pickup medications or supplies, please be sure to call ahead so we can have the products ready when you arrive. We ask that you give us 24 hour notice to fill these requests. Please note that at this time we are booking ahead approximately 2 weeks for routine appointments and surgeries. We are doing our best to fit in all of the pets we can that need care, but we are limited in the number of cases we can see in a day due to all of the COVID protocols. Our phone lines will also be extra busy with the CURBSIDE service, so please be patient and we will do our best to service your pet’s needs as soon as possible.

Also note, that Christmas is fast approaching and we will have these holiday hours:

—CHRISTMAS EVE 8AM-12N
—CHRISTMAS DAY CLOSED
—Dec 26th (SAT) 8AM-12N
—NEW YEARS EVE 8AM-5PM
—NEW YEARS DAY CLOSED
—Jan 2nd (SAT) 8AM-12N

We hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas holiday season.