Accreditation & Standards
We are very proud of the fact
that we are a fully accredited AAHA hospital member, the highest
category of accreditation achievable. Less than 14% of the small animal
facilities in North America can claim this distinction. Our
most recent re-evaluation in February, 2005 yielded an "excellent"
rating in all categories.
 AAHA
Hospital Accreditation
To be an accredited
American Animal
Hospital Association Member, a
veterinary practice must meet the Association's high standards for quality
veterinary care. This is a voluntary membership whose goal is to uphold a
substantially higher standard of medical care and facility resources than most
states minimally require.
AAHA
Hospital Standards
AAHA professionals regularly
evaluate our hospital to ensure that we maintain the highest standards and
provide the best veterinary care we can. The AAHA
Standards of Excellence comprehensively cover the following
areas and services in our hospital and require very specific adherence to the
guidelines, which far exceed the minimum state requirements for a veterinary
facility:
Brief AAHA History and Purpose
Founded in November 1933, the
American Animal Hospital Association started in Chicago with about 100
veterinarians attending the American Veterinary Medical Association annual
meeting. At that time, most of the few veterinarians who treated pets offered
only meager facilities. Dogs and cats were "second class citizens" as far as the
profession was concerned and packing case "cages" were customary. Nursing care
was nonexistent and surgery was crude.
These veterinarians saw the need
to improve the practice of small animal medicine and recognized that the
exchange of information through a fraternal association could be the genesis of
improved standards and the foundation for a continuing education commitment from
the profession.
Two years later, the Association
was formally incorporated. On October 18,1935, the State of Illinois granted a
charter to the American Animal Hospital Association.
Since its beginning, the AAHA has
insisted on improvement. The founders were convinced that small animal practice
was important and felt that veterinarians were obligated to provide better
facilities and methods than were generally available. That philosophy is alive
and well as a guiding principle of AAHA today. It has helped stimulate and
maintain the growth and development not only of the Association but of the
practice of small animal medicine throughout the world.
Today, AAHA is respected
internationally for its dedication to professional development, hospital
standards, outstanding publications, and the excellence of its education
programs. This recognition and the strength of the organization are a tribute to
the vision of its founders and the leadership and dedication of the many
veterinarians who have sacrificed time and energy to serve the Association
through the years. Their contributions are evident today in a strong, viable,
and dynamic association that continues to be on the "leading edge" of the
veterinary profession.
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