New Client Policies

 

Thank you for your interest in Cumberland Animal Hospital where we treat our patients like family!

 

There are TWO main goals we strive for at Cumberland Animal Hospital:

 

1 . The exceptional care of all of our clients and their pets.

AND

2. The health and mental well being of our staff (Doctors and technicians).

 

Our veterinarians and hospital manager have been working together as a team to make improvements each day to make sure our TWO GOALS are always achieved. One way we are doing this is by creating this information packet which includes many of our protocols.

 

Please read the following information carefully, thank you.

 

1. Code of Conduct: NO forms of physical or verbal abuse of ANY kind will be tolerated. ANY form of either physical or verbal abuse in person or via social media (including the use of ANY obscenities or rudeness) will result in

immediate termination of our veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

 

2. Upon acceptance to Cumberland Animal Hospital, you will need to schedule a wellness exam for your pet(s), even if they are healthy or up to date on vaccines. This helps us establish a relationship between the veterinarian, your pet, and you. This will require a non-refundable deposit (per pet) for the exam (see cancellation policy below). The deposit will be credited towards that visit.

 

3. Rabies vaccine is required by LAW for both dogs and cats (even indoor cats). We require ALL of our patients to be up to date on their Rabies vaccine in order to continue care with us, this is for your pet's and our safety as Rabies is 100% fatal.

 

4. Cancellation and Payment policy: Each available appointment slot is valuable in order to accommodate, not just our urgently sick, but our healthy wellness patient visits too. IF you cancel your pet's appointment less than 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time or if you do not show up for your appointment, we will be charging a cancellation fee of $25. If your first wellness appointment is canceled less than 24 hours before the appointment, you will be charged the exam fee as well (you will also be asked to pre-pay for all future visits).

 

Payment is due upon services rendered. PLEASE do not hesitate to request an estimate for any service(s).

 

5. We know your time is valuable, we will do everything in our power to stay on time. Unfortunately, we do see many urgently sick patients and many unexpected situations arise. If the doctor is running late and you prefer to reschedule, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. You will NOT be charged a cancellation fee in this situation.

 

6. Safety: Our veterinarians want to be able to perform a thorough exam on every patient, if possible. IF your pet is showing signs that we feel warrant additional safety measures, and the veterinarian deems that a muzzle should be used, we will use one. A muzzle does NOT hurt and it can keep us and your pet safe. We may also discuss medications to help keep your pet relaxed.

We do NOT want our patients to feel anxious, stressed, reactive, fearful, or aggressive. But it happens. Our pets work on a "flight or fight" response when scared. This does NOT make them "bad". But we do want to make sure everyone is safe AND we would like your pet to feel as safe and as comfortable as possible too.

 

7. Call backs: We (a veterinarian or technician) will always return a call or an email from a client, especially regarding blood work results. The exception to this would be our annual stool samples and heartworm tests (for these, no news is good news). The call back may NOT be that same day and due to some of our

schedules can take up to 4-5 days. Please let the receptionist know if your concern is an urgent one so that we may prioritize your call.

 

8. Emergencies or sick appointments: We do everything possible to see all of OUR sick patients the same day or within 24-48 hours. Sometimes, however, this is just not possible, and we will refer you to an ER clinic or an Urgent Care clinic. This does NOT mean that we do not care for your pet, it means that we are fully scheduled and would not be able to offer you or your pet the best care possible that day.

We DO NOT offer walk-in emergency services. If you feel your pet is having an emergency, please call to discuss your concerns and we can discuss how best to get your pet seen, whether by a veterinarian and Cumberland Animal Hospital or ER or Urgent Care facility as discussed above.

 

9. Lastly, we are an animal hospital with only a couple of fully functional exam rooms and a very small waiting room. We have come to realize that, for now, our waiting room is too small to have our clients waiting in there safely with their pets.

 

So, currently and for the foreseeable future, we are using a modified curbside protocol for appointments. Upon arriving for your appointment, please call into the hospital. The receptionists check you in. When the doctors and exam rooms are available, your technician will go meet you and escort you in. Once the exam is complete and you and the veterinarian have spoken, the technician will request that you return to your car and we will continue with curbside check out.

If you are here to pick up medications or products or to drop off anything, you are

more than welcome to come to our front desk.

 

Medication refills: we require a 48 hour notice for ALL medication refills. We DO NOT work with on-line pharmacies. We will be happy to provide you with a script if needed and requested in advance.

 

We believe it is better to be open and transparent with our clients on how we run

our hospital. We want you to be greeted with kindness and smiles from our staff

(and of course we expect the same in return).

We promise to work as a team to give your pet the best and most compassionate

care possible!!!

 

If you are in agreement with ALL of our hospital policies and feel that we

would be a good fit for you, please sign below (to acknowledge that you have

read through our policies) and then please submit this form to our client

coordinators. In the meantime, PLEASE start to get all of your pet(s) records

ready to send to us. Please be sure to ask that the records include all the notes

from the previous Doctors, not just invoices or vaccine reminders. Thank you for

your time, and a client liaison will contact you within 1-2 weeks.