How we practice, and how you'd know
Anyone can say they practice good medicine. Two things let you check ours before you take the job — one we've earned, one we're still working on. Here's exactly where each stands.
AAHA accreditation
Accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association is voluntary, and it means an outside evaluator inspects how we actually work — third-party verification, not self-assessment. We hold it at both clinics because it keeps our standards honest, and because it tells you what kind of practice this is before you ever walk through the door.
What gets inspected
- Anesthesia
- Surgery
- Dentistry
- Pain management
- Radiography
- Infection control
- Medical records
- Emergency care
What it means for your day
Working here, accreditation shows up in ordinary ways. Anesthetic monitoring, pain management and surgical procedure are written down, taught and followed, so you learn protocols rather than inheriting whatever habits happened to be in the building. The equipment works, because somebody checks it — dental radiography, in-house lab and digital imaging, all maintained and current.
You'll also chart to a standard that gets reviewed. That sounds tedious, and it turns out to be one of the more useful habits you can carry with you for the rest of your career. If you're early on, you'll learn the job right the first time, which is a great deal easier than unlearning it later.
What AAHA accreditation means → · aaha.org
Accredited: Martha Lake Vet Clinic · Cedar Plaza Vet Clinic
Fear Free — where we honestly are
Cedar Plaza is enrolled in Fear Free Veterinary Practice Certification and working through the standards and staff training. We're not certified yet. We'll say so the day we are, and not a day earlier.
What Fear Free actually is
An approach to handling built around reducing fear, anxiety and stress during a visit — considerate approach, touch gradient, species-appropriate restraint, and using pre-visit medication when that's the kinder option.
Why we're doing it
A frightened animal is harder to examine, harder to treat, and more likely to get hurt or to hurt somebody. Low-stress handling is better medicine and safer work. It also makes for a much better day — for the patient and for you.
Enrolled: Cedar Plaza Vet Clinic · Martha Lake to follow
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