Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center

Please join us in welcoming Andrea Blake to OPVMC as our new Client Services Manager. Andrea started here at the end of August and is working hard to improve the client experience at OPVMC, especially in light of how busy it has been during the past 7 months of COVID-19. Many projects and process improvements are on the horizon and some have already been put into place, especially in hopes of decreasing wait times both in person and on the phone. More to follow on these in the days ahead. Andrea has been working in client services and process improvement for over 6 years and has an educational background that includes a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology as well as a Master’s degree in Biology. She is excited to be part of the OPVMC team to assist our Client Services Department and all clients' needs.

FYI Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper September 21 at 8:13 PM · WARNING: Today our staff identified a cyanobacteria bloom again in Hyde Park Lake. This type of algae bloom could make pets and humans very sick. AVOID the water at Hyde Park; no paddling, no fishing, no swimming (especially dogs). To learn where other algae blooms have been recorded in WNY check out: https://bnwaterkeeper.org/harmful-algal-bloom

Yesterday we celebrated Dr. Stacy Dralle-Rickwald's 10 year anniversary at OPVMC! The one and only Dr. Dralle-Rickwald (who also goes by Dr. Dralle to many clients and staff) is one of five practice partners here at OPVMC. She started in 2010 and we are lucky to have her skill and expertise on our team! Dr. Dralle-Rickwald's passions at work are emergency medicine and caring for hospitalized patients. CONGRATULATIONS Dr. Dralle! We are looking forward to the next 10 and many more. We are lucky to have you on our team!

To our neighbors here in Orchard Park, NY, the Buffalo Bills, have a great season! Stay healthy! Go Bills!

**Attention OPVMC PRIMARY CARE Clients** Changes to OPVMC's PRIMARY CARE Appointment Availability: Dear Valued OPVMC Client, We hope that this post finds you safe, healthy and well. We also hope that you and your family have been surviving these unprecedented times that are COVID-19. At OPVMC we have never been busier and we, as always, appreciate your trust and support in us. We continue to serve you and your pets to the best of our abilities in these challenging times. If there is any word that describes our approach to what veterinary medicine looks like during these times, especially the client services aspect, it is adaptability. The past 6 months and counting have kept us on our toes, constantly changing our game plan, sometimes calling audibles on the fly in order to best serve our clients and patients, and also very importantly keep our staff and the public as safe as possible as we see more patients than we ever have, especially on emergency and critical care. To those of you that have experienced the resulting longer wait times both in person and on the phone, we appreciate your patience and understanding. This bothers us at least as much as it does you. To those that have given us feedback during this time we appreciate your input as it has helped us make changes in hopes of better serving everyone. IMPORTANT: Effective September 14.2020, we are making some changes to better serve our PRIMARY CARE clients. The changes are as follows: 1) We will now have a dedicated URGENT CARE doctor every day. This doctor will focus on those pets that have problems that, while not critical emergencies, need to be seen sooner rather than later. As a primary care client, you are welcome to use this service when you are unable to wait for a later appointment and will be prioritized in the queue. Typical patients that will be seen on this service would include patients that need an isolated non-critical problem evaluated - check ears, check skin, check nails, vaccines needed for up-and-coming travel/boarding, etc. There may still be a wait for this service. 2) The other TEMPORARY change that we have instituted is in addition to adding an urgent care doctor, we will be adjusting many of our veterinarians schedules so that we will have more doctors seeing EMERGENCIES on a daily basis in hopes to decrease the ever present lengthy wait times. This temporary change will help us best treat our patients, serve the community and try and prioritize our primary care clients. As always, we are open 24/7 for emergencies, so should your pets need our services during off hours, we will still see them without hesitation. As a primary care client you will not be charged an emergency fee between the hours of 9am and 4pm Monday through Friday. Thank you for your patience and understanding, for the trust you place in us and for the opportunity to be a part of your pet's health care team. If you have any questions about these changes call the hospital at 716.662.6660 and ask to speak with our Hospital Administrator, Allison Raffaele, or a member of our management team. Thank you, stay safe and enjoy the rest of your summer! Sincerely, Kevin Kumrow, DVM, DACVIM-Medical Director, Practice Partner Stacy Dralle-Rickwald, DVM-Practice Partner Paul Kloc, DVM-Practice Partner Michael Rickwald, DVM-Practice Partner Katherine Zawadzki, DVM-Practice Partner

#neverforget #9/11

On Friday we said good luck and see you soon to Dr. Emily Rabener who has accepted a position elsewhere as a traveling relief veterinarian. We truly enjoyed working with you Dr. Rabener for the past (nearly) 6 years! Thank you for your contributions to OPVMC during your tenure here, for your kindness, your creative spirit both at work and away from work, for being part of our team and for being uniquely you. We wish you all the best in all that you do, and of course May the Force Be With You!

Happy National Veterinary Technicians Week! Thank you to all of our Veterinary Assistants and Licensed Veterinary Technicians. You are the heart of our patient care and one of the many reasons why OPVMC has such a great, long standing reputation. 2020 has really pushed us to limits to provide superior veterinary care to our patients but we have prevailed! It is by far the hardest year we have had at OPVMC given all the new COVID regulations, increase in the number of patients and the over all general stress of the pandemic. Did you know that OPVMC employs almost 120 Veterinary Assistants and Licensed Veterinary Technicians combined? It's true! Out of a staff of nearly 200 they comprise the biggest portion. Many of them have been here at OPVMC for more than 20 and 30 years and even a couple that were here for over 40 years who retired within the last few years! In New York State all technicians must be licensed and must also complete an additional 24 hours of continuing education (CE) for every 3 year licensure period. Technicians often get asked what do you do? It's a hard question to answer because the list of what we do is so long and since no two days are alike, especially in a 24/7 emergency/referral practice such as our, it changes often. At OPVMC vet techs are a combination of, but not limited to, the following: nurse, radiology technician, dental hygienist, anesthetist, phlebotomist, laboratory tech, ICU nurse, OR/surgery nurse, ER nurse, labor and delivery nurse, pharmacy technician, caretaker, triage nurse, phone triage nurse, client educator, client service rep, counselor, etc. etc. Our technicians play a key role in making the orders that the veterinarians request for their patients, a reality. In doing so the doctors can then focus on seeing more patients and providing comprehensive care to them knowing that they are in good hands. Our veterinary assistants also play a vital role in taking care of our patients and clients in addition to helping both our licensed technicians and veterinarians do their jobs as well. So this week we thank you all for all that you do and all that you are to this hospital. To learn more: https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/evr_multi_what_is_a_veterinary_technician?fbclid=IwAR3W0sEXrKkgw9IyqQtFD7OQ3IqsnW758aKiKOUKrEHdZiwLHeefaZgVuIw https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/yourvet/veterinary-technicians-and-veterinary-assistants

Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center (OPVMC) is looking for a full-time overnight Veterinary Assistant (VA) to join our team. We offer Wellness, Referral and Emergency Services and are seeking dedicated team players to deliver exceptional Client Service and Patient Care. At OPVMC our VA's are responsible for assisting with patient exams including surgery, cleaning kennels, setting up for emergencies, stocking supplies, feeding and walking patients and other duties as needed to ensure the highest quality of patient care and comfort is achieved. Candidates must possess excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a fast paced and collaborative environment to ensure the highest quality of patient care. The ability to multitask and have a high attention to detail are essential. OPVMC offers a competitive compensation and benefit package. Experience preferred, on the job training provided to all new hires, regardless of experience. New and higher wage structure based on experience. Employees are eligible for a 90 day wage increase. If interested please apply via this facebook job post but you must ALSO print out the application found here: http://www.opvmc.com/downloads/OPVMC_Employment_Application.pdf, then fill it out, scan and email back to patientcare_employment@opvmc.net or mail it back to us or drop it off at the office at 3930 North Buffalo Rd Orchard Park, NY 14127. Attention Kelsie Ringo-Veterinary Assistant Manager ORCHARD PARK VETERINARY MEDICAL CENTER Overnight Veterinary Assistant

We have some big and exciting changes coming that we believe will be a huge improvement to our current process and client experience. We are implementing text messaging for a variety of services beginning on Monday October 5th 2020. The goal is to help reduce phone call volume and in turn reduce wait times. To those of you that have experienced longer wait times both in person and on the phone, we appreciate your patience and understanding, and apologize for the excessive wait times you have experienced. Texting will NOT be used for EMERGENCIES or Emergency/Critical Patient Arrivals-in those cases please call. If your pet is stable upon arrival you may text us to let us know that you are here. Also, PLEASE NOTE that even though we are open 24/7 for emergencies, text messages are NOT checked between 12am and 6am therefore during those times please call 716.662.6660*** Some of the applications we will be using this for are below (but are not limited to): -Arrival for appointments/check-ins -Arrival for discharges -Arrival for pickup of medications, food, etc -Prescription refills requests (which will be routed directly to our on site pharmacy) -Prescription fulfillment notification We will NOT be using texting for the following: -Texting will NOT be used for EMERGENCIES or Critical Patient Arrivals. If your pet is stable you may text us upon arrival to let us know that your pet is here. -Texting will NOT be used for scheduling appointments of any kind. -Texting will NOT be used for medical questions or emergency questions unless we direct you to send us a message as a follow up to a phone call that has already taken place. To Use Our Text Messaging System: For appointment arrivals, to pick up your pet, to prescription medication or food, or cremains, please text your name, your pet's name and parking spot number to 716.662.6660. If you prefer, you can still call the main number 716.662.6660 and follow the prompts and options for texting. To refill a prescription medication or food, please text your name, your pet's name and refill requests to our pharmacy refill line at 716.662.3589, call 716.662.3589 to leave a message or call the main number 716.662.6660 and follow the prompts. Text message rates and data usage may apply. Curbside service will continue until further notice due to COVID-19. Due to the volume of clients and patients we see daily, it is in the best interest of our staff and the public to prohibit visitors into our building. The exception to this is in the event that a pet needs to be euthanized, at which time we do allow 2 clients wearing masks to enter the building. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Thank you for choosing OPVMC for your pet's care! It is a pleasure to care for them and to serve you.

We're going to have some nice, unseasonably warm weather for the rest of the week in WNY...if you're out cleaning up leaves be sure to enjoy it and life as much as this husky did! ❤️ 🍁 https://youtu.be/7xEX-48RHCY YOUTUBE.COM Funny siberian husky playing in leaves

Happy Election Day from OPVMC! If you didn't vote early this year, don't forget to vote today! Polls close at 9pm in New York State. VOTE!

PLEASE SHARE: Happy Halloween from OPVMC! Let's be sure to keep our pets and children safe this weekend! If you have an emergency with your pet please call us 24/7 at 716.662.6660

Happy Halloween from OPVMC! Keep your pets safe over the next couple days! Here's how: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/halloween-safety-tips 👽🐯👿🐙🤡👿👻🤖🎃☠️👹

Truth

In case you've been wondering...THANK YOU for your understanding, patience and support during these unprecedented times that are COVID-19! We have never been busier!

Let's go Buffalo Bills! Proud to call you our neighbors here in Orchard Park! 🏈 Call us if you need us 24/7 at 716.662.6660

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Rae Friedman to the OPVMC team! We are very excited that she is here and she will be seeing both emergencies and primary care patients. To learn more about Dr. Friedman please visit the following link: https://www.opvmc.com/about-us/staff.html#friedman Welcome to OPVMC! **note-photo without mask taken pre-COVID

Happy New Year's Eve from OPVMC! Since more of you are likely to be home celebrating with your pets than in previous years, here is how to keep them safe tonight! Thank you to the staff that is working tonight, overnight and tomorrow to take care of our emergencies, and care for all our hospitalized patients-you are OPVMC! Remember that we are open 24/7 for emergencies at 716.662.6660 See ya later 2020! We'll never forget the memories and you made us all stronger! Looking forward to a better, more hopeful 2021! Be kind to one another. We are all in this together! https://www.aspca.org/news/celebrating-safely-ringing-new-year-your-pets ASPCA.ORG Celebrating Safely: Ringing In the New Year with Your Pets

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from the staff of OPVMC! Let's all keep our pets safe this holiday season but if they get into trouble don't forget that we are open and fully staffed 24/7 for emergencies. Please call 716.662.6660 Thank you to our incredible and dedicated staff that is working today to tend to these emergencies and to care for all of our hospitalized patients. From chocolate and holiday plants to tinsel and high fat foods; this article has some great tips on how to keep your pets away from these things and as safe as possible this holiday season: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/holiday-pet-safety?fbclid=IwAR2hnSiV67Nu2jRHe2O3k8Cc6W0N7PvkHUIzqslYljTik9-n62LwF6T4eSg

Merry Christmas Eve & Happy Holidays from the staff of OPVMC! Let's all keep our pets safe this holiday season but if they get into trouble don't forget that we are open and fully staffed 24/7 for emergencies. Please call 716.662.6660 Thank you to our incredible and dedicated staff that is working tonight and tomorrow to tend to these emergencies and to care for all of our hospitalized patients. From chocolate and holiday plants to tinsel and high fat foods; this article has some great tips on how to keep your pets away from these things and as safe as possible this holiday season: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/holiday-pet-safety?fbclid=IwAR2hnSiV67Nu2jRHe2O3k8Cc6W0N7PvkHUIzqslYljTik9-n62LwF6T4eSg AVMA.ORG Winter holiday pet safety