Friday, April 17, 2020

Covid-19 A veterinary Journal


It’s been almost a year since we last posted on this blog site.  Things had gotten really busy, we moved to video and live events on Facebook as well as an upgraded e mail program to communicate with our clients and area pet owners.  So, the blog sort of fell off the radar. But, the world has changed dramatically in the past month and I thought that this would be a good time to resurrect the blog.  Not so much as a source of information, Facebook and our e mail outreach are still the best channels for that. Rather, as a way for us to give our clients insight as to what is going on behind the doors and personal protection equipment here at Crawford Dog and Cat Hospital.

So, how did we get to where we are today, sitting here in the office, face mask and gowns in place, isolated from each other and our clients. 
I don’t mean how did the world get to where we are today, that is a question that will be debated for a long time, multiple possibilities, special interests, and plenty of finger pointing to go around.  I mean, how did Crawford get to where we are today?

At the end of January, I sold the practice to a corporation.  I  hadn't planned to to sell and I don’t intend to retire, I’m working full time here at Crawford as a clinical veterinarian, free from the stresses of finance and management. Indeed, due to this crisis, there have been very few changes here.  Everyone that worked here was offered their same position with the new company and all but one stayed.  The two biggest changes are things that you might not have noticed as a pet owner.  The first is that there are deep corporate pockets that have allowed us to stay open and pay the staff while the economy crumbles around us.  Rather than scrambling to survive, we have seen enhanced benefits for employees that have covid related problems, either of their own or their immediate families.  We have been lucky that none of our employees have been ill to date.  Several have had family members fall ill, so far, all are doing OK although there have been some rough patches.

The second benefit that we have seen is that we have the support of a large management team.  They offer us logistical support as well as improved access to a vast supply chain, helping us to maintain medications and supplies so that Crawford can continue to provide essential veterinary services to the pets in our community.

As we moved through February, it became apparent that the Covid 19 virus was going to pose a greater threat to us than the experts had led us to believe.  We worked as a team with our new  management and in early March, the medical staff, Drs. Wu, Waters, and Myself, decided that we had to come up with new procedures so that we could remain safe.  Several staff members elected to take a family medical leave made available to them by our new employer.  The rest of us divided into two teams, each headed by a doctor (Dr. Wu is currently home taking care of her children. She is consulting remotely on cases and we all eagerly await her return).  The teams are isolated, working every other day.  That way, if one team is exposed to the corona virus, we won’t have to close the hospital, just rotate that team out for their isolation.  This is a situation that happened this week where one of the team members who had no clinical signs but was exposed to someone that is sick, tested positive for covid19.  That team member had been self-isolating for almost two weeks so the team only lost one day (today) which the other team covered.  The hospital did not have to close.  We have also put Dr. Sturtz on a team and she is seeing her cat patients every other Saturday.

We were very proactive with this team approach and our social distancing policies.  We are currently doing curbside check in.  For now, clients are checking in by phone from their cars when they arrive.  We are sending a staff member out in appropriate protective gear to bring the pet into the hospital for examination and treatment while the owner waits outside.  Communication is by telephone and video chat and the pet is returned to the family in the car when we are done.  While not ideal, we feel that this offers us the best option for safety while allowing us to treat our patients.  The procedure has been well accepted by owners, pets, and our upper management who have held our initiative out as an example to other practices in the New York Metropolitan area market.

So that is how we got to where we are.  I intend to continue with our weekly live Facebook sessions.  Join me and Bella as we try to bring some understanding to our community as new information becomes available.  I also want to use this blog as a journal, to post regularly so that you can see what we are up to and how we are adjusting to our new reality. I’ll share what we’re doing, how we’re doing and who we’re doing it with.  The pets that we have been here to help have ranged from a seeing eye dog yesterday, to older pets with multiple health issues.  So check back and keep up.  I know we all have some time to read.  Comments on the blog page are welcome as are questions on Facebook. 
 

Stay safe. Be nice. Wash your hands and don’t touch your face.

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