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Clients of Pet Care Clinic,
I have provided emergency care for my patients during my entire 36 year career. The past 13 years, we have shared after-hours emergency duties with Greentown Animal Hospital and Jefferson Road Animal Hospital. It is with a heavy heart that I announce:
We will no longer be offering after-hours emergency visits effective September 30th.
The market for associate veterinarians has been limited and competitive in the past few years. As a result, is has been difficult attracting veterinary professionals to communities, like ours, that rely on most veterinary practices to provide normal daily care plus after-hours emergency care. Many of the new veterinary graduates cannot fulfill the duties of daily practice and emergency duties combined. As my generation of practitioners near retirement, we have to make changes now to ensure our patients, current and future, have a means of obtaining emergency care.
We are fortunate to be within one hour of four different 24/7 emergency clinics for critical patient needs. However, many of the calls we receive during hours we are closed simply require advice or determination of the urgency of care. With that in mind, we have chosen to employ GuardianVets to help with after-hours concerns. This service does not have a cost to you; it is a service we pay for on your behalf in our continued effort to find ways to meet our clients’ and patients’ needs.
Starting September 30th, when you call our clinic after business hours, you can select an option to talk to GuardianVets licensed veterinary nurses. While GuardianVets cannot directly prescribe medications or treatments, they will help navigate your concerns and direct you, if needed, to an appropriate emergency hospital. All calls will be logged and transmitted to our staff here at Pet Care Clinic on the next business day so you can rest assured we remain in the loop about your pet’s medical care.
If you have questions about this new service, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Hiss, D.V.M.
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I have been fortunate not to have any after-hour emergencies, but it is sad not to have this service. Im sure this was a very difficult decision. Dr. Hiss, you and your staff, (we miss Caleb) are caring and friendly to work with. Thank you all for your many years of commitment and care. We will be happy to work within your new work parameters.
ReplyThank you for recognizing that this decision was not an easy one. We strive to provide exemplary care and appreciate your recognition of our efforts. (and p.s. we all miss Kaleb too!)
ReplyUnfortunately you have to do what you have to do
ReplyThank you for taking the time to provide feedback. We know how difficult a change like this is for our clients.
ReplyI truly understand the reasons why, but disappointed that in an actual emergency I could not get care in my community and would be at risk of death for my pet by driving an hour away. I respect your decision and will continue to be a responsible pet owner to prevent such emergencies .
ReplyWe understand the disappointment. We too wish that a pet never had a wait a second more than needed for care. The veterinary world is always changing and one day perhaps we’ll be fortunate enough to see the change that brings more DVMs that can fulfill the needs of 24/7 care locally. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
ReplySo are neither Greentown or Jefferson Rd providing emergency care? I’m saddened to hear this as I’ve used emergency care for 2 of my babies that have since passed. I think what bothers me most is IF someone’s pet is critical an hour away might just be too long.
ReplyTo our current knowledge, all clinics in Kokomo will be guiding their clients to one of the 24/7 ER hospitals. At this time all of the ER facilities are located outside of Kokomo. We greatly appreciate the trust you placed in us with your pets and understand your concerns for the future.
ReplyI understand and will support your decision, good luck
ReplyComments & support like yours is more than appreciated.
ReplyI want to thank you for your loyal and over-the-top service for 36 years! My family has counted on you and your team for over 33 years to take care of our pets. Thank you again for taking a tough decision and making it work out to the best possible service for your patients and their concerned families. You come through…as always! Blessings to you all for your care and kindnesses! The McKinley family and pet family
ReplyThank you so much for the years of support and trust. We realize how many choices our clients have in receiving care for their pets. It touches our hearts to have the dedication we have.
ReplyThank you for providing us GuardianVets! We love each and everyone of you at Pet Care Clinic. You all are awesome , and lord knows we’ve had our share of pet emergencies lol. Thanks again for all the love and care you and your staff have shown our pets. See you all later today lol ! Love , The McMahan Clan Daisy ,Lucy, Gretta , Nevaeh and Gypsy. 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾💜💜💜💜💜‼️‼️
ReplyIt’s been a privilege to provide care the times we have. Thank you for the continued support.
ReplyDr. Hiss, you have been my vet since you began your practice here. I have had emergency care on a few occasions. I can understand your decision . I only hope I never need special hour care. You treat our pets as people. Not animals. I have always loved you and always will. I know , God willing, I will still be seeing you. You are the greatest. Thanks for being my vet!
ReplyThank you for the very, very kind words. Our clients mean the world to us all here.
ReplyHey, I certainly understand, and don’t blame you for making the necessary changes to your practice. We none of us are getting any younger, and you are not leaving us “high and dry.” We respect your decision and hope it works out well all the way around. Thanks for being who you are.
ReplyThank you for the compassion and respect!
ReplySorry to hear this.. but I understand!
ReplyWe appreciate your understanding more than you could know.
ReplyI appreciate you when Louise was so sick and that I could use the service you provided. I understand what you are saying because it takes away from your family and leisure time. I work out of Kokomo and that’s why I used it because I knew she had to be seen. And i don’t get back in town until 5:30 pm and i leave Kokomo at 6:30-7 am. I appreciate that you have the emergency care vet. Thank you for your service. I will still use you for my pets for their shots and any other issues. I will just have to take off when I need them which I should be within the next month or so. Again thank you for being such a great person and care so much for pets.
ReplyThank you for the great professional and personal compliments. Your support is appreciated.
ReplyI have loved & respected Dr. Hiss for 36 years. However, I don’t really understand. I never thought of him as one who follows the pack. Customer service gets less & less all of the time-you know less hours & service & higher costs. Thank you for the opportunity to vent!
ReplyWe appreciate your thoughts and want to engage with our clients’ concerns. I’ll work hard to address those that you listed. The blog/letter from Dr. Hiss explains the veterinary world and the doctors in it have changed and are ever changing. After 36 years of providing after-hours ER services, Dr. Hiss is not in a position to be the single veterinarian in Kokomo providing emergency care past normal business hours. This is less about following the pack and more about what is truly feasible and healthy for him on both a professional and personal level. We believe in and stand behind our fee structure as being representative of the level of care, amount of attention, and quality of medicine our patients receive. Should you feel that the service offered you did not meet your expectations, please call and ask to speak with the manager so that your concerns can be heard and understood. Thank you again for the feedback.
ReplyI totally understand the need you felt to make this decision and appreciate you doing it proactively rather than being in a “crunch time” mode to figure out how to accommodate a changing environment. Living so near, I know you and your staff stay until the “day’s work is done”. I also know I have received calls as late as 8 p.m. to give test results, etc. I so appreciate the thorough and loving care you have given and will continue to give all our fur babies. Also, I hope you’re able to pass on to Caleb how much your patients love and miss him but wish him well in his new endeavors!
ReplyThank you for recognizing the efforts of our team as a whole. It means a lot to hear this. We are going to continue working hard in all the ways you mentioned. (p.s. Kaleb misses everyone too and is overwhelmed by everyone’s continued positive thoughts!)
ReplyWe appreciate Pet Care Clinic & Dr Hiss & staff very much. We also understand the necessity of this decision but it is scary. Is there anyway to learn addresses of the emergency clinics and whom you might recommend should the need arise?
ReplyWe appreciate you right back, and you are right, worst case scenarios are scary to think about. We are working on having all new information on our website, texting, voicemail, blog, social media and even on the bottom on your invoices here at the clinic. We didn’t want to confuse anyone with our current services that are still ongoing until the 30th. The four hospitals we will be referring to are: MedVet Indy (Carmel), Purdue (Lafayette), VCA Northwood (Anderson), and VCA Advanced Care (Fishers).
ReplyThank you so much. Just knowing is a comfort. God bless.
ReplyOur veterinarians and staff love what they do for a living. Click below to learn about each of our incredible staff members.
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