As our community continues to work together to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we’d like to take a moment to provide you with an update on the precautions our hospital is taking to ensure the safety of our patients, clients, and employees.

Hospital Cleaning Protocol & Staff Illness

Our hospital continues to observe the CDC’s recommendations on disease prevention, handwashing, and cleaning protocols, as well as guidance on managing staff members who are displaying flu-like symptoms and/or have tested positive for COVID-19.

Facility Cleaning

In addition to our regular cleaning schedule, we have added additional deep cleaning protocols which include an increase in cleaning frequency and use of pet-friendly chemicals verified to kill the COVID-19 virus by the CDC and EPA.

Staff Illness

Any staff member who is displaying flu-like symptoms or has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus will be asked to stay home until cleared by a medical professional. Staff members who traveled to a high-risk area will be asked to remain away from work in accordance with CDC guidelines as a safety precaution.

Clients Affected by COVID-19

We will not be able to see your pet for any reason if you or a member of your household have tested positive or is suspected to have COVID-19, are displaying flu-like symptoms and/or have traveled to a high-risk area in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Please note some of our hospital protocol changes in response to COVID-19

Appointments

We are currently allowing 1 person in the building for appointments to ensure the health and safety of our employees and clients. Surgical drop offs and technician appointments will remain curbside. Please call when you arrive for your appointment to let us know you are here. Please also note that masks are optional, as is curbside for doctor appointments. We appreciate your understanding and your help to keep our team healthy and available to care for your pets.

At this time, we will not be scheduling any appointments for annual preventive care exams. If you have a puppy or kitten currently in the midst of receiving a vaccine series we will see him/her when they are due. This also applies to adult pets requiring a booster for a vaccine series that has already been started.

Medication/Food Pick-Up

If you are in need of refill prescriptions or food, please call the office 24 hours in advance. This will allow our staff adequate time to get your medications and food ready to be picked up. When you arrive at the office to pick up your medications/food, please stay in your car. We will take care of payment over the phone as we are only accepting credit card payments. No cash or checks. Once payment is completed, a client service representative will bring your items out to you.

COVID-19 Risks for Pets

According to the AVMA, CDC and WHO, there is no current evidence to suggest that pets can become sick from the COVID-19 virus or be a source of infection to humans or other animals. Research is continually underway and we encourage clients to continue to monitor the situation via the AVMA or CDC websites. Below are two additional articles to reference regarding your pet and COVID-19.

https://www.cnn.com/…/pets-dogs-cats-coronavirus…/index.html

https://www.avma.org/…/2…/covid-19-faq-pet-owners_031520.pdf

To stay up to date on any changes to our office hours and procedures, please visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PlumstedAnimalHospital/.

As always, the safety of our patients, clients, and employees remains our top priority, but please feel free to reach out to our management team with any additional questions or concerns.