American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)

I have been slacking off on the blog over the last couple of days because things seem to be never ending in the office lately. At least we aren't trying to get accredited - I don't think I could handle someone coming in and tut-tutting at the state of my desk and frowning upon our hamster cage while I'm trying to hire people, review websites, write marketing plans, raise more money, and of course, write blogs.

But there are a super group of veterinary hospitals that do go through the strictest of inspections while doing their everyday jobs to become an accredited AAHA hospital.

What is the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)?

"Healthy Practices. Healthier Pets." AAHA's goal is to provide the best veterinary care for companion animals through high quality education programs, accreditation and other various services. It was started in 1933 by seven leaders of the veterinary profession and has grown into a large professional organization with over 3,000 veterinary hospitals accreditated.

What do they do?

AAHA has an accreditation program for veterinary practices to assist them in providing the best care possible. It's pretty tough to become an AAHA hospital and to do this they must work with an AAHA Practice Consultant who evaluates everything about the practice. They evaluate everyone from the veterinarians to the kennel personnel to the office staff, including all of the procedures they use. (I bet people don't sleep much the night before the Practise Consultant comes around)

I thought the next section was pretty interesting - here are the goals you have to keep meeting once your veterinary hospital is accredited:

• Have challenging benchmarks to reach
• Ensure that you are up-to-date on changes in veterinary medicine
• Improve practice operations and check skills
• Enhance credibility with peers and clients
• Inspire pride among staff members
• Encourage leadership development
• Have their achievements recognized

I'm not sure how you measure pride amongst the staff - can someone fill me in on that?

What can the website offer you (assuming you aren't a vet)?

AAHA has a website for the general public called Healthy Pet where you can find an accredited hospital near you, research info about breeds, behavior, common illnesses, nutrition, the human/animal bonds, pet care tips and preventative care in the Pet Care Library, check out the pet photo page, and buy books and cards from the AAHA store.

AAHA also created the Helping Pets Fund which raises money for animals who need veterinary care but their owner cannot afford it.