COVID 19 - Winter Update
Winter weather is approaching quickly. We are very fortunate that the fall and early winter weather has been mild. Eventually we will be getting colder temperatures, winds, snow and ice. With winter weather comes some safety concerns while practicing the current curbside medicine for our clients, patients and staff.
In order for us to continue to provide our clients and patients with safe curbside medicine we will need to make a few changes for the winter months.
We will be using the vestibule area at the front entrance of our building as the contact point with the clients and patients, instead of the parking lot. The safety Plexiglas has been moved from the front door to the inside office door. We will have a hand sanitizer station for all clients entering this area to use. We will be conforming to the social distancing regulations by only allowing one client in this vestibule at all times. The front door will remain as the entry point to the vestibule and we will be asking clients to exit through the automated door. The exchange of the pet, between the client and the technician will take place at the plexiglass. We ask that the client will then return to their vehicle to wait for us to call them at the conclusion of the appointment. As to relieve some congestion at the front door we will now start to use the door at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp for curbside pick up farm medications, food, prescriptions etc.
We would like to thank all of our clients for their understanding, loyalty and support over the last 9 months during these challenging and changing times.
Thank you and Stay Safe.
The Staff at Napanee Veterinary Hospital
Please take a moment to read the tips below to ensure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible.
General Information
We are fully staffed and are operating at full service. But in order to ensure that we remain open, should our local COVID numbers increase, we are still curbside and only allowing pets in the building at this time. Please be patient as this means that our appointments tend to take a little longer.
Booking Appointments
1. When booking a medical, please be patient as we are trying to triage your pet and make sure that we can see your pet as soon as is necessary.
2. When booking an annual exam/vaccine appointment please note that due to COVID we are currently booking several weeks in advance.
3. Please arrive no more than 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time.
4. Please make sure that you bring a Cell Phone – so that the Technicians/Veterinarian can discuss your appointment with you.
5. Call the office (613-354-6615) when you arrive for your appointment, so we can check you in!
6. Please remain in the parking lot and pay attention to your phone as the Veterinarian may try to get in touch with you more than once.
7. If you need to cancel/reschedule your appointment – please call and let us know
Refilling Food/Medications
1. Please make sure that you call several days ahead to ensure that we have the product you are looking for before you run out.
2. Please call when you arrive in the parking lot and a staff member will meet you at the door for pick up.
Thankyou
Our Position Statement Regarding Covid-19
To our valued clients
May 15, 2020 update
Yesterday afternoon, the province introduced Stage 1 of their re-opening plan. As of May 19th, Veterinary Hospitals can begin to provide regular veterinary services…provided we maintain and follow social-distancing guidelines.
This is good news for everyone and we want to thank all of our clients for their understanding, loyalty and support during the past 9 weeks. Your words and deeds of kindness have made a big difference to us as we are trying to adapt to an ever changing landscape.
In an effort to protect our staff and our clients in the early going of this disease, we adopted a “locked-door” policy on March 16, 2020. This allowed us to remain open, but we were only permitted to offer a limited range of services (urgent care) to our clients. All of our staff remained employed and we all remained healthy.
What will this new plan look like at Napanee Veterinary Hospital? The province is “testing the water” by allowing certain businesses and services to open. Stage 1 relaxes the rules to those businesses that can ensure social distancing guidelines in order to serve their clients.
Veterinarians have been allowed to resume offering their full slate of services. However, to continue to comply with the social distancing rules, our Hospital will continue with the “locked-door” policy—this allows us to continue to see and provide full service care to your furry companions but owners will still not be allowed entry into the building.
This is definitely not business as usual but we are thankful that the restrictions for pet care have been relaxed. Many owners have been concerned about keeping their vaccinations up to date and getting their pets spayed or neutered. We will start tackling this backlog of routine procedures that were deferred.
The “locked-door” policy has denied us the opportunity for face-to-face discussion and interaction with you, but that is the intent of the social-distancing rules. However, we have been surprised at how well we can still do our assessments and examinations.
The down-side of not having you immediately present as we perform an examination is that everything is taking longer, and requires more staff time. This will slow us down a bit as we try to catch up with deferred appointments, so again, we ask for your patience and understanding.
Veterinary Hospitals are experts at infection control. It is something we do everyday. There is a lot of stainless steel in Veterinary Hospitals and we are used to disinfecting our exam rooms after every visit. Gowns, masks and gloves are common tools in our trade. We follow infection control protocols to protect you and to assure you that we are taking every effort to safeguard your well-being. We also do this for our own personal protection and safety. It appears that Ontario is over the peak, but we all have to continue to do our part, be careful and be smart—this disease is still present and the last thing we want to see is a second wave of infections.
Thank you from all of us at Napanee Veterinary Hospital
