Every three years, Capitaland Animal Hospital goes through a rigorous accreditation process as directed by guidelines provided by the American Animal Hospital Association. It can be a time-consuming and sometimes intimidating, stressful and costly endeavor. But we believe the benefits are worth the time and effort needed because accreditation pushes us to assess our level of care and ensures that we remain up-to-date in all aspects of delivering veterinary services.
The process of accreditation addresses over 900 standards throughout the practice, from the building and equipment to our policies, protocols and training for the staff. Throughout the year as we learn of a new drug or technique, we incorporate changes to our protocols and procedures. We use feedback from clients to improve our customer service to shorten wait times and make the visit comfortable as well as educational. However, by going through the accreditation process, we can assess every aspect of the clinic; it helps us find new ways to improve our service and care, and to enhance our medical and surgical knowledge. Often we find that we are already meeting or exceeding AAHA’s recommendations, which makes us very proud of our clinic!
AAHA certification is a big accomplishment and sets us apart from non-accredited veterinary practices. In the Capital District, there are over 30 veterinary practices, but only 12 of them are AAHA certified. Our entire staff receives monthly in-house training, and the doctors and technicians regularly attend continuing education seminars to maintain their licenses in New York State. We keep our standards high so our client’s pets live longer and healthier lives.
Clients gain further benefit from the American Animal Hospital Association through healthypet.com, webvet.com and pets911.com. These websites are filled with useful and reliable information for pet owners, and accredited hospitals are easily located through these sites. AAHA also is affiliated with petfinder.com, the most popular pet adoption website.