As our community continues to work together to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we’d like to take a moment to provide you with an update on the precautions our hospital is taking to ensure the safety of our patients, clients and employees.
Hospital Cleaning Protocol & Staff Illness
Our hospital continues to observe the CDC’s recommendations on disease prevention, handwashing and cleaning protocols, as well as guidance on managing staff members who are displaying flu-like symptoms and/or have tested positive for COVID-19.
Facility Cleaning
In addition to our regular cleaning schedule, we have added additional deep cleaning protocols which include an increase in cleaning frequency and use of pet-friendly chemicals verified to kill the COVID-19 virus by the CDC and EPA.
Staff Illness
Any staff member who is displaying flu-like symptoms or has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus will be asked to stay home until cleared by a medical professional. Staff members who traveled to a high-risk area within the past 14 days will be asked to remain away from work for an additional 14 days as a safety precaution.
Clients Affected by COVID-19
If you or a member of your household have tested positive for COVID-19, are displaying flu-like symptoms and/or have traveled to a high-risk area (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html) within the past 14 days, we ask that you please observe the following protocols:
Appointment Cancellations
Please contact our hospital as soon as possible to reschedule your pet’s appointment and discuss treatment options. For emergent cases, we will work with you in finding available care.
Medication/Food Pick-Up
If your pet is in need of a prescription medication or food refill while you are ill, please call ahead and alert our staff that you will be arriving to pick up your pet’s items. Upon arrival, please remain in your vehicle and call our front desk to let them know that you have arrived. One of our staff members will deliver the items to your vehicle, passing them through the passenger window. Given the airborne nature of the COVID-19 illness, we ask that you please refrain from engaging in conversation with the staff member who delivers your items, but rather continue to utilize the phone as your primary method of communicating with our team.
COVID-19 Risks for Pets
According to the AVMA, CDC and WHO, there is no current evidence to suggest that pets can become sick from the COVID-19 virus or be a source of infection to humans or other animals. Research is continually underway and we encourage clients to continue to monitor the situation via the AVMA (www.avma.org) or CDC (www.cdc.gov) websites.
As always, the safety of our patients, clients and employees remains our top priority. We will continue to provide updates on COVID-19 safety as the situation evolves, but please feel free to reach out to our management team with any additional questions or concerns.
Balboa Pet Hospital, 3329 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, 415-752-3300
