Animal Clinic News
COVID-19 UPDATE
Update on 6/20/2021
Starting July 1st 2021, we will welcome clients back into our building. We will allow two individuals to accompany their pet(s) at the time of their appointment.
Curbside service (Monday-Friday) will continue to be provided for clients who prefer this option for their appointments. If you choose this option, please let us know this when you schedule your appointment.
If you have symptoms of Covid-19, please call to reschedule your appointment. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call us at 616-241-3651. Thank you for your understanding during these unprecedented times. Animal Clinic, Inc.
Update on April 1, 2020
On March 30, Governor Whitmer issued a new executive order, specific to veterinary medicine, that provided clarity on what is considered “essential” veterinary services. According to the order, they include:
- services/treatments that preserve the life of a pet, as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
- treatment of serious pain that threatens the health and safety of a pet, as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
- euthanasia procedures, if medically indicated by a veterinarian to help relieve pain and suffering,
- treatment or prevention of any infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and human beings, as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
- medically indicated vaccinations of any animals,
- and non-elective surgeries, as well as dental procedures, that help to relieve underlying oral pain.
Animal Clinic will be providing these services while this executive order is in effect. We will see sick animals in person, as necessary, but we will make an effort to address medical concerns remotely when possible and appropriate, in order to further reduce physical contact.
We will continue to provide curbside appointments and pickup of pet food/medication, as described in our COVID-19 update from 3/24/2020, for the safety of our clients, staff, and patients.
If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please don’t hesitate to call us at 616-241-3651. Thank you for your understanding! Animal Clinic, Inc.
Update on March 24, 2020
Good evening. We’d like to update you with the latest changes to our protocol, which are in line with Governor Whitmer’s Michigan Stay Home, Stay Safe Order:
• We are only offering curbside appointments at this time. Please call us at 616-241-3651 when you arrive at the clinic and are ready to be checked in. The receptionist will transfer you to another team member, who will gather all the necessary information for the appointment. A team member will then pick your pet up at your vehicle and bring him/her into the clinic. The veterinarian will call you to discuss findings and recommended treatments. We will then collect payment over the phone and drop your pet off at your vehicle.
• We are only offering curbside pickup of pet food and medicine as well.
• We are currently only seeing sick patients and performing non-elective surgeries, in order to conserve medical supplies and curb the spread of COVID-19. We are also offering services that we have deemed medically necessary, including puppy/kitten series vaccines along with adult rabies vaccine updates.
If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please don’t hesitate to call us at 616-241-3651.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding during this period of uncertainty. If there are any changes to our protocol, we will notify you immediately on our website, email and social media. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!
Animal Clinic, Inc.
Update on March 20, 2020
Good afternoon. Animal Clinic is closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic as it evolves and making the appropriate changes to policies/procedures on our end. We would like to share the following updates to our response:
SOCIAL DISTANCING –
• We’re still seeing patients at this time. However, we request that the client calls the clinic when s/he arrives for the appointment 616-241-3651 and is ready to be checked in.
A) For clients who wish to enter the building, the clinic will let the client know by phone when an exam room is ready. When it is, a team member will meet the client at his/her vehicle and escort the client/pet into the clinic, proceeding directly to the exam room. All client interactions and transactions for the appointment will occur in this exam room, including payment and check-out. No signature will be required for credit card payment at this time.
B) Clients who wish to stay in their vehicles can request their pets be brought into the clinic by a clinic team member. The client can wait in their vehicle until the appointment is over, at which time, a team member will bring the pet to the vehicle and carry out the rest of the appointment there (described above). Alternatively, clients are free to leave the premises and return when the appointment is over, in a “drop off/pick up” arrangement.
• Clients coming in to pick up pet food will have a similar experience – i.e., call the clinic to arrange for a team member to deliver the pet food to the vehicle.
• Please try to minimize the number of visitors, as we’re trying to minimize the number of people in the building.
• To the degree possible, we’re trying to maximize the space between staff and clients (ideally 6 ft. or more) to minimize the risk of exposure to the virus.
CLEANING/STERILIZATION –
• We are continuing to fully sanitize exam rooms after each visit, including tables, chairs, instruments, stethoscopes, door handles, and mopping the floors.
• We’ve removed magazines and other high-touch items from these rooms.
• We’re making sure hand sanitizer is available at the main entry/admission points of the clinic.
SCREENING –
• Our receptionists will ask clients wishing to make a new appointment if they have respiratory symptoms. If so, we’ll advise them to refrain from entering the clinic — to have someone else bring in the pet or reschedule their visit.
• We will require the client to limit the number of visitors to the appointment.
• Any staff member who is sick will be required to stay at home.
We are now working to update our website with crisis communication on our home page and a dedicated page detailing our latest policies/procedures. These changes will hopefully be made by Monday. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please don’t hesitate to call us at 616-241-3651. Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we are navigating this fluid situation,
Animal Clinic, Inc.
Update on March 18, 2020
Good evening. There has been growing concern recently regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We take the health of our clients, staff, and patients very seriously, so we’re taking precautions to safeguard the Animal Clinic community. We would like to update you on some of the changes we’ve made to our policies/procedures in order to keep you, our staff and our families safe:
• We are increasing measures to clean our clinic, including more regularly scheduled disinfecting of our spaces and equipment.
• If a clinic team member becomes ill, we are requiring him/her to stay home.
• We are asking our clients if they are showing any signs of respiratory illness and, if they do, that they reschedule their appointment or refrain from coming into the clinic.
According to the AVMA, no pet animals in the United States have been identified with the virus, and there is no evidence that pets can contract or spread COVID-19.
We are still going to be open and running as usual, but we will continue to monitor the situation and make changes to our policies/procedures accordingly. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please don’t hesitate to call us at 616-241-3651.
We appreciate your support, patience, and understanding during this period of uncertainty. Animal Clinic, Inc.