Updates From dr. farrington
11/28/22
Hey everyone,
I hope everyone is staying well and again, want to thank everyone for their patience as we navigate the current veterinary climate. According to the AVMA, there are roughly 12 positions available for every graduating vet student in the country, and roughly 15-20% of veterinarians have either retired or left private practice in the last 3 years, so I am sorry to say, I do not see us hiring up in the near future, though we are still actively trying. Fortunately, Dr. Roman will be back on Mondays and Thursdays to help us out at least until the Summer, and Dr. Ceri Sveilich will also be available to assist when Dr. Coates or I take time off.
In order to allow both Dr. Coates and I to be able to spend time with family that are not close by for Christmas, I have made the very difficult decision that we will be closing the clinic from December 22nd to December 28th, and on Monday, January 2nd following New Years. I understand that this will be difficult, and a very great inconvenience, and I am sorry.
I ask that any family with pet’s that are going to be in need of medication refills, PLEASE make sure we get the requests at LEAST a week before we close. During those days before we close, I anticipate being very busy seeing sick patients, and I will be the only doctor available to approve prescriptions, so the priority will be for medications for patients with chronic illness.
If your pet does have a medical emergency while we are closed, you should call:
Ocean State -401-886-6787
Baystate -508-379-1233
Tufts Walpole -508-668-5454
Tufts Grafton – 508-839-5395
Mass RI Emergency – 508-730-1112
Please keep in mind, they will likely only be taking life threatening emergencies.
We will not be booking any appointments for the Thursday or Friday after Christmas until we open, so that we will have plenty of availability, but we will be triaging calls.
We will be collecting Toys for Tots again this year. The last day for drop will be 12/20 so that I can get everything down to Providence Post Office in time. We are also taking donations for the Rhode Island Food Bank. You can either make a financial contribution to the organization online at rifoodbank.org, or you can drop off canned or dry goods, or a financial contribution at the clinic. Every year, this clinic donates 2% of profits to groups such as the Rhode Island Food Bank, Providence Animal Rescue, Fisher House for Veterans in Boston, and the Dana Farber Cancer Research Center. This year, we have also added the World Central Kitchen, given the national and global natural and military disasters that have placed so many in such dire need. At this time our Clothes to Go Pantry will not be taking clothing donations. If you have clothing you’d like to donate, most churches in your area have a donation system in place to help those in need. If you are interested in supporting any of these organizations, please visit their websites that I have listed below.
Rhode Island Food Bank – www.rifoodbank.org
Providence Animal Rescue League – www.parl.org
Toys for Tots – www.toysfortots.org
Fisher House – www.fisherhouseboston.org
Dana Farber – www.danafarber.jimmyfund.org
World Central Kitchen – www.wck.org
Finally, we will be continuing to ask folks to wear masks within the clinic. While this is indirectly about Covid, it is more about staffing issues. We have found that since we started implementing masks within the clinic, we are seeing fewer people getting ill enough to need to call out, and when they do come in sick, it isn’t spreading through the clinic. As a result, we are seeing FAR fewer multiple same day call outs. Prior to last year, we had enough support staff that we could keep a shift open even when we were down 2 or 3 support staff. This is no longer the case. If we have three call outs on the same day, we have to cancel non urgent appointments, and I am trying REALLY hard NOT to have to do that.
However, you no longer have to call from the parking lot, you can check in directly in the waiting room, and we are allowing two people in with each visit. Any extra family members are welcome to wait in the waiting room. Anyone who would prefer curbside care or to wait in their car is welcome to do so, just call in to check in and let us know what is best for you and your pet.
We are also working very hard to consolidate vaccinations again, so that healthy pet’s do not need to be seen by a doctor more than once a year. While it is still a work in progress, and you will likely get multiple reminders, we will be checking in to try to ensure that if your pet is going to be due for a booster in the near future, and is HEALTHY enough to be vaccinated, we will do so during a problem visit. HOWEVER, if you pet requires treatments that would compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine, or is too compromised to risk vaccination, we will NOT VACCINATE, but may decide that vaccinations are possible at any follow up visit. IF a pet is determined to be healthy enough during a scheduled problem appointment to be vaccinated, the charge for that exam will still reflect the cost FOR the problem exam as scheduled.
Also, I beg of you NOT to call and schedule a problem appointment for the sole purpose of getting your pet vaccinated without having to wait for a Wellness exam. Problem appointments are allotted more time to allow the Doctor to address your concerns and your pet’s condition, and they are in VERY SHORT supply compared to the demand. Every time someone does that, they take a slot away from a pet that may need it, or worse, may force us to refer someone to an emergency clinic, that could have been seen here had that appointment NOT been taken for a vaccination slot. We have a cancelation list available for those who need sooner appointments, and it works pretty well at getting folks in that need to be seen sooner to stay up to date. IF you pet is not due for a few months, please do not ask to be seen sooner, but I would STRONGLY recommend calling sooner than later for appointments. We will continue to provide wellness exams on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and with Dr. Roman’s return, we will be adding morning problem appointments and afternoon wellness exams on Mondays and Thursdays starting in mid-January.
Hey everyone,
I hope everyone is staying well and again, want to thank everyone for their patience as we navigate the current veterinary climate. According to the AVMA, there are roughly 12 positions available for every graduating vet student in the country, and roughly 15-20% of veterinarians have either retired or left private practice in the last 3 years, so I am sorry to say, I do not see us hiring up in the near future, though we are still actively trying. Fortunately, Dr. Roman will be back on Mondays and Thursdays to help us out at least until the Summer, and Dr. Ceri Sveilich will also be available to assist when Dr. Coates or I take time off.
In order to allow both Dr. Coates and I to be able to spend time with family that are not close by for Christmas, I have made the very difficult decision that we will be closing the clinic from December 22nd to December 28th, and on Monday, January 2nd following New Years. I understand that this will be difficult, and a very great inconvenience, and I am sorry.
I ask that any family with pet’s that are going to be in need of medication refills, PLEASE make sure we get the requests at LEAST a week before we close. During those days before we close, I anticipate being very busy seeing sick patients, and I will be the only doctor available to approve prescriptions, so the priority will be for medications for patients with chronic illness.
If your pet does have a medical emergency while we are closed, you should call:
Ocean State -401-886-6787
Baystate -508-379-1233
Tufts Walpole -508-668-5454
Tufts Grafton – 508-839-5395
Mass RI Emergency – 508-730-1112
Please keep in mind, they will likely only be taking life threatening emergencies.
We will not be booking any appointments for the Thursday or Friday after Christmas until we open, so that we will have plenty of availability, but we will be triaging calls.
We will be collecting Toys for Tots again this year. The last day for drop will be 12/20 so that I can get everything down to Providence Post Office in time. We are also taking donations for the Rhode Island Food Bank. You can either make a financial contribution to the organization online at rifoodbank.org, or you can drop off canned or dry goods, or a financial contribution at the clinic. Every year, this clinic donates 2% of profits to groups such as the Rhode Island Food Bank, Providence Animal Rescue, Fisher House for Veterans in Boston, and the Dana Farber Cancer Research Center. This year, we have also added the World Central Kitchen, given the national and global natural and military disasters that have placed so many in such dire need. At this time our Clothes to Go Pantry will not be taking clothing donations. If you have clothing you’d like to donate, most churches in your area have a donation system in place to help those in need. If you are interested in supporting any of these organizations, please visit their websites that I have listed below.
Rhode Island Food Bank – www.rifoodbank.org
Providence Animal Rescue League – www.parl.org
Toys for Tots – www.toysfortots.org
Fisher House – www.fisherhouseboston.org
Dana Farber – www.danafarber.jimmyfund.org
World Central Kitchen – www.wck.org
Finally, we will be continuing to ask folks to wear masks within the clinic. While this is indirectly about Covid, it is more about staffing issues. We have found that since we started implementing masks within the clinic, we are seeing fewer people getting ill enough to need to call out, and when they do come in sick, it isn’t spreading through the clinic. As a result, we are seeing FAR fewer multiple same day call outs. Prior to last year, we had enough support staff that we could keep a shift open even when we were down 2 or 3 support staff. This is no longer the case. If we have three call outs on the same day, we have to cancel non urgent appointments, and I am trying REALLY hard NOT to have to do that.
However, you no longer have to call from the parking lot, you can check in directly in the waiting room, and we are allowing two people in with each visit. Any extra family members are welcome to wait in the waiting room. Anyone who would prefer curbside care or to wait in their car is welcome to do so, just call in to check in and let us know what is best for you and your pet.
We are also working very hard to consolidate vaccinations again, so that healthy pet’s do not need to be seen by a doctor more than once a year. While it is still a work in progress, and you will likely get multiple reminders, we will be checking in to try to ensure that if your pet is going to be due for a booster in the near future, and is HEALTHY enough to be vaccinated, we will do so during a problem visit. HOWEVER, if you pet requires treatments that would compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine, or is too compromised to risk vaccination, we will NOT VACCINATE, but may decide that vaccinations are possible at any follow up visit. IF a pet is determined to be healthy enough during a scheduled problem appointment to be vaccinated, the charge for that exam will still reflect the cost FOR the problem exam as scheduled.
Also, I beg of you NOT to call and schedule a problem appointment for the sole purpose of getting your pet vaccinated without having to wait for a Wellness exam. Problem appointments are allotted more time to allow the Doctor to address your concerns and your pet’s condition, and they are in VERY SHORT supply compared to the demand. Every time someone does that, they take a slot away from a pet that may need it, or worse, may force us to refer someone to an emergency clinic, that could have been seen here had that appointment NOT been taken for a vaccination slot. We have a cancelation list available for those who need sooner appointments, and it works pretty well at getting folks in that need to be seen sooner to stay up to date. IF you pet is not due for a few months, please do not ask to be seen sooner, but I would STRONGLY recommend calling sooner than later for appointments. We will continue to provide wellness exams on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and with Dr. Roman’s return, we will be adding morning problem appointments and afternoon wellness exams on Mondays and Thursdays starting in mid-January.