Veterinary Accreditation Catherine MacLean, DVM - Grantham, NH
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34 4 Legs & a Tail
id you know that, unlike human medical facilities, accreditation of veterinary facilities is not required? Did you know the standard of care varies from practice to practice? The American Veterinary Medical Association does guide the standard of care but has no ability to enforce those standards. In 1933 a group of veterinarians got together and decided to form an organization called the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). Its mission is to promote high-quality care and to stay current with medical practices through accreditation and professional development. Becoming accredited is completely voluntary, and only about 15% of veterinary facilities in North America are accredited. In order to become accredited, over 900 standards of care need to be met, and the facility is inspected every three years. Inspections include reviewing of medical records and the facility by a member of AAHA. When I opened my practice in 2013, it was a personal goal of mine to become AAHA accredited. I was doing most of the things that AAHA recommended, but I wanted to make sure my practice was doing all of the things that were necessary to make it accredited. AAHA accreditation makes a difference in the level of care we provide, as well as the environment of our practice. Accreditation encourages teamwork, accountability, high morale, consistency, and employee wellbeing. In short, it means we hold ourselves to a higher standard and have to work as a team to achieve it. When we hire staff that has worked at other veterinary practices, they are always impressed with the level of care we practice daily at our practice. In 2016 we became the first AAHA accredited hospital in the Upper Valley. Now there are a total of two AAHA accredited hospitals in the Upper Valley. Being AAHA accredited takes the commitment of the whole veterinary team and can create more work for the Spring 2022
