Welcome to Animal Medical Hospital (AMH)

and

Animal Medical Clinic on Georgia (AMC)

COVID-19 RESPONSE

Effective immediately, our hours have been changed to the following:

Animal Medical Hospital, West Vancouver:  9 am – 5 pm on weekdays, 9 am – noon on Saturday. Closed Wednesdays & Sundays.

Animal Medical Clinic on West Georgia Street: 11 am – 5 pm weekdays, 1 pm – 4 pm on Saturday. Closed Wednesdays & Sundays.

As of March 19, 2020 we at Animal Medical Hospital and Animal Medical Clinic on Georgia are staffing the clinics, answering phones, and seeing patients. In order for us to continue to provide care to patients that need it, we have instituted handling policies.

1. Regarding the use of surgical masks and other personal protective equipment by our staff: Masks are in short supply everywhere. We have no stockpile. We have enough masks to last a few weeks if we reserve them for their intended purpose – surgery.

Surgical masks do not protect the wearer from infection; they do prevent the wearer from spreading infection and contaminating surgical fields. The need to preserve masks and their inability to provide protection from infection dictates that staff will not be wearing surgical masks routinely.

• We ask that you treat all of our staff as “vulnerable” citizens. We will be in contact with more people than you will over the course of a day. Our risk will probably be higher than yours. We are trying to stay healthy for as long as possible.
• Please do your part and DO NOT come anywhere near us if you have a cough, fever, or other respiratory signs. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just a cold, the flu, or allergies – we can’t triage you and figure out whether you are potentially infectious, so please just stay away.
• If your pet is sick and needs care and you (or anyone in your home) have respiratory symptoms, we require that you send them with a friend or family member who has not been exposed to you.
• If you are positive for COVID-19 TELL US. We won’t refuse to see your pet, but we will take more precautions to protect ourselves.

 

2. We are open for URGENT CASES ONLY. We will not be seeing routine wellness exams or vaccine appointments (with some exceptions). Please do the socially responsible things and STAY HOME if you do not have a really good reason to be out. As a practice, we do not want to be in the position of encouraging any of you to go out, especially for the next few weeks, by being open for routine care. Please listen to the Minister of Health for BC, the BC CDC, and the federal authorities for instructions.

• It is important from a public health perspective that puppies and kittens continue to receive their recommended vaccine series and parasite treatment.
• In some cases it is in the best interest of the patient to do “elective” surgeries like spaying. There is little reason for a neuter surgery to be considered urgent. We will deal with these in a case by case basis.
• If you have a medical problem with your pet, please CALL THE CLINIC. We are here to help.

 

3. CALL AHEAD, no matter why you want to come to the clinic. If you are just coming to pick up food or medications we will pre-process your transaction so that you do not have to enter the clinic. We can also take the food or medication outside to you so you don’t have to enter the clinic.

 

4. We will be limiting access to the clinics. In good weather we will ask you to wait outside until we are ready to see your pet or handle your food or medication purchase. Appointments are deliberately spread out to avoid overlap of clients and allow us to disinfect between patients. Please send ONE PERSON per visit in most circumstances.

 

5. Unless there is a good reason, we will be leaving you outside or in your car and only admitting your pet. This requires several things on your side:

• We need a GOOD history of the problem. The best way to do this is to EMAIL us with your take on what’s happening. Please include details like:
  • When (as closely as possible) the problem started
  • What it looked like when it started
  • Whether it has changed over time
  • What you have already done to help your pet (medications, diet, etc)
• Practice good “social distancing” with all staff. Stay 6 feet away at all times, whenever possible.
• For dogs, we will be coming outside or to your car with a slip leash, and removing your leash. Please don’t just let your dog off the leash when they are out of the car! Staff will do that once our slip leash is secure.
• Cats MUST BE IN CARRIERS. Please disinfect the tops, sides, and handles of the carrier before you come to the clinic. DO NOT DISINFECT THE INSIDE. I know you folks; you’ll go crazy with the disinfectant and give your cat coughing fits (mostly but not entirely kidding). Unless you’ve been coughing into the carrier, the inside is the least contaminated place. And besides, from what I’ve seen over the years pretty much every cat carrier is in need of a good cleaning anyway! Staff will handle carriers with gloves, and will disinfect the handles again before taking the cat back out to your car.

 

6. The vets will probably speak to you on the phone rather than face to face. Talking about health problems outdoors from a 6 foot distance can be kind of awkward. We’ll need a cell phone number (make sure your phone is charged) to contact you.

 

7. If you really want to come inside and pay using the POS machine you can, but alternatives exist. For most clients we are taking credit card numbers over the phone and processing payments that way. If you need to use the POS machine, we are requiring people to use hand sanitizer before touching it, and we are disinfecting it after each use. We have also been experimenting with using a plastic bag over the machine, making it easier to disinfect without ruining the machine.

 

 BE GOOD CANADIANS. Keep calm, stay away from one another, wash your hands like you mean it, don't feel the need to hamsterkaufe (yes, I know I'm missing an umlaut), be kind to one another, don't get all of your information from social media, share your stuff (but not your virus), and do your best to protect others from this disease. And if you Googled "hamsterkaufe" let me know next time I see you.

Dr Wilkie

 

 

 

 

AMH is a general practice veterinary hospital located in West Vancouver, British Columbia. With the hospital only a block from the waterfront, the West Coast "atmosphere" permeates our practice both literally and figuratively. 

AMC is an outpatient clinic near Coal Harbor in Vancouver. It's a short hop over the Lionsgate Bridge from the North Shore, and within easy walking distance for many downtown residents. The clinic is at the base of the east tower of the Lions Building, with a view of Georgia Street and the grassy, treed terraces out front. Click over to the "AMC on Georgia page" (up on the Home tab) and hit the Facebook link to get to the AMC page, or just click here.