Archive for June, 2009

As I visit the practices affiliated with Pet Partners I must stop and remind myself of the level of the service provided to the many clients who entrust the health and well being of their pets to all veterinarians. The passion and professionalism of the staff that provides the support for these services is never taken for granted and the veterinarians who provide the varied services are the smartest and most driven of any profession.

As CEO of Pet Partners, I see and feel this passion daily and marvel at the consistent delivery of top notch health care for the four legged family member. The entire veterinary community has a right to be proud.

If you are new to this Web site, I hope you will take away a different feeling than with the “others”. I hope you see that we care about all the hard work you have done over the years to include your practice in your community. I hope you realize from our communications that we revere the dedication you have undertaken to build the trust that will be the foundation of Pet Partners involvement in your community.

And I hope you realize that if you convey your practice to Pet Partners that the employees who you have trained and cultivated will be the solid employees of our practice going forward. We also hope that the clients will only see positive change in the delivery of services and communication. All else should be transparent to them.

We have now grown to 22 practices as is shown on the map on this site. We continue to discuss options and new approaches with veterinarians as our model is varied, and we realize better than most that practice cultures have their own “fingerprint” and success as a Pet Partners affiliate is based on all of us finding the correct operational stride together.

With the growth in numbers is growth from within. Our executive staff in Saratoga led by Lance Sprinkle has grown together as a team and their support of all our practices and especially our newer ones has been accurate, consistent and professional. This team provides support in areas such as Human Resource, Finance, Administration, Purchasing, IT and all that blends among them. It is this team that supports the Regional Managers who interface and support the practice leadership directly.

The approach we take allows us to remove all the administrative and management tasks that are not proprietary to the practice of medicine and allow our staffs to concentrate on client service and animal care while retaining the power to drive themselves and their business. This model is working well and we could not be more pleased with results especially in this financial climate.

Also, if you get a chance, take a look at the June issue of Veterinary Practice News. An article on page 3 further outlines who we are and what we are about. I have not seen the article as yet, but our friends at Fetching Communication who handle these items seem quite pleased with the work on behalf of Pet Partners.

We are again proud of our Team Member Spotlight and definitely think you should visit that area and meet one of our top staff associates. This month we honor Melissa Lantro who is a technician at Boone Animal Hospital in Western Springs, IL. Congrats to Melissa! She will be honored at the practice with a lunch and an award. She personifies what Pet Partners considers its best assets.

I also want to note that the practices in Williamsburg, VA and in Vestal, NY both added as affiliates in the past two months are doing very well and getting up to speed with the transition. I have recently visited both practices and report that our new staff personnel are some of the best in our Company. Thanks to them all for being such a positive addition.

So in closing I hope you give us a good look and like what you see. We have one more practice to add between now and the summer and then we will be quiet for a month or two before we add 4 more practices in the fall. I invite you to call me directly if you would like to speak further about opportunities with Pet Partners. Thanks for stopping by!

Best wishes,

Ted A Sprinkle, Jr. DVM, CEO & Cofounder Pet Partners, LLC

Move to Better Serve Area Pets with Wider Range of Services and Technology

Vestal, NY: University Animal Hospital (UAH) has merged with Southern Tier Veterinary Associates (STVA) in a move designed to better serve the area’s pets through a wider range of services, extensive diagnostic tools and advanced treatment technologies. (more…)

We are pleased to recognize Melissa Lantro from Boone Animal Hospital as our team member of the month! For more than 10 years, Melissa has provided outstanding care to her patients at Boone. In her role as a surgical technician, she has consistently provided exceptional support in surgery, and her care for the animals goes beyond normal business hours. If her patients need to stay overnight, Melissa often makes a special trip back to the hospital to check on them at night.

Her attention to detail and commitment to excellence extends to every aspect of her job. The staff can find her working after hours preparing materials for the following day’s work. Melissa is respected by her coworkers who find her to be consistently pleasant, helpful and professional.

For all of these reasons and many more, we are proud to honor Melissa as Pet Partners’ team member of the month.