This monthly e-newsletter is designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest AAHA meetings, publications and valuable resources to enhance your success.

First Referral Practices Become AAHA-Accredited
To bridge the gap between general and specialty practices, the Association has created a new process that customizes the AAHA Standards of Accreditation to apply directly to specialties. Referral practices can now become AAHA-accredited through the AAHA Referral Standards, strengthening communications throughout the industry and improving the quality of care being provided.

“AAHA is focused on facilitating high quality care in small animal practice, and the AAHA Referral Standards are a natural extension of this goal. Furthermore, AAHA is committed to enhancing communications between referring and receiving veterinary practices to achieve the highest levels of success.”
            - Link Welborn, DVM, DABVP
              AAHA Referral Standards Task Force Member

AAHA would like to congratulate the first hospitals to become accredited through the AAHA Referral Standards of Accreditation:

Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital of Wheat Ridge, Colo. is AAHA-accredited in the following specialties:
Radiology
Surgery
Internal Medicine- Small Animal
Feline and Canine Specialty
Emergency and Critical Care

VCA Alameda East Veterinary Hospital of Denver, Colo. is AAHA-accredited in the following specialties:
Internal Medicine- Neurology
Feline and Canine Specialty
Dermatology
Radiology
Surgery
Internal Medicine- Small Animal

VCA Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists of New York, N.Y. is AAHA-accredited in the following specialties:
Internal Medicine- Small Animal
Internal Medicine- Oncology
Internal Medicine- Critical Care
Internal Medicine- Cardiology
Surgery

Texas A & M University of College Station, Texas is AAHA-accredited in the following specialties:
Anesthesia
Behavior
Dentistry
Dermatology
Internal Medicine- Cardiology
Internal Medicine- Oncology
Microbiology
Nutrition
Ophthalmology
Pathology
Pharmacology
Preventative Medicine
Radiology
Surgery
Theriogenology

Please note that practices seeking accreditation must have a board-certified veterinarian on staff in each specialty they wish to become accredited in. For more information on AAHA accreditation contact our accreditation team at 800/252-2242 or practice.accreditation@aahanet.org.  

The following is a list of the specialties that a referral practice can become AAHA-accredited in, along with the required board certification:

New Standards of Accreditation Online Tool
AAHA has introduced a new online tool that will make preparing for the AAHA accreditation evaluation more efficient and helpful than ever before. Now, you can enjoy these benefits as you work through the Standards of Accreditation:

• Work from any computer with internet access
• Allow access to multiple users simultaneously
• Save time with the ability to view multiple questions on one page
• Track your progress with running point totals
• Ask your Practice Accreditation Coordinator questions as they follow along
• Get instant access to suggested resources

Help Pets in Need Just By Searching the Web
Do youGoodsearch? Goodsearch.com is a site developed in conjunction with ABC and Yahoo to promote charitable giving. They donate $.01 for each search conducted on their site to the organization that the searcher selects as their charity of choice. The site works just as any other search engine you use when browsing the internet, and the AAHA Helping Pets Fund is a registered charity option on the site.

The assistance GoodSearch provides actually comes from the site’s advertising revenue, so it’s the advertisers that are really paying for the donations, not the site or searchers. Goodsearch.com is completely free to users, making it an easy way for you to take action and help pets in need every time you search the internet. Simply visit www.goodsearch.com, type in your charity of choice (the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, of course), click “Verify,” and begin your search—you’ve just raised $.01 for the HPF!

Make your default search engine goodsearch.com and help spread the word. Power in numbers can create grants for the care of pets in need all over the world!

Be Safe! Veterinary Safety Motivational Posters Set 2 Available
Reduce on-the-job injuries and the costs that come with them! The second set of safety message posters tackle common problems veterinary teams face regarding compliance with OSHA and safety rules. The posters were designed to overcome objections to rules rather than just restating things your employees already know. This approach helps your practice team better relate to the information presented on the posters and overcome opposition to the rules and standards.

Use the posters to reinforce a specific safety theme or as general information. These posters are veterinary specific, not recycled from other industries, and cover issues that practices face on a regular basis. The posters incorporate concepts included in the AAHA Standards of Accreditation and present advice that is considered to be “profession-wide” and valid internationally.

Set 2 includes:
Anesthesia Safety
Electrical Safety
Infection Control
Proper Storage
Radiation Safety
Violence Prevention

Visit the AAHA Store online to compliment your first six posters, or start your Be Safe! Veterinary Safety Motivational Poster collection today! Buy both sets and save!

Renew Your AAHA Membership Online
Continue receiving your member benefits like Trends, NEWStat, access to the AAHA Preferred Business Providers, JAAHA and more. Renew online beginning May 12, by visiting www.aahanet.org and clicking "Renew Now". If you have any questions about the online renewal, don't hesitate to call AAHA's Member Service Center (MSC) at 800/883-6301. Please note that you are still more than welcome to renew your membership through MSC as well. 

Congrats to the AAHA Award Winners
AAHA has made it a tradition to honor its members who continually earn the admiration and respect of their clients and peers with awards. The following honors were awarded at AAHA Tampa 2008 in March.

AAHA Practitioner of the Year
R. Michael Thomas, DVM has demonstrated commitment to AAHA, the profession, the community, and his clients and patients through overall excellence in small animal medicine and surgery.

AAHA Award
Michael Paul, DVM was recognized for his outstanding contributions toward the betterment of AAHA and the veterinary profession.

Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award
The Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award recognized Roger Clarke, BVSc for advancing animal welfare through extraordinary service and furthering humane principles, education and understanding.

Nestlé Purina Petcare Award
Dan Jordan, DVM was recognized for his outstanding efforts to positively influence the lives of animals and people with the Nestlé Purina Petcare Award.

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Award
Larry Dee, DVM was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the improvement of the well-being of companion animals in the international veterinary community with the Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Award.

AAHA would like to both congratulate and thank the following practices for their dedication to excellence in the profession.

Practices Celebrating 50 Years of Accreditation
Brentwood Pet Clinic
Harper Woods Veterinary Hospital
Hollywood Pet Hospital
Johnstown Veterinary Associates Inc
Loop 410 Veterinary Hospital
Metairie Small Animal Hospital Inc
Palatine Animal Hospital Ltd
VCA Toms River Animal Hospital
VCA Veterinary Medical Center

Celebrating 25 Years of Accreditation

Abbeydale Animal Hospital Aguajito Veterinary Hospital Albany County Veterinary Hospital All Pets Center Ambassador Animal Hospital Ltd Angeles Clinic for Animals Animal Medical Clinic Animal Medical Hospital Animal Medical Hospital of Belair Road Arbor Pet Hospital Back Bay Veterinary Hospital Baker Animal Hospital Brandywine Hospital for Pets Camp McDonald Animal Clinic Care Animal Hospital of Arlington Heights Ltd Centennial Animal Hospital Central Animal Hospital Countryside Veterinary Hospital Deer Park Animal Hospital Diamond Veterinary Associates East Lake Animal Clinic East Orlando Animal Hospital Inc Flossmoor Animal Hospital Ltd Front Range Veterinary Clinic PC Gardens Animal Hospital Glencoe Animal Hospital Grants Pass Veterinary Clinic Healthy Pets of Westgate Inc Helmwood Veterinary Clinic Hermitage Animal Clinic Ivens Veterinary Hospital Kelley's Animal Clinic PC Kissimmee Animal Hospital Inc Lake Shore Animal Hospital Inc Laurelhurst Veterinary Hospital LLC Lewisburg Veterinary Hospital Lund Animal Hospital University of Pennsylvania’s Matthew J Ryan Veterinary Hospital Monroe Animal Hospital Northbay Animal Hospital Northgate Animal Hospital

Northside Veterinary Clinic Ltd Norwalk Animal Hosp & Dental Clinic PC Oakton Animal Hospital Oklahoma State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital Pembroke Animal Hospital Pet Medical Center Pewaukee Veterinary Service SC Piper's Riverdale Animal Clinic Inc Pleasant Valley Animal Hospital Pueblo Small Animal Clinic Inc Quail Creek Veterinary Clinic Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital Sample Road Animal Hospital and Bird Clinic San Francisco SPCA Animal Hospital Smoketown Veterinary Hospital South Hill Veterinary Hospital South Kendall Animal Hospital Southport Veterinary Center The Hope Center for Advanced Veterinary Medicine TLC Animal Hospital Town & Country Veterinary Clinic Troy Animal Hospital/Bird Clinic VCA All Our Pets Animal Hospital VCA Associates in Pet Care VCA Five Corners Animal Hospital VCA Madison Veterinary Hospital PA VCA Manhattan Veterinary Group VCA Northboro Animal Hospital VCA Snohomish Animal Hospital Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of NM Veterinary Medical Center Viscaya-Prado Veterinary Hospital Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital Waynedale Animal Clinic PC

AAHA MARKETLink Has “Green” Benefits Too
Practices routinely order six to nine times per week, meaning 25+ boxes of drugs and supplies are being shipped and delivered on a weekly basis. AAHA MARKETLink’s POW (Primary Order Wednesday) promotion helps practices be “green” by becoming more efficient. Practices that focus on placing a primary re-supply order on Wednesdays find more staff time available to help count on-hand items, no need to “fly” boxes via next day services, and with the POW promotional advantages, gain other cost savings too.

MARKETLink implemented POW last August to assist member hospitals in realizing additional benefits when focusing on re-supplying hospital inventories on Wednesday. The results in participating practices have been fewer shipped boxes, less time spent putting shipments away, less accounts payable invoices, and fewer trips to the practice by UPS or FEDX trucks. Changing behavior in this way not only shrinks the total cost for the practice (potentially three to four percent), but also reduces the amount of fossil fuel used to re-supply inventory.

For more information on MARKETLink and how we can help your practice, contact Stefanie at 866/259-2403.

Keep AAHA Posted!
We at AAHA want to remind you to keep us posted with the most current contact information for your practice and team members. Providing this information helps us to better serve you. Please periodically update your information on the website. You can also email or call the AAHA Member Services Center, 800/883-6301, with updates to your information.