Following the Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine guidelines and following Governor Wolf’s direction, the Animal Clinic at Thorndale will begin offering elective procedures when they are officially sanctioned. Elective procedures include spay and neuter and annual examinations and vaccination updates. Our hospital will need to have sufficient surgical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to safely offer these procedures to your pets. Because dental cleanings require a specialized mask to protect our staff from aerosolized particles, we will continue to limit dental procedures to more urgent cases. Once these masks are more readily available, we will again offer routine dental cleanings.
Governor Wolf’s Original Order Prohibited Elective Procedures
It is important to recognize that the Governor’s original “shut down” order listed veterinary practices separate from “health care” businesses. The “other professional, scientific and technical services” category included veterinarians. The original order closed all of these businesses. Shortly thereafter, the PVMA clarified an exemption for veterinary practices to remain open for urgent care only. At that time, veterinarians were specifically directed not to offer any elective procedures.
Our veterinary hospital made a concerted effort to conserve PPE. We donated some of our supplies to an area nursing home. At the County’s request, we held the remainder in reserve for area human hospitals. Our full compliance with the order created some inconveniences for our clients. We have been scrambling to keep up with scheduling and rescheduling. We gratefully thank those of you who have understood when we informed you a requested procedure was not considered urgent care. Our doctors and staff worked long hours trying to keep up with the overwhelming list of on-line medication and food requests. We worked hard to care for the ill and injured. We missed the happy puppy and kitten visits that always brighten our days.
In order to protect our staff, we developed and will continue to practice “curb-side” patient drop off procedures. By not allowing clients inside the hospital, and practicing social distancing, we hope to minimize our doctor and staff exposure to Covid19. We are doing our best to remain healthy so we can continue to provide care for your pets.
Our Return to a New Normal Will Be Slow
Earlier in May, Governor Wolf permitted the return of elective procedures in the human health care category. This new directive did not include veterinarians. On May 14, the Pennsylvania Board of Veterinary Medicine sent Pennsylvania veterinarians a notice that veterinarians should not yet offer elective procedures. Certain restrictions remain in effect. Veterinarians are to continue to provide urgent care only.
In order to comply we must have the needed PPE and staffing to safely care for your pets. We must also continue to protect our staff and doctors’ health. At present we will continue to offer “curb-side” drop off patient care and practice social distancing. Please call us from the parking lot when you arrive. Please do not enter the building even if the front door is unlocked while we shuttle other patients back and forth. Please wear a mask when you are handing off and receiving your pet from our staff. We will be gradually adding elective procedures to our schedule, once the Board gives permission and as staffing and PPE allow. If you wish to schedule your pet’s spay or neuter or to update the annual examination and routine vaccinations, please give our office a call at 610-873-4091 and we will be happy to schedule a future appointment. Please be advised the dates for which you are scheduled may again be pushed back if the quarantine continues in full force.
Please Be Patient as We Do Our Best to Help You and Your Pets
When our doctors perform patient examinations without the owner present, it means that appointments often take longer because of limited back and forth communication. Our staff are also busy shuttling patients in and out of the building, which is an extra demand on their time taken away from direct patient care. At times our appointments run behind despite our best efforts. We ask that everyone please understand that we are doing our best to meet everyone’s needs.
We want to thank all of you who have been so supportive and understanding. These are very trying times. We feel we have been very fortunate to be permitted to continue to care for your pets during this crisis.