The current appointment status
Currently, sick or problem appointments are scheduling out 1-2 weeks and wellness appointments are 2 months. Unfortunately, this progression has been a pattern for the last few years and has become a national crisis in the veterinary community. In order to help alleviate this increased need for veterinary care we have implemented adjustments to our protocols to help accommodate the needs of our patients. Please call 1 – 2 months early to schedule your annual appointments! We have adjusted our automatic reminder system so that exam and vaccine reminders are emailed 45 days in advance. If you already have an appointment, you can disregard that email.
Increased demand and decreased availability
The COVID 19 pandemic caused an unprecedented increase in activity at veterinary practices; during this time there was a marked rise in pet ownership while simultaneously a change in protocols that slowed efficiency and limited the ability to accommodate as many pets. At the same time, pet owners working from home led to earlier detection of illnesses and injuries as they were picking up on signs that may have been missed in the past.
Like other industries, staffing shortage is an ongoing issue in the veterinary world. Unfortunately, there has been a small but growing number of pet owners who take out their frustrations and grief on the veterinary staff, and verbal abuse is not uncommon. Every receptionist, veterinary assistant and technician has sadly experienced verbal abuse from clients. This has led to burn-out and an unprecedented rate of turnover amongst staff and there are simply not enough new qualified applicants to make up for the loss.
What are we doing to improve the situation?
In view of the challenges that we are experiencing and in order to accommodate our patients, we have made multiple changes to our protocols.
We have established a phone tree system to manage the increased daily call load, help with triage, and streamline the many responsibilities of our receptionists. We have received feedback from clients who would prefer to speak with someone directly. While we understand and sympathize with the frustrations, the phone tree helps improve clinic efficiency. Without the phone tree our lines would be constantly busy and urgent calls would go to voicemail.
In an effort to make sure more sick and injured pets are cared for quickly, we have limited the number of wellness appointments we see on a daily basis in order to have more availability for “problem” visits. We are also reserving a few appointment slots for “same day” availability so that we can accommodate urgent care visits.
Additionally, when time, space, and ability allows, we offer “Drop Off” appointments. Based on urgency, we will admit a sick or injured patient for the day so that the doctors can examine and treat the pet between other surgeries and appointments. While we realize this is not ideal for every client, it is sometimes the most efficient way to provide care. Staff will communicate a treatment plan via text, email or call and the patient will be discharged as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience during this process, as timing may be unpredictable and out of our control.
Finally, we have implemented a non-refundable charge for missed appointments in an attempt to curb wasted time slots. We also require a deposit for multi-pet appointments to ensure large blocks of time are properly utilized. Please understand that these are hospital policies and do not take frustrations out on our staff for enforcing them.
What can you do to help?
Preventative care is the best care for your pet and can help avoid more complicated illness and injury!
- Ensure your pets stay on preventative medications like heartworm and flea and tick treatment
- Vaccinate your pet from preventable diseases
- Spay and neuter to avoid illness and cancer later in life
- Avoid obesity as it leads to diabetes and painful, chronic mobility issues
- Keep pets safely and properly contained when they are not supervised to avoid injuries, stomach upset, and toxicities
Keep in mind that we receive lots of phone calls every day, and while our phone tree system has helped us sort through the calls and prioritize based on urgency, we are still struggling to keep up with the volume of calls and cannot always return all phone calls within 24 hrs. Texting (585-889-8340) or emailing (riversidepetrecords@gmail.com
If your pet is sick but it’s not an emergency, call us to make an appointment and we will do our best to get you in as soon as possible, but keep in mind we may sometimes have to refer you to a local urgent care facility. Please bear in mind that these facilities are not immune to the time and staffing strains. At Riverside, we share your concern about lack of availability for emergency and specialty care and sympathize on a professional and personal level. If you have ever received a 9 PM call from Dr. Velez, or 2 AM email from Dr. Mueller, you understand their dedication.
Please remember to be kind to our staff – frustration and anxiety at the situation is understandable but taking that anger out on the staff is never acceptable, especially during times like these when we are trying to handle the overflow as best as we can. A little compassion goes a long way.
October 17th-October 21st is National Veterinary Technician Week! We take this time to honor our technicians and our entire staff for their commitment to compassionate high-quality veterinary care. We celebrate and recognize the valuable contributions that they bring to our practice.
Current available urgent care, emergency and specialty options:
** PLEASE CALL AHEAD FOR AVAILABILITY**
- Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services (VSES) 585-424-1277
– Closed to intakes between 10 PM to 6 AM - Animal Immediate Care (AIC) 585-684-7901
- Ark Urgent Care 585-487-8700
- Animal Urgent Care 585-442-6915
- Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center 716-662-6660
- Green Acres Veterinary Center Tonawanda 716-694-0122
- Veterinary Medical Center of Central NY 315-853-2408
– Closed from Friday 2 AM through Sunday 8 AM - Urgent Veterinary Care in Auburn 315-515-3074
- Upstate Veterinary Specialists in Latham 518-783-3198
- Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital 607-253-3060
- Lap of Love in-home euthanasia 585-563-5993
