Veterinarians keep offices open, still treating sick patients but with caution
The Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association is encouraging veterinarians to continue caring for pets but advising them to distance themselves from the people who own the animals. Routine office visits and elective surgeries, including spay and neuter operations, should be postponed to conserve masks, gloves and gowns, which are the same supplies needed by medical doctors during the coronavirus crisis.
Most, if not all veterinarians in the Pittsburgh area are continuing to treat sick animals, but they are trying to distance themselves from owners. Staff are bringing sick pets into hospitals and clinics, but owners are staying in their cars for the most part.
Veterinarians cannot get coronavirus from animals, but they could get the virus from pet owners. And, veterinarians and pet owners cannot transmit the virus to animals.
The state veterinary association told the nearly 2,000 members in a Thursday night conference call that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has said veterinarians are providing “essential” and “life-sustaining” services, so are not being ordered to shut down their offices.
“Animals are still getting sick. We cannot let animals suffer,” said Lawrence Gerson, a past president of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association. “But we worry about our staff” at the Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic in Pittsburgh, so operations have switched “to drop-off service.”
Twenty animals were treated Thursday by Dr. Gerson and his daughter, veterinarian Stephanie Berger, and other staff. Three of the pets might have died without timely veterinary care, he said. Included in “essential care” would be puppies who need vaccinations against parvo virus and other
diseases that could kill them, he said.
If veterinarians closed their facilities, emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals that operate 24 hours a day could not provide care to all the animals that would need it, Dr. Gerson said.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a huge increase in business at VetNOW in Southpointe, Washington County, because it puts “general practitioner” veterinarians in touch with veterinary specialists via computers and the internet.
Two years ago veterinarian Apryle Horbal of Mt. Lebanon founded the company that she says provides “telemedicine” and “virtual pet care.” It has enabled pet owners to get all the care they need in their own vet’s office with no need to transport an animal to a specialty facility. In the unanticipated coronavirus situation, that is helpful because veterinary specialists are still dealing with the usual heavy workloads, she said.
VetNOW has developed software that allows veterinarians to communicate online and to share and transmit medical records, X-rays, MRIs and other data.
For at least the next 45 days, VetNOW services will be free to veterinarians, said Dr. Horbal, who also owns City Vets on the South Side of Pittsburgh.
“It’s nice to be able to do something positive in this situation,” she said.
The websites of area veterinary facilities that provide 24/7 emergency services are reporting they are open. That includes Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Ohio Township and Washington, MedVet Pittsburgh in Peters, and Avets in Monroeville.
The websites advise clients to call from the parking lot.
Other veterinary offices are advising clients to call ahead of arriving and to stay in the parking lot while staff evaluates the situations. Some cases can be handled in the parking lot, including staff handing over prescription medications and food.
Dr. Horbal said VetNOW is getting communications from veterinarians all over the world. Some specialty vets have chosen to “shelter in place” in their clinics and hospitals rather than in their own homes.
The pavma.org website has information for veterinarians and pet owners, as do the websites of local veterinarians. Many general practitioners have modified their hours.