We’ve had a great few months at Killarney Cat Hospital with lots of exciting news to share!
Dental focus went smoothly with lots of dental exams, COHAT procedures, and an evening of wine, cheese, and teeth!! We are especially proud that we surpassed our focus goals and provided dental care to even more satisfied kitties and their owners than last year. We also had a successful Client Education Dental Seminar, with Dr. Bolton presenting on feline dental care, the stages of dental disease, dental radiology, and feline tooth resorption. Dr. Dummer, RAHT Liz Zabori, and CSR Lesa Ewashen also participated. We booked dental procedures for most clients in attendance and answered lots of excellent questions regarding dental health.
Our community focus has been on our young scientists in training these past few months. Dr. Liz Bolton, RAHT Liz Zabori, and CSR Shauna McCartney visited several kindergarten classes. Our kindergarten visits gave students the opportunity to learn about the variety of animals we treat, how veterinary exams are similar to their own pediatric exams, and safety around cats and dogs. We also dressed our young vets up as surgeons with caps, masks, and gloves while allowing them each a chance to hear their own heartbeats with a stethoscope. We are excited to announce that we have met several new patients and parents since our kindergarten trip!
Dr. Bolton, RAHT Liz Zabori, and Dr. Dummer are honored to have participated in Calgary’s Operation Minerva. This initiative promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career focuses for grade 8 female students. We strongly believe our young ladies should have the same opportunities to learn and excel within these fields. This program was created to provide strong female role models and mentors for grade 8 females as they progress into high school, university, and beyond! The two young ladies that we hosted were able to shadow in the hospital for a day…observing drug calculations and anesthetic induction/monitoring with Liz Zabori, surgery with Dr. Bolton, and exam/consults with Dr. Dummer. We then treated our mentees to lunch and answered questions about continuing education, career choices, and work-life balance. The mentees both received our contact information so they can stay in touch. Both young ladies expressed interest in pursuing advanced degrees (as well as each stating they wanted a cat)!
Finally, we are extremely proud to announce our certification as Calgary’s first and only Gold Level Cat Friendly Practice!! We are honored to have earned this recognition from the predominant North American organization for the advancement of feline health care, the American Association of Feline Practitioners. The process evaluates us on multiple levels such as sensitivity to the needs of cats and their owners, staff training and continuing education, team members that are knowledgeable about feline life stage issues and care, and our ability to provide a physical environment tailored to the cat. As stated by the AAFP, Killarney Cat Hospital has taken the optimum steps to become a Gold Level Cat Friendly Practice by creating a practice that values the feline patient’s distinct needs in both the physical environment and the way in which medical care is delivered. We encourage all Vet Strategy hospitals to pursue this certification and wish everyone a very happy and healthy spring!
