15/03/2020
Dear clients and friends: please be assured that I am closely following the development of the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 in our country and around the world. Following the guidance of the AVMA and CDC, we are adopting some protocols for our appointments (copied below). We would like to minimize any non-urgent appointments at this time, but as long as I and my staff remain healthy we will do our best to provide the same standard of care that we have always provided to you, our valued clients. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions or concerns. As always, I am a one-doctor practice with many hats so please be patient if I am not able to get back to you immediately. If you have an urgent care question or emergency, the best way to get in touch as soon as possible is to call (860)867-6367, and if I am not available to return your call immediately, my voicemail message will always have emergency contact numbers. Please stay safe and follow CDC guidelines in your own households, and we look forward to seeing you and your furry friends in the future!
COVID – 19 Protocols Adopted 3/16/2020
Considering the current ongoing pandemic, the following practices will be adopted by Coastal Valley Veterinary Services (CVVS). These practices are for your safety and ours. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
1. While at this time we all are feeling healthy, if any of my staff members start to show signs of illness that person will not see appointments, and if I start to feel ill or have any clinical signs of COVID-19 then all subsequent appointments will be cancelled or postponed.
2. If you or a family member are sick, even if the signs are mild, or if you are quarantined after travel please reschedule your appointment. If your pet needs to be seen urgently, please call and I will try to help as much as I can via telemedicine or other options. Please note that telemedicine is only available to current clients with whom CVVS has a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship.
3. We will maintain a 6-foot distance between a client’s 2-legged family members and ourselves, as recommend by the CDC guidelines for “social distancing.” We realize this is difficult and awkward, especially since we are normally very warm and hugging-type people, but nevertheless very important. Please consider letting us know if you are immunocompromised.
4. Canine appointments will take place outside or in a garage if possible. Cat appointments will be seen inside but it is very important that your cat(s) be in an enclosed room or isolated area ahead of time, and that we can easily reach. We will not be able to engage in our usual “kitty wrangling” if your cat is not caught up ahead of time.
5. We will ask you to discard of any trash that we generate during our appointment (other than needles or other sharps).
6. We will call you ahead of your appointment time to gather pertinent history and any concerns or questions over the phone, in order to minimize contact and exposure. We may ask to call you after the appointment as well, to discuss treatment plans or recommendations.
7. If we do not have a recent weight on your pet we ask that you provide this information ahead of time – cats and small/medium dogs can be weighed while you hold them and step on a bathroom scale and then subtract your weight without the pet on the same scale, and larger dogs can be estimated. We will not be using our scale.
8. We will bring only the equipment and tools absolutely necessary to the exam, and non-disposable equipment (such as the stethoscope) will be thoroughly disinfected between patients.
