AAHA Accreditation and its importance when choosing an animal hospital

http://www.healthypet.com/Accreditation/AboutAAHA.aspx

I've been looking for a quality animal hospital and just recently found out about AAHA accreditation. Thing is, none of the nearest ones are accredited.

So...how important do you think it is to have an AAHA accredited hospital? Is your vet accredited?

Thanks!

Not high and NOPE ...

I do not use a Hospital for rountine stuff... I use a one vet, one tech, two room clinic that makes housecalls( lol no pharmacy in my house or xray room )

I have seen many with this accrediation and all the vets had lousy bed side manner and did not know more than I do about basic care./..

What's the difference between a clinic and animal hospital? It seems to me that people take pets to an animal hospital for more routine reasons than they would take a person to the hospital (if that makes any sense). Can a clinic do x-rays?

Originally Posted by MissKalamata

What's the difference between a clinic and animal hospital? It seems to me that people take pets to an animal hospital for more routine reasons than they would take a person to the hospital (if that makes any sense). Can a clinic do x-rays?

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I really listen more to personal experiences, gut feelings and reviews than to that...
I have 3 vets that I go to for different things.
My favorite one, which I got by friends and neighbors referral, is not accredited. He is my go to vet, sounds like Sharky's but they are a 2-people 4-room office/what I would call clinic... As a clinic, everything he does is right there, in front of me... I Like that They do have r-ray in there, lab for basics but for fancy tests they need to send it out.
My vet is a more of an old timer, BIG time cat lover, who doesn't mind bites, scratches, poop or pee, and hugs my kitties and ask them for forgiveness all the time he needs to do something that will hurt.
He knows A LOT about a LOT, and is VERY passionate, a bit stubborn, a great soul....
I also like the fact that it is so much easier to establish a relationship with a vet in a clinic setup than in a Hospital.... If I have a problem, my vet is a phone call away... That has been great... Specially in this economy! Whew!
I do feel that by having less overhead they do have the benefit of caring more about the pets and less about $$$.
He is not accredited, but I trust him more than all others.

The second one, is the hospital, when my cats need something my vet can not provide. They ARE accredited. This is "The backup plan". Say my cat needs an MRI, a Cat Scan, or more complicated testing... That is where I would take them. That is a VCI Hospital. I love my vet there, she is a sweetheart, but IMO the place is very much all about the $$$. Luckily not my vet, but she still works for the place, so...
This is also the place where I would go for a second opinion. Not only I have a second vet I trust in there, they do have specialists.
I do like having that as a backup plan though.
They

The third one is the Emergency Hospital - Did not see the accreditation list either... As the name says, This is used only for emergencies.

I hope the information above helps...
As you can see, the accreditation hasn't helped me at all on my choices...

My boys' regular vet clinic as well as the emergency clinic where Riley is seeing his specialist are both listed on there. I have always been pleased with the doctors and the service.

We use a vet that is called an "animal hospital" because they carried the vaccines I wanted my cats to have, and had a vet that was recommended for cats.

Originally Posted by Ryffian

For example, a veterinary office doesn't have resources to keep animals overnight whereas a veterinary hospital does.

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This is not always true.

Mine has it, but I have been using but my family has used them since they were a one doctor vet practice in 1984 so the accreditation doesn't mean much in this case. My friend also used them as their vet and recommended them when we moved back here after 6 years of living in CA. They can do most everything there as far as I know. They became a hospital when an additional vet joined the practice.

They have 4 vets there and I have seen all of them but you can request a vet if you want to stick one. All the vets there are good but I prefer the original vet's son and the other male doctor. I don't really know the one older female doctor(she graduated from vet school the year I started Kindergarten in 1984 so she is very experienced) only met her once for a very short appointment because I needed eye ointment because Attitude had an eye infection, the beginning of the 'never ending' eye infection, I knew what was wrong with Attitude and what I needed I just needed to which ointment to use(they have a pharmacy on-site.) The other female graduated in 2006 and while she is good I just prefer the males since they are more experienced(1989 and 2000.) I also know the males from them taking care of my old English sheepdog Abby from the time we got her in Sept 1995 until she had to be put to sleep in Nov 2006. So I just know them better. If asked I'll usually request the original vet's son(he graduated in 2000) but like I said I trust all of them and I know Attitude, Nuts and Maude are all in good hands no matter which vet sees them so unless they ask I don't request a specific vet.

I like them because they really do care about the pets, but no it wasn't a requirement. I chose them because of the wonderful care they gave Abby especially keeping her going and making sure she was comfortable when her arthritis got worse(she was also blind but she was blind longer than she was sighted, she went blind at 5.) They also know who you are and they are a small clinic just 4 exam rooms.

They also provide boarding which will be vital if I ever need Attitude and Nuts boarded since they can't go to a normal boarding facility since they both have leukemia.

Taryn

I like carolinalima's way of doing things. The clinic I work at is not accredited and one of the best clinics I have ever seen. I know I am completely biased, but before I worked in a clinic, I had the hardest time finding a place that met my standards based more on the philosophies and bedside manner of the veterinarian and ability to actually diagnose and treat a problem. I went to 4 different vets in Reno and the two that weren't accredited were much more personable and seemed to get things done, whereas the 2 that were accredited were cold, systematic, impersonal, and completely inefficient at getting anything done. It seemed like they cared more about their bottom line than fixing my pets, and they had 3+ vets who worked there so I never knew who I was gonna get.

I think for regular, routine things needed for your cats, a non-accredited vet is a great choice. For overnight care, emergencies, and more advanced and specific problems it is probably better to go to an accredited place.

Originally Posted by MissKalamata

http://www.healthypet.com/Accreditation/AboutAAHA.aspx

I've been looking for a quality animal hospital and just recently found out about AAHA accreditation. Thing is, none of the nearest ones are accredited.

So...how important do you think it is to have an AAHA accredited hospital? Is your vet accredited?

Thanks!

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Well interestingly (or strangely) enough, I live here in Canada and in my small city we have a Vet Clinic that has AAHA Accreditation. They promote themselves big time on being AAHA Accredited; plaques all over the walls in there, mention of this in their phone book add in big bold font, etc............yet I've used them twice and found them to be moronic and a place I'll never return to. They didn't instill a lot of confidence in my, with respect to both the 2 Vets I've seen there, plus their Vet Tech staff. So they can tout their AAHA Accreditation all they want, to me it means diddly.........................and for the record, why would a Vet practice in Canada be using such an accreditation to gain consumer trust/confidence..............wouldn't it mean more, perhaps, if they had accreditation from the Canadian version of the AAHA? (CVMA; Canadian Veterinary Medical Association).............that being said, it would appear they must not have CVMA accreditation for if they had it, wouldn't they be bragging about that as well, seeing how we're here in Canada?

Makes me personally wonder if perhaps they can't get proper accreditation here with their own country's governing body but for some reason they can get it from the AAHA so they try to get as much mileage out of that????

Yeah one of the accredited animal hospitals I went to especially was the worst I had ever seen. They would just drain people of their money and send their animals home sicker than when they came in!

I go to an accredited clinic -- they are a wellness clinic as well as having an emergency element to them. I do like some of the vets there better than others, but I've not had a bad experience per se with any of them in terms of their caring/bedside manner -- first vets I've ever had who regularly call a day or two later to see how the pet is doing. The vet I see most often there is fabulous -- kind, suggests where I can get recommended items (eg. she was the one who got me on to Feliway) more cheaply than if I buy them at the clinic and I feel confident about the quality of care -- I like that they can do a wider range of tests, if needed, than at a regular clinic. I prefer to be able to go to one vet for the whole range of needs, then they have the total, complete medical record and know the cat.

There is only one AAHA certified veterinary practice within about a 100 mile radius around here. I worked as a tech there for about 8 months. It's a 2 FT, 2 PT vet hospital. Also, the most expensive place around no doubt. It's a very very professional atmosphere. Very high standards. A little too high maybe. Gowning up for every single procedure? Even a cat neuter? To me (and most of the complaints I hear from their clients) is that it doesn't feel personal, it's too expensive, and owner's are often left "out of the loop".

I now work for a feline only practice and we are not AAHA certified and have no plans of trying to be. We have all of the diagnostic/surgical tools of the AAHA certified practice (in house lab, digital x-ray, surgical laser, therapy laser, ultrasound, etc., etc.) but with a much much more laid back feel. And since we're getting clients from all of the area practices (including the AAHA certified) each day, I guess it's a pretty good system.

To me the veterinarians knowledge and personality are far more important. And also the level of diagnostic/surgical tools in use is pretty important too. If you feel comfortable with your vet (as do your kitties), then who cares about certification? Maybe it's a nice bonus, but definitely not a deal breaker IMHO.

Originally Posted by CatNurse22

To me the veterinarians knowledge and personality are far more important. And also the level of diagnostic/surgical tools in use is pretty important too. If you feel comfortable with your vet (as do your kitties), then who cares about certification? Maybe it's a nice bonus, but definitely not a deal breaker IMHO.

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Exactly, well put !!