Dear FVH Client,
COVID-19 continues to be a concern for us all. We are monitoring local, state and national authorities for the latest information. Please review our blog post published last week on ways we are working to protect you and our staff.
Effective immediately, FVH will begin implementing changes to staffing levels and scheduling priorities. We will officially become a medical-only facility until May 1st to ensure continued care of sick dogs and cats in our community. Nursing appointments will still be available for vaccination needs based on specific qualifications, please contact the hospital for further information. All elective surgery (spay, neuter, non-malignant mass removal) and routine dentistry will be postponed until after May 1st. Our limited surgical days will be prioritized for our most sick or painful patients. Clients that already have scheduled surgeries or Dr. appointments will only be contacted if we need to reschedule.
A licensed nursing staff member will be available to triage incoming schedule requests throughout this crisis period. The licensed veterinary technicians staffing the triage line each have over 20 years of vetmed experience. They will make certain our most sick patients are prioritized for our limited appointment schedule. Please be patient with the nursing team as they will be making difficult decisions in the weeks ahead.
To assist our home-bound clients, we are vigorously exploring tele-medicine options. This will allow our Veterinarians to continue to provide care for newly sick and chronically ill pets without the need to come onsite. This service will only be available to patients we have seen in the last 2 years. We encourage all clients to take a moment and familiarize themselves with how their phone video camera and/or computer camera functions in the event tele-medicine is needed. Additional details on this service will be made available once it is implemented.
All clients are encouraged to utilize our online store for prescription refills and purchase of food and flea/tick products. Our online store is competitively priced against most online retailers. Product is delivered straight to your door and our hope is that UPS and USPS will continue to be able to function with some normalcy. Clients are advised to expect delivery delays and make requests well in advance of medicine or product need.
We encourage you to follow us on social media for timely updates. We will also send important notifications via mass email for clients that have given us a current email address. If you need to update your current information please visit the following link https://fairhavenvet.com/forms/update-client-information/. We also encourage clients to consider utilizing our PetDesk app for schedule and prescription refill requests. This will be much appreciated by our phone staff. They are already handling higher than normal call volumes.
With gratitude,
Michael Bellis, Hospital Administrator