Covid-19 A Veterinary Journal (6)

As we cruise into the middle of May, we find ourselves almost back to full strength, staff wise, at Crawford.  There are still challenges to face as New York prepares to move towards allowing certain businesses to start to open up.  Our goal and the goal of our upline management remains to maintain staff safety while meeting the needs of our patients and their owners.  I can’t lie, it has been a challenge for us and understandably a frustration for pet owners.  This past week saw two staff members return to work and one more announce her intention of returning in two weeks.  We hope to welcome Dr. Wu back from leave at the end of June.  As the staff ramps up, we are maintaining vigilance while keeping an eye forward to the time when we can be back to a full-service veterinary practice.

So, what are we doing to move towards that goal?  We have started to allow drop off appointments in addition to our curbside check in appointments.  This gives us greater flexibility to work in sick animals rather than sending them away to specialty practices when that is not indicated.  This allows the pets to be in a more familiar environment and helps contain costs.  We have been working with a new urgent care center in Carle Place for our after-hours emergencies when that is the appropriate level of care.  We have experimented with different schedules during the day to see what gives the best capacity to care for pets that need more immediate attention, while still providing the essential preventative care so that we don’t see sick puppies from inadequate immunization or a public health crises due to lapses in Rabies and Leptospirosis vaccinations.  We continue to dispense parasite control for both internal parasites as well as fleas and ticks. 

As I was out today (social distance running) I thought how thankful I am that so many of our clients are appreciative of the work that the doctors and staff are putting in to help care for the pets in our area.  I am also thankful for the support that we have received from our field supervisors and corporate managers.  Their compassion for your pets and our safety have really helped us to maintain a safe, effective, and professional environment at Crawford during this period of stressful crises.

Covid-19 A veterinary Journal (5)

What a lovely day today is.  The weather was perfect, and my team and I are off after a long two weeks.  The other team headed by Dr. Waters was on self-quarantine for 14 days, but today they are back, almost at full strength.  My team is off today and then we have a long weekend after one day back tomorrow.  Working with a reduced staff has been a real challenge for everyone, but I am happy to say that the Crawford team pulled together and we were able to take care of all essential health issues for our patients.

Going forward, we are getting ready for the changes that Governor Cuomo will propose next week and we will see how that impacts the services that we can offer.  We are hoping that we can start to once again offer routine preventive care in addition to essential veterinary services so that we can keep our furry friends healthy going forward.  While we do not see an imminent end to social distancing and curbside check ins, we are working on plans to improve on the efficiency of our processes and the effectiveness of our client communications so that we can serve the owners and pets of our community.

But back to today.  After a morning of errands, always stressful in this environment, Bella and I returned home.  I left her and I went for a run in the neighborhood.  It is easier to maintain distance here than many of the places that I like to run.  Not ¼ mile from my house I came upon a little Yorkie jogging towards me down the middle of the street.  Fortunately, there were no cars.  Also, fortunately, he was friendly and had tags with his name and phone number.  I called his owners and indeed, he had escaped when grand mom had come to help take care of the kids and left the door open.  I tucked him under my arm, continued on my run and dropped him off at home.  This just emphasizes the importance of watching out for our pets while our regular routines are disrupted.  It also shows the importance of proper ID for our pets in case they do get out.  Tags and microchips are the best combination for pet identification.  Maybe once restrictions are lifted, we can offer reduced pricing on microchips to pets that are not identified in this way.

In the meantime. 

Enjoy this weather and stay safe.

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.

Hyperthyroid Disease in Cats

Dr. Stephanie Waters

Have you noticed that your cat has a large appetite, but does not seem to be gaining any weight? Or maybe he/she has been drinking a lot and seems hyperactive or nervous. Changes in food or water intake, or increases in the amount of urine in the litter box, may be signs that your cat has elevated thyroid levels. Hyperthyroid disease is commonly found in cats greater than 8 years old but it can occur at any age.  The risk factors are not well defined but environmental chemicals found in the home may be the culprit.  Early disease may be hard to detect, but advanced cases of hyperthyroidism can cause heart and kidney disease.

Cats are masters of deception and often will hide the early signs of illness. Owners often struggle differentiating what is normal for their cat and what might be the early signs of disease.  Vomiting, (other than an occasional hair ball), decreased grooming activity, seeking cool places to sleep, as well as changes in appetite or litter box habits can be early signs of a serious problem. Changes in your cats’ routine can be the key to the early diagnosis of many treatable conditions such as Hyperthyroidism.  A simple lab test including a blood profile, CBC, and a urinalysis can differentiate between normal and abnormal conditions. By monitoring your cats blood work and giving a medication to decrease thyroid levels, your cat can be back to normal for the holidays! If you are concerned about taking your cat to the vet because they are fearful of the carrier or of the car ride, please call us ahead of time and we can talk about a low stress appointment or a house call!

 “How do I medicate my cat?”  Good question!

Luckily the medication needed for hyperthyroidism in cats comes in several compounded forms; small pills, capsules (that can be opened up on wet food), transdermal (liquid placed right in front of your cats ear) etc. Alternatively, we could discuss iodine-restricted diets as a first step, thyroidectomy (removing the thyroid) or radioactive iodine therapy (I-131 therapy) in order to eliminate clinical signs and keep your cat healthy and happy.

The thyroid gland controls all aspects of our pets’ metabolism. So, there is more to hyperthyroidism and the effects of this disease on other organ systems.  We will address some of these problems in future blog posts.  If you have questions about hyperthyroidism, you can message us at facebook.  If you are concerned about your cat’s thyroid levels, schedule an appointment for an examination and screening blood work.  Remember, we have cat only office hours on Thursday evenings.  No annoying barking dogs in the waiting room.