The
next
time you come to our hospital, check out the window sticker on
the door. It’s red with the letters AAHA in it. No, it’s
not an ode to an 80’s band song (does anyone else remember
Wham!?). It’s not us reacting with surprise on seeing you
either. AAHA stands for the American Animal Hospital Association,
an organization made up of small animal veterinarians from around
the country whose mission is to enhance the abilities of veterinarians
to provide quality medical care to companion animals, enable
veterinarians to successfully conduct their practices and maintain
their facilities with high standards of excellence and to meet
the public's needs as they relate to the delivery of small animal
veterinary medicine.
AAHA provides continuing education conferences
featuring top veterinarians in small animal medicine, a wide
variety of reference materials and a constant flow of information
about current technology and advances in veterinary medicine
and surgery. They also represent the gold standard of practice
with their renowned accreditation. AAHA evaluates practices for
over 900 standards that cover everything from the surgical suite
to record keeping to employee management. Only 15% of veterinary
practices in the county achieve these high standards and we are
very proud to be one of them.
In order to achieve (and maintain) accreditation,
our hospital was given an extensive and detailed list of requirements.
Reading through it made us realize that we already met or exceeded
the vast majority of these standards, making accreditation
a logical choice. Some of the things required by AAHA include
having a well-run surgical area with proper scrubbing, monitoring
and pain management, documentation of yearly continuing education
for the veterinarians, and provision for close supervision
and appropriate treatment of hospitalized patients.
All of our veterinarians attend at least one
large veterinary conference each year as well as local meetings.
We also have frequent in-house continuing education where we
bring veterinary specialists to our hospital. We have had oncologists,
anesthesiologists, dermatologists, ophthalmologists, pain management
specialists, dentists and surgeons among others spend time at
our practice to work with us one-on-one. Our veterinary technicians
and office staff also receive continuing education both in-house
and at meetings.
Although not required by AAHA, but because
we strive to provide the best medicine possible, we utilize the
most modern technology and techniques, including digital radiology
(x-rays taken by computer rather than film), dental radiology,
orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, ultrasound, endoscopy, chemotherapy
and stem cell therapy.
If you would like to know more about AAHA
or accreditation, just ask next time you come by! We’d
be happy to talk with you.
If you have any topics you’d
like covered in this forum, please
click here to send us an email.
The
next
time you come to our hospital, check out the window sticker on
the door. It’s red with the letters AAHA in it. No, it’s
not an ode to an 80’s band song (does anyone else remember
Wham!?). It’s not us reacting with surprise on seeing you
either. AAHA stands for the American Animal Hospital Association,
an organization made up of small animal veterinarians from around
the country whose mission is to enhance the abilities of veterinarians
to provide quality medical care to companion animals, enable
veterinarians to successfully conduct their practices and maintain
their facilities with high standards of excellence and to meet
the public's needs as they relate to the delivery of small animal
veterinary medicine.
In order to achieve (and maintain) accreditation,
our hospital was given an extensive and detailed list of requirements.
Reading through it made us realize that we already met or exceeded
the vast majority of these standards, making accreditation
a logical choice. Some of the things required by AAHA include
having a well-run surgical area with proper scrubbing, monitoring
and pain management, documentation of yearly continuing education
for the veterinarians, and provision for close supervision
and appropriate treatment of hospitalized patients.
Although not required by AAHA, but because
we strive to provide the best medicine possible, we utilize the
most modern technology and techniques, including digital radiology
(x-rays taken by computer rather than film), dental radiology,
orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, ultrasound, endoscopy, chemotherapy
and stem cell therapy.
