Dear Clients,
In our continued effort to prioritize staff, client, and community safety, we are making the following temporary modifications. These modifications will help enable us to prioritize the treatment of sick patients in need of urgent care over less urgent requests. (This email is a follow up to the one that you received on Friday, March 13. That email is included below this update for your convenience.)
Hours
- New temporary hospital hours are 8:00 am-6:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8:00 am-4:00 pm on Saturday. Rhinebeck Animal Hospital will be closed on Sunday.
Scheduling appointments
- We will be rescheduling non-essential appointments such as annual wellness exams, routine vaccinations, boarding, and bathing for dates in April.
- We will ask clients with scheduled appointments to wait in their vehicles and call us when they arrive in the parking lot. A Client Care Representative will check you in over the telephone. After checking in, a vet assistant or licensed technician will come to your car to retrieve your pet. Your pet will be taken into the hospital for treatment and then returned to you. The doctor will call you after your appointment to review their recommendations and any medications that may be prescribed.
Medication and diet pick up
- Most medications (excluding controlled substances) will be placed in a “self-service” box near the front door. If your pet’s medication is not ready and waiting in the box, please call us and we will bring it to you. You will be given the opportunity to pay for your products and services with a credit card over the telephone.
- If you are picking up your pet's diet, please call us and we will bring it to you. You will be given the opportunity to pay for your products and services with a credit card over the telephone.
Other important details
- Depending on staff availability, a telephone recording may answer the telephone and will provide you with options to speak with a team member, or it will ask you to leave a message so that we can return your call.
- Our Client Care Representatives will be contacting clients with upcoming appointments to ask questions based on public health guidelines to help determine if they should visit the clinic or if we will provide pet care by another means such as telephone. Similarly, if you have a fever and cough, or have reason to believe that you have been exposed to COVID-19, we ask that you call ahead of your pet’s appointment to notify us. This will enable us to take the necessary precautions such as providing pet care by telephone or rescheduling your appointment. It is important that individuals exposed or potentially exposed to COVID-19 not enter the property.
- Please try to maintain six feet of distance from our staff when interacting with them.
- To help stay well, continue to practice social distancing, thorough hand washing, and follow the CDC’s recommendations.
We know that the details outlined above are an inconvenience and they create a barrier between our clients and our team that is unfamiliar. Please understand that we are implementing these items for everyone’s safety and in cooperation with the local health authorities. Thank you for your continued trust in Rhinebeck Animal Hospital. Please feel free to reach out to us by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (845) 876-6008 with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Greg Tumolo, DVM
Medical Director
The following is a copy of the email that was previously sent on Friday, March 13:
The health and safety of our clients and staff, along with providing continuity of care for our patients, is of the utmost importance to us here at Rhinebeck Animal Hospital. We want to update you on the following precautions that we are taking to keep our clients, patients, and staff healthy.
- We are disinfecting all common spaces, floors, doors, and surfaces at regular intervals throughout the day.
- We have always and will continue to have hand sanitizer available in automatic dispensers throughout the hospital.
- We are asking all clients and staff to wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and/or hand sanitize prior to each appointment.
- Our Client Care Representatives will be contacting clients with upcoming appointments to ask questions based on public health guidelines to help determine if they should visit the clinic or if we will provide pet care by another means such as telephone.
- Additionally, if you have a fever and cough or have reason to believe that you have been exposed to COVID-19, we ask that you call ahead of your pet’s appointment to notify us. This will enable us to take the necessary precautions such as providing pet care by telephone or rescheduling your appointment. It is important that individuals exposed or potentially exposed to COVID-19 not enter the hospital.
- We will be rescheduling non-essential appointments such as annual wellness exams, routine vaccinations, boarding, and bathing.
- Our hospital hours will be temporarily shortened to 8:00 am-6:00 pm Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am-4:00 pm. This will allow us to make staffing accommodations as necessary.
- We are currently exploring introducing virtual (telemedicine) appointments.
Please also note, that according to the most up-to-date releases from the Center for Disease Control and the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, companion animals are NOT considered to be at risk for or carriers of current coronavirus, COVID-19. For more information regarding safeguarding against infection, please visit the CDC website.
We value the health and safety of you and your pet and ask for your cooperation with these precautions, as they will benefit us all. We are committed to keeping our hospital clean and safe as we navigate our way through this unprecedented and evolving situation.
Thank you for your continued trust in Rhinebeck Animal Hospital. Please feel free to reach out to us by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (845) 876-6008 with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Greg Tumolo, DVM
Medical Director