What Do YOU Want in a Veterinary Clinic???

I REALLY WANT YOUR INPUT.....

Construction is moving very quickly, and hopefully today, after the insulation inspection, the walls will be completed!!!  With that being said, I haven't fully taken into consideration what the client wants in a veterinary office.  I have designed the clinic to what I think it should be, but I should have asked people what they think.  Now, this doesn't mean that every suggestion can be implemented, but if there are some good ideas, now is the time to tell me.

Here is what we are doing so far:

  1.   There will be separate waiting areas for dogs and cats and the waiting room is quite large.
  2.   I have joined the AAFP and are moving towards being a cat friendly hospital.  There are a lot of requirements that are needed, but the goal is to elevate the care of our feline patients and do decrease their stress level in the hospital.  For dogs there is also a Fear Free movement to help decrease aggression/anxiety/fear, that we may utilize. 
  3.   We will have Adaptil and Feliway diffusers to help calm both our canine and feline patients.
  4.   We will have 1 central scale for our canine patients to help with consistency of weight checks.  We will also have 1 pediatric scale dedicated to small dogs, and 1 pediatric scale dedicated to cats.
  5.   There will be 2 rooms dedicated to canines, and 1 room dedicated to feline patients (which will have some climbing perches and walkways attached to the wall).
  6.   The fourth room will be a quiet room for sensitive situations and clients can exit out the back of the building.
  7.   In a few months, we will have a means to take payment in the exam room.
  8.   We will be making house calls as the schedule allows.
  9.   I will not go into all the equipment we have, but the hospital will be equipped with digital x-ray (not dental x-ray yet), ultrasound, in house blood analyzers, etc.  The University of Tennessee is 5 minutes away, which we can utilize for other immediate test or emergencies.
  10.   The initial hours will be Monday through Friday until I get a better feel for how busy we will be.  Eventually, Saturday hours will be added.
  11.   A security system and fire alarms will be placed.
  12.   The program software we are using will be cloud based and will allow for clients to assess their records any time.
  13.   There is a dog hospital ward and a cat hospital ward on separate ends of the building.

I am sure there are things that I have forgotten to mention, but those are the big ones.  My goal is to make a trip the the office a happy experience.  If your dog or cat is so scared that I can't perform a thorough exam, then I am wasting your money and not helping the patient.  There are drugs out there then can help decrease anxiety without making them a zombie.  My best analogy is this:  if you are deathly afraid to fly, would you rather have a giant person sit on you and hold you down for the flight, or would you rather try some valium???  That being said, I don't usually use valium for vet visits, there are better drugs out there for pets, but you get the idea.     

Please let me know what you think!!!!  This is the time that I can make it happen.

- Dr. Leah Wulforst

  

 

Leah Wulforst