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CVMG Hospital
Guidelines
Appointments
Communications
Surgery, Treatment & Hospitalization
Cost estimates
Payment
Deposits
Good Health Easy Payment Plan
Patient
Updates & Progress Reports
Special Care
Visiting and Keeping Track
Patient Release - Going home
at last!
Rechecks - Come back and see
us!
Pet Boarding
Boarding
Priorities
Minimum
Immunizations and Parasite Controls
requirements
Toys & Personal Items
Diet
Home away from Home!
Appointments
Appointment times
Appointment
times should be considered approximate. Why? Well, we'll do
our best to keep everything on schedule. However, we do tailor
our recommendations and treatments to fit each pet's unique
problems
as well as
the
families love,
insights
and veterinary care preferences. Therefore, a given appointment
may be a little longer or shorter than anticipated
Furthermore,
being
primary care veterinarians, we must accept and treat emergencies
among our patients as they occur, regardless of
whether they had a scheduled appointment
or not. We appreciate your understanding.
Lastly, we maintain
a 30-minute grace period for all appointments.
If you are going to be more than 30 minutes
late, we may ask to reschedule your
visit to a later time.
Communications
If you are worried
that your pet might have an emergency, please come on in.
Don't wait to talk to the doctor first.
The doctors on
duty at each facility will do their best to
return all
non-emergency telephone calls
and
telephone
messages before they leave for
the day. Emails are
typically answered within about 24 hours.
Please be aware
that some veterinarians work at multiple locations. Therefore,
voice mails and written messages left for them at a given
location may not be reviewed or answered for several days.
So, if your inquiry is urgent, please discuss it with
the veterinarian on duty.
Surgery,
Treatment & Hospitalization
Cost
estimates
Before we do anything for your pet, we can work out fairly accurately, based
on our past experience, what it will cost for your pet’s care.
In general , fees to hospitalize
and treat a moderately sick dog or cat should be expected
to run between about $150 - $275 per day, after the initial
office call and diagnostic work up.
For a more accurate cost estimate,
our computer system can generate estimates and calculate
the charges for diagnostic tests, surgery, hospitalization,
special foods, medication and other treatments. However,
please understand that these are only estimates – not
firm price quotes. Why not? Sometimes it is difficult
or impossible to predict how an animal will respond to
treatment or what complications or additional unforeseen
problems may be revealed by starting treatment.
If something unexpected arises
while your pet is hospitalized, we will do our best to
contact you as soon as practical, with an updated prognosis
and cost estimate.
Payment
Yes! We do ask for payment in full at the time of treatment. This helps us
all in two ways: First, prompt payment helps us keep our fees as low as
possible. Second, prompt payments allow us to go ahead look after the health
care of all our patients when they need it, rather than having to pause
and deal with some prior late payment or unpaid balance.
An itemized receipt will be
issued detailing all services. Payment options available
include cash, check, credit cards, hold checks, and pet
health insurance.
We also offer a payment plan
called the Good Health Easy Payment
Plan, that can be used for preventive health care,
annual check ups and certain surgeries. Please see below
for more.
Deposits
If your pet is admitted due to an accident, illness or injury, or if your pet
is boarding with us for more than two weeks, we must ask for a deposit.
This is 33% or $200, whichever is the greater, and is
due at the time of admission.
We are not being heartless
or difficult, just practical, and it does reduce the burden
of having to make one big, overall payment.
All unpaid balances are subject
to a monthly billing and financing fee equal to 1.5% of
the unpaid balance.
Remember, we welcome the opportunity
to discuss and clarify any financial concerns that may
threaten to get in the way of your pets health care. Please
feel free to speak to one of our Client Service Assistants
or read through our “Financial Policies”
pamphlet.
Good
Health Easy Payment Plan
In order to make it easier for pet owners to provide their pets with life enhancing
annual check ups, preventive health care, and important surgeries, we have
developed a simple program that allows the cost of a pet’s annual physical
exam, vaccinations, recommended diagnostic screening tests and certain preventive
surgical procedures (e.g., spays, neuters) to be spread over six months. This
program is called the Good Health Easy Payment Plan. More
information is available here.
Patient
Updates & Progress Reports
When ever a pet is hospitalized, the attending doctor or a hospital team member
will attempt to contact the pet’s owner with an update, once the pet has settled
in and some preliminary results become available.
When ever a pet is hospitalized
for more than 48 hours and/or the attending doctor is unable
to reach the pet's owner, it becomes the pet owner's responsibility
to call the hospital at least once every 48 hours to inquire
as to the medical status of the pet and the fees incurred
for medical services up to that day.
When a pet is admitted for
surgery, a hospital team member will attempt to contact
the pet's owner after the pet’s surgery is finished, so
that needless worry is avoided.
Of course, pet owners are
always welcome to call in themselves to check on hospitalized
or admitted pets or those in for surgery. Our telephones
are staffed during regular business hours, Monday through
Friday, with reduced hours on the weekend.
If a change, problem or concern
about your pet’s condition arises, we will attempt to contact
you no matter the time of day.
Please be sure to leave
a valid contact telephone number and disable any call
forwarding or call blocking services.
Special
Care
Hospitalized
pets are monitored continuously by trained veterinary nurses
and evaluated as often as indicated by the attending doctor.
Occasionally, your pet’s doctor may need to take your pet
home for observation through the night or to maybe to continue
treatments. As there is, naturally, a cost for doing this,
we do it as seldom as possible. However, we do take our responsibilities
very seriously, so when it becomes necessary we will gladly
give up a little more of our time.
Visiting
and Keeping Track
Hours can seem like days when a loved one is sick, hospitalized or having surgery.
We understand completely, and we know from experience that visits from friends
and family often seems to speed up recovery, or at the very least, make everyone
feel better. So, please feel free to visit your pet.
The day of surgery, however,
is not a good time for visitation. Why not? Well, your
pet will still be recovering from anesthesia and very likely
under the influence of pain killers or connected to intravenous
lines or electronic vital signs monitors etc. It can all
be a bit unsettling and probably doesn't benefit the pet
very much.
Otherwise, come on in! We
prefer to limit family visits to the hours between 10:30
am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm, Monday through Friday, and
10:30 am – 12 pm on Saturdays. We do not maintain visiting
hours on Sundays. We request that visitors limit their
stays to no more than 30 minutes each day .
Please call ahead if you plan
to visit. Most pets are excitable little critters at the
best of times. Therefore, visits need a little preparation
and perhaps a little patience. Most often, we’ll bring
your pet to an examination room with any equipment and
monitors that may be needed. If your pet must be kept still
or under constant treatment, we will take you through to
the kennel or ICU area, provided no other patients are
being treated at the time.
Please do be aware that veterinary
care during nighttime hours and/or weekends is provided
at the discretion of the attending veterinarian. The continuous
presence of veterinary personnel generally is not provided
during these hours.
Patient
Release - Going home at last!
You and your pet can’t wait to jump in the car and race off. Whoa! Please spare
a little time for a patient release discussion. This is so very important because
that’s when we can discuss and explain the treatment your pet has just had,
review dietary recommendations, home care instructions, and medications and
ease any concerns you may have. Pets are released or discharged during regular
business hours only.
Because of our hours of operation,
the person who meets with you during your pet’s release
may not be your pet’s regular attending veterinarian. Nevertheless,
he or she will be fully aware of the situation. If you
have specific questions or concerns please call and speak
to your pet’s attending veterinarian directly.
Rechecks
- Come back and see us!
This is not just for fun; it is very, very important that we re-evaluate some
pets after certain illnesses, surgeries, treatments or hospitalization. This
is especially true for very sick pets and pets requiring orthopedic surgery
or repair of broken bones with splints or casts.
Outpatient recheck appointments
are only about $34.
Generally, there are no additional
office-call or examination fees charged for the first two
(2) recheck appointments for pets that have had surgery with
us. Any tests, treatments or medications dispensed during
those first two re-check appointments will be charged at
regular price. Please be aware that some pets may require
more than two follow up visits after their original surgery,
treatment, or hospitalization. In these cases, the costs
of any further or additional recheck appointments and the
costs associated with any tests, treatments, or medications
are also charged at regular price.
For more information on this,
please see the pamphlet, "Financial
Policies."
Pet Boarding
Boarding
Reservations and Priority
You don't have to be a regular client of the Chastain Veterinary Medical Group
to board your pet with us, but it does help. Our boarding facilities are finite,
so we give priority in boarding to our regular clients. So plan ahead! Otherwise
this could become an issue for non-client boarders around the major holidays,
such as Christmas, Memorial Day, Forth of July, etc.
Minimum
immunization and parasite control - Safe, inside and
out, for safety’s sake!
To help prevent the spread of infectious or contagious disease within the hospital,
all pets must be properly and completely immunized.
Minimum immunization
requirements vary by species. Our staff are fully aware
and can explain these to you in detail.
At Chastain Veterinary
Medical Group, we maintain a complete record of the immunizations
of all pets in our care, however, if your pet has been
vaccinated elsewhere, we must ask for proof of vaccination
by noon on the day of hospital admission. Pets overdue
on the minimum required vaccination and those with an unknown
or unproven vaccination history will be vaccinated at the
owner’s expense. Any pets found with internal or external
parasites will also be treated at the owner’s expense.
All boarding
pets must also be free from external or internal parasites
such as fleas, ticks and worms. To help insure that nothing
nasty spreads from one boarding pet to another, all incoming
boarding pets are treated with Capstar™ (nitenpyram).
Though this may sound a bit
strict, it’s not that we’re being heavy handed, we promise!
It’s just that vaccination and freedom from parasites are
so very important for your pet’s health and well being.
Toys & Personal
Items - Those cuddly things!
Yes! We know! Your little friend can’t do without that squeaky toy or that
special blanket, so do go ahead and bring them in. We will try and look after
them too, but please don’t be too upset with us if they go astray or get messed
up.
If you really feel strongly
about leaving something personal and special with your
pet, that is OK, but please understand that we cannot guarantee
the return of personal items like pet toys and favorite
blankets, although we will do our best to keep track of
them.
For simplicity’s sake, we
suggest that you take all leashes, collars and pet carriers
back with you after you’ve dropped your pet off with us.
Trust me; we've already got plenty of those things!
Diet
During your dog or cat's stay with us, he or she will dine on Hill’s Science
Diet™, Hill's Prescription Diet™, or Eukanuba® brand dog
or cat food. They like these foods AND they're good for them. However,
if your pet needs a special diet or you would rather they receive a something
else, please bring it along at the time of admission or boarding check
in.
Boarding something with us
other than a dog or cat? A parrot, turtle, or prairie dog
maybe? Well come on down, but please do be sure to bring
along whatever food items your pet may require during its
stay with us.
Boarding
Pets - Home away from Home!
Just bring your pet – we supply all the usual food and bedding and toys and
leashes – in fact, we have everything your pet will need for a stay with us.
Here are just a few things
you should know about pets spending time away from home.
First of all, diet may vary and behavior and activity levels
may vary. For example, some dogs bark incessantly while
here – talking to each other every waking moment - others
pace all day long and still others remain glued to the
front of the enclosure, taking in all that’s going on around
them. No doubt, the temperature and humidity will be slightly
different from that in your own home. Any or all of these
things can create problems such as sore throat, tonsillitis
or diarrhea. Even with the very best of care and our constant
drive to prevent problems, some problems will sometimes
develop. Because of this, we must reserve the right to
examine and treat any pet that develops an illness while
boarding with us. We feel certain you would expect nothing
less.
We are very proud of our pet
boarding facilities and we invite you to come in and have
a look before you make a decision.
At Chastain Veterinary
Medical Group, we are dedicated to providing the very
best veterinary health care for pets available anywhere.
We welcome any comments or suggestion for improvement
and we take these comments very seriously. Your pet’s
well being is our prime concern and we strive to give
you the satisfaction and enjoyment of a long and healthy
lifetime for your pet.
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