LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Nov. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Georgia Veterinary Associates, Inc., with three locations to serve the needs of Georgia pet owners, has earned AAHA accreditation for all of its practices. To become accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), a citation which is considered the standard of veterinary excellence, the Georgia veterinarian had to meet rigid requirements for quality veterinary medical care and pass comprehensive on-site hospital inspections. AAHA was originally founded to create standards for the veterinary care profession. Clinics which wish to become accredited use these guidelines as a way of incorporating quality care and procedures into their everyday patient care practices.
The accreditation process is voluntary. Georgia Veterinary Associates, Inc. states that it chose to pursue accreditation because they wanted to make sure the individual practices were operating as a team, and that quality procedures were in place at each location. "We are committed to excellence and want to be sure we are providing the highest level of care to our animal patients at all of our practices," said Georgia veterinarian Dr. Brad Miller. "It's crucial to us that all of our services, from wellness care to pain management, are provided in a way that best meets the needs of our pet patients."
To achieve AAHA accreditation a veterinarian must form a team that reviews the AAHA's almost 900 standards of excellence and analyzes how the standards are being incorporated within the animal hospital. An intense onsite review is then performed by outside evaluators to assure these standards are being met before the hospital is accredited. Areas which are evaluated and reviewed as part of the accreditation process include: anesthesia, client service, emergency services, pain management, safety procedures, examination rooms, and surgical care. The AAHA also conducts a re-evaluation of accredited practices every three years to make sure they stay consistent and keep up-to-date on the latest changes and improvements in the veterinary industry.
"I think that going through the process has made us better as a team," added Dr. Michael Wanchick. "All of us had to work together to create processes and standard operating procedures that we could put into place at each of our locations. Working through the standards on everything from housekeeping to pain management really brought us closer together and made us think about what is best for our practice and our patients."
Georgia Veterinary Associates, Inc. began as Russell Ridge Animal Hospital in Lawrenceville, GA in 2003. Since then Drs. Brad Miller and Michael Wanchick have added three additional locations to provide routine to comprehensive medical and surgical care for small animals. Other locations that are part of the group are Hamilton Ridge Animal Hospital in Buford and Apalachee Ridge Animal Hospital in Dacula,. Further information on any of the clinics may be obtained by visiting the group's website at www.mygavet.com.