FAQs
Operational Procedures
How do I know if my pet has an emergency?
Our receptionists are trained to handle all incoming phone calls to help clients determine whether their pet has a serious medical problem that requires immediate care. If your pet is bleeding, weak, unresponsive, having difficulty breathing, is seizuring, has sustained trauma or ingested/been exposed to a medication/toxin, Is not eating or drinking, having difficulty urinating, vomiting or having profuse diarrhea you may want to consider a visit to our emergency service if your regular veterinarian is not available to evaluate your pet. You know your pet better than anyone - if you are ever concerned about your pet’s health, do not hesitate to bring your pet to our emergency service for evaluation.
What will happen when I come into the emergency room?
The emergency nursing staff will immediately triage all incoming patients to determine if your pet requires immediate stabilizing medical treatment and to prioritize medical care, similar to a human ER. Any patients with life-threatening emergencies will be immediately brought into the treatment area, where the emergency clinician performs a physical examination and provides emergency stabilization. We may ask you to sign a “consent to treat” form at this point in time while your pet is being stabilized. A doctor, nurse or student will come out as soon as possible to give you an update on your pet’s condition.
Patients are seen on a medical priority basis. Waiting times for clients can range from one to four hours depending on the caseload at the time of presentation. A student will obtain a full history from you and examine your pet. The doctor in charge of your pet’s care will then discuss with you the treatment options for you pet. We will try to work with you to best treat the needs of your pet while keeping your family’s budget in mind. Patients seen by the Emergency Service can be transferred within the hospital to the appropriate department between 7–8 a.m. the following day or transferred to their local veterinarian by 12 noon the following day for ongoing care or discharged to go home from the Emergency Service
Will you work with my veterinarian?
Of course! Our goal is to provide the best care for your pet while keeping your regular veterinarian involved in the process. We will send a case summary to your veterinarian upon discharge so that they are aware of the care that we provided for your pet. In addition, we will personally phone your veterinarian to discuss treatment plans and to coordinate care between our hospital and theirs. We do not provide routine preventative health care through the emergency service, as we do not want to take away from your regular veterinarian’s role in your pet’s care.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept cash, personal check, VISA, Mastercard, and Discover. If a payment plan is necessary, we offer Care Credit, which can be applied for over the phone or via the internet while at our hospital.
How do I get to your hospital?
The address to our hospital is 3900 Delancey Street—Delancey Street is 1 block south of Spruce St. It is easiest to access our hospital from Spruce St. where it intersects with 39th Street.
We have
parking available at our hospital 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. During the day, Monday through Friday, a parking attendant is on duty to help facilitate parking on hospital grounds. After routine business hours and on weekends, you can park in available parking spots on 39
th Street leading to the hospital or in either of the two lots on the left while driving down 39
th Street toward the hospital.