We know your pet is an important member of your family and their health is a priority. At Burnsville Parkway Animal Hospital, we understand the concern and questions many of our clients have regarding their pets and how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could potentially impact them.
We felt it was important to connect with you, our loyal clients, to share information that can help put your mind at ease, and assure you we are staying on top of the emerging information as it becomes available.
While we are still learning much in regards to the virus, we are confident that human to pet or pet to human transmission of COVID-19 is not likely. Meaning, should there be exposure to COVID-19, it is not possible for you to catch coronavirus from your pet or for your pet to transmit the virus to you.
As a matter of good health, we do urge you to follow recommended sanitation and hygiene practices any time you interact with a pet. For up to date information on COVID-19 and pets visit the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING COVID-19 AND NEW BPAH PROTOCOLS:
In order to keep our staff and clientele safe during these times we have set up the following protocols effective immediately. All of the protocols we are putting into place have been recommended to us from the AVMA and/or CDC. Veterinary practices are currently classified as an essential business which means we want to be available to care for your pets throughout this pandemic. All the measures we are taking will help ensure that we can stay open for business.
- All clients with scheduled appointments MUST call the clinic once you have arrived in our parking. Please stay in your car until you get further notice from our staff.
- When you call the clinic we will take a brief history over the phone about what concerns you have about your pet.
- All dogs must be leashed and cats secured in a carrier
- A staff member will come to your car to get your pet and bring them into the hospital.
- While you wait in your car or run errands, your pet will be examined, and we will call you with our recommended treatment plan.
- Once we have your permission, treatment will be provided. Once the exam and treatments have been provided we will bring your pet and any medication/food needed back out to your car.
- We can then take credit card payment over the phone or our card readers will be brought out to your car. Please avoid bringing cash to minimize contact.
- Clients will not be permitted into the building at this time unless authorized by a BPAH employee. If we feel it is best for you to come into the clinic or there are special circumstances, you will be put in an exam room immediately and remain there until we are finished with the exam. We want to avoid clients in our lobby as best as possible.
- Prescription refills and food pick up should be called into the clinic in advance. Follow the protocol above when picking up and we will bring it to your car. We also have an online store available to have products shipped directly to your home. Visit our website at www.burnsvillevet.com and click on the link on our home page for more information.
- We will be suspending all house call visits until further notice.
- Going forward for the next few weeks we will no longer be scheduling elective procedures due the limited supply of gloves, masks, etc. in our industry.
- If you have an elective procedure currently scheduled in the next couple of weeks we will honor those appointments, but will not be scheduling new procedures. If you have an elective procedure scheduled and wish to postpone it please give us a call and we would be happy to do so.
- We will still proceed with any surgical and dental procedures that are medically necessary/causing animals to be uncomfortable.
- Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions regarding this matter.
Other important points we’d like to share:
- The disinfectants we use year-round are effective against Coronavirus. As a healthcare practice, we have routine processes in place to stop disease transmission in pets.
- We have increased the frequency of disinfecting client touchpoints (i.e. bathrooms, doorknobs, benches, etc.) Because everyone can benefit from additional training, all staff has had a thorough review of disinfection and handwashing processes.
- At this time for everyone’s safety we will refrain from handshakes and our staff may be wearing masks and/or gloves until this threat has passed. Please do not be alarmed as we are just trying to do our best to keep everyone safe.
- Our dedicated staff has been advised to remain at home if they are running a fever or if a family member is suspected of having COVID-19.
