Pennfield Animal Hospital

When medical emergencies happen, they are very serious, indeed. It is very difficult for the small private practice to provide "round-the-clock" doctor access when your pet has a medical emergency. Just as in the human medical field, there exists "emergency room" veterinary hospitals that will see trauma and medical emergency cases on a '24/7' basis. For routine questions and 'urgent care' treatment of minor medical ailments, Dr. Atma is frequently available and can be reached most early evenings by calling the main phone number and following instructions for reaching his pager. During the late evening hours and early morning hours, the emergency hospital in Kalamazoo will field questions and take emergency calls.

The first part of any "emergency" situation is determining if an event is an actual emergency. Many pet problems can wait until normal office hours, but a pet owner may need reassurance in deciding if the situation needs immediate attention. At other times, a pet owner is simply looking for general advice about a minor pet health concern (diarrhea, minor cuts, etc.). To determine whether an event is a true emergency (one that must be seen within a few hours), there are several sources that may be consulted. For routine health questions, first aid for minor injuries, or general health information, an excellent source is our hospital's internet website (www.pennfieldanimalhospital.com) under "Pet Library". If there are more immediate concerns, pet owners should call our main phone number (964-0966) to speak with a staff member during regular office hours. After hours calls are directed either to Dr. Atma's pager, or to one of the the other local veterinarians on call. If the veterinarian on call does not respond within 20 minutes, the number for the regional emergency clinic is provided. If you believe your pet has been poisoned, you can access the ASPCA's poison control website at www.aspca.org/apcc. Any of these sources will help an anxious pet owner to determine if an event needs to be seen immediately or if it can wait.

If it is determined that you have an emergency needing immediate care (hit by car, severe hemorrhage, poisoning, or other trauma), time is often of the essence. There are several regional emergency clinics in the area that are staffed 24 hours a day. Although they may be a bit farther away in actual distance, the time that it takes to get there may be less than the time it takes a local veterinarian to open it's doors for an emergency (usually a 30-45 minute process). Please take time to call first; if it is during regular office hours, we can prepare for the in-coming emergency. If it is after hours, the answering machine message will tell you where to call and/or take your pet.

There are other advantages to utilizing such emergency care facilities:

1. They are true "emergency centers" - that is what they are there for!

2. They have more specialized equipment to better deal with life-threatening conditions.

3. They have additional support staff to assist, monitor and treat hospitalized pets.

4. They have 24 hour care for monitoring critical patients.

5. They have ancillary personnel to do specialized surgeries/procedures, if needed.

6. Frequently, local private practice veterinarians will stabilize critical-care patients and send them on to a 24 hour facility for constant monitoring that is needed.

With the increasing availability of such emergency care facilities, more veterinarians are sending critical care patients as a matter of medical ethics (that is, higher levels of medical care demand this). In any event, it is always best to plan ahead for emergencies before they occur. Call our clinic number for verbal instructions, and have paper and pencil ready to write down phone numbers if provided for after hours. Stay calm, be prepared, use common sense, and most emergency situations that arise will have a favorable outcome!