Dear Clients and Friends,
No one has been untouched by the enormity and devastation of the Coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been very proactive in our efforts to provide a safe environment for our staff, our clients and our patients. We’ve practiced social distancing, allowed only staff members into the hospital, enhanced sanitation efforts, and enacted curbside service to see our pet patients. We have strictly adhered to the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and can proudly say that not one of our staff members contracted COVID-19 to date. We have remained open and here for you and your pets throughout this entire pandemic – which is truly an amazing feat.
We’d like to share with you great news: our entire professional staff has been vaccinated and protected against COVID 19. As a result of this extraordinary accomplishment, we will now be slowly opening our doors to our pet parents.
Starting June 15, we will be modifying our current curbside appointments to the following:
- When you arrive at the hospital for your pet’s appointment, please call us at 773.525.3353 and let us know of your arrival.
- Please remain in your vehicle or outside until a staff member calls you and lets you know that it’s time for your pet’s scheduled appointment.
- If your pet is scheduled for a doctor’s appointment, both you and your pet may now enter the building.
- If your pet is scheduled for a veterinary technician appointment, only your pet will enter the building due to space restriction of the clinic’s design.
- If your pet is present for an urgent care or emergency appointment, initially only your pet will enter the building. Your pet will be immediately assessed by the technician and/or doctor. Once an examination room is available, we will permit the pet parent to enter the hospital.
- All pets must be leashed or in a carrier for their safety before entering the building. If you have a pet that is reactive to others, please let the staff member know this so that we can make a few adjustments with your planned entry into the building.
- To ensure the safety of our staff and you, we still require everyone that enters the practice to wear a mask at all time and it can only be removed after exiting the hospital. If you forget a mask, don’t worry, we have one for you!
- You will enter the building at our front entranceway and be greeted on the porch by a staff member. If the front entranceway is too difficult for you or your pet to navigate, please let us know and we will meet you at the side-entrance which leads to an elevator. Prior to entry, a staff member will ask you the following questions:
- Do you have a fever?
- Have you been exposed to any person that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
- Do you have any symptoms consistent with COVID-19?
Your entrance into the building will only be granted if you answer “NO” to the above questions. If you answer “YES” to any of the questions, we will proceed with your pet’s appointment but will kindly request that you wait in your vehicle or outside until your pet’s examination has been completed. Once you’ve entered the hospital, a staff member will escort you and your pet to an examination room. For safe distancing, please respect our “only one adult per pet visit” temporary rule. No children will be allowed into the clinic until further notice.
At the conclusion of the visit, we will take payment information in the examination room and then escort you out our side entrance. This new traffic flow of movement was designed to minimize your contact with others while visiting AMCOC.
Surprisingly, our curbside visits have been a success for many of our patients and clients. Many of our fearful pets have done amazingly well without their pet parent in the examination room. We love how some pets act after their visit – they seem proud of what they’ve accomplished on their own. If you prefer to remain in your car, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are happy to accommodate whatever works best for you and your pet.
Given the rise in pet adoptions during the pandemic, appointments are booking up fast. Therefore we recommend scheduling your pet’s wellness appointments at least 2-3 weeks in advance. If your pet is sick and needs to see us right away, please let us know as early in the day as possible so we can accommodate you.
We are all so excited to see you again. We’ve missed that face-to-face interaction that we cherished.
Wishing you all good health and good times ahead.
Sincerely,
Drs. Donna Solomon, Pam Janik, Tim England, Meg Ogishi, Elaine Simpson and Emily Yacker
and the Staff of AMCOC.
