Aloha YourVet Maui & Kihei Vet Clinic Ohana,
At Kihei Veterinary Clinic we always strive to provide personalized, family first veterinary medicine. With the advent of COVID-19, our focus currently is to ensure that our patients, their owners and our staff are all kept healthy during this time.
In accordance with the American and Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, as well as in conjunction with the CDC, I am choosing to take aggressive measures to protect the well-being of my patient/owner community (and Maui too).
While the situation around COVID-19 remains fluid and unknown, I want to ensure that your pet continues to receive appropriate treatments to address their chronic pain and functional deficits. As such, Kihei Veterinary Clinic will stay open; however, the following policies will begin on Monday March 23rd and continue until at least Friday May 1st:
1) In order to minimize the spread of the virus, we have elected to transition to seeing drop-off appointments only. This will be our veterinary valet service.
Simply call Kihei Veterinary Clinic (808 879 5777) when you arrive and a staff member will come and get your pet from your vehicle. We will use our own leash that will subsequently be washed regularly. We will work to get a thorough history for the appointment via phone call, then after examination either the Dr. or technician will call you with a summary or with additional questions or information. For things such as detailed estimates, invoices and discharge instructions, we will look to email those to you.
We apologize in advance but you WILL NOT be allowed to enter the building at this time in order to maintain a high level of bio-security protection for our staff.
2) We will ask that you wait in your car initially while we examine your pet. If it looks like we will need to do a further workup, we will call you and let you know that you can leave and we can call when ready for pick-up. We will return your pet to your car after their appointment. Our preference will be payment over the phone, but can accommodate if paying by cash or check.
3) If your pet is otherwise stable and has an appointment for annual services, you are still more than welcome to keep your appointment but may be asked to reschedule if a medical or staffing emergency arises.
4) All mobile visits will be on a case by case basis. We want to help the most patients and contain the health risk to the main hospital itself. Therefore we ask that you only request mobile if absolutely necessary and are flexible with scheduling.
5) Please let us know at least 24 hours in advance concerning refills on medications. If you prefer to maintain social isolation, we certainly do not mind mailing medications to your address. Otherwise, in order to minimize contact, we plan on having a medication pick-up box outside the front door for use during normal clinic hours. We will place medications out there after they have been paid for via the phone. Keep in mind that on island and on-line pharmacies are currently experiencing high demand and therefore medication refills may take longer than usual.
6) We have already been increasing the frequency of cleaning with products that are known to be effective against viral pathogens. Focus is on regularly touched surfaces such as door knobs, computers, counter tops, equipment, etc; additionally, all staff are following guidelines for hand-washing and hand-sanitizing between each and every appointment.
7) If you are feeling under the weather, please cancel your appointment. Coronavirus can spread in the very early stages (early cough, low-grade fever, sore throat), so if you are feeling off AT ALL just let us know and stay home to take care of yourself. There will be no fee for cancelled appointments.
8) Thankfully, coronavirus is unlikely to pass between pets and humans. The single confirmed case of viral particles in a pet dog occurred after close exposure to a human in a house under quarantine with a confirmed positive human case. Only one of the dogs in the household carried any viral particles (the other pet dog has been persistently negative). No animals have shown any signs of illness. The AVMA and CDC are currently saying (as of 3/11/20) that it is very unlikely for pets to be involved in the transmission of coronavirus, both among pets or from pet-to-human. Please feel free to love on your pet during this time. However you should be cautious with contact with other pets and not allow your pets to lick others faces in an abundance of caution.
9) Please keep in mind that at times we may run a bit behind, we may be short staffed or dealing with an emergency. Any anger or lashing out at employees is not pono and will not be tolerated. We are all in this together and it’s a scary time for us all, we need to show aloha to each other whenever possible.
10) Based on demand, we may be able to offer phone consults, but keep in mind there are significant limitations without being able to physically examine your pets. Alternatively, email still works but please allow a 24-36 hour response time based on anticipated volume.
We here at Kihei Veterinary Clinic DEEPLY appreciate your continued support and trust as we continue to navigate this unprecedented time. As this situation evolves, so will we, in order to ensure your four-legged family members receive optimal care.
In love and health,
Dr. Jerob Leaper
Hospital Director
Kihei Veterinary Clinic