AAHA Accredited
AAHA Accredited Practice
Here at Golden Heart Veterinary Care we take our job for caring for your small animal companions very seriously, which is why we have elected to obtain AAHA Accreditation. So what exactly does this mean, and why should you care? Unlike human hospitals, where accreditation is mandatory, in the veterinary world it is voluntary. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that only about 4,500 (~12-15%) of all small animal veterinary practices in the United States and Canada are AAHA accredited.
AAHA Accreditation is the Gold Standard of Veterinary Care
AAHA is the only organization that accredits veterinary practices in the United States and Canada. Practices that choose to pursue accreditation are evaluated on stringent quality standards that encompass all aspects of veterinary medicine from pain management and patient care to team training and medical record keeping and are continuously updated to keep accredited practice teams at the forefront of the profession.
Obtaining AAHA accreditation is no easy task, which is why most veterinary clinics do not seek accreditation. At Golden Heart Veterinary Care we are beyond proud of our accreditation and are committed to providing superior veterinary care to our community. To become AAHA-accredited, practices undergo a rigorous evaluation process to ensure they meet the AAHA Standards of Accreditation, which include the areas of: Patient care, diagnostic imaging, laboratory, pain management, pharmacy, safety, surgery, client services, anesthesia, contagious disease, continuing education, dentistry, examination facilities, medical records, leadership and emergency/urgent care. To maintain accredited status, hospitals undergo comprehensive on-site evaluations every three years, which ensures that hospitals are compliant with the Association’s mandatory standards. Participating hospitals must follow the ever growing standards, currently 940 standards of practice in 18 categories. Once a hospital meets the standards, evaluators determine a hospital’s eligibility, and then ongoing evaluations ensure conformance to standards that change as science provides additional care improvements.
