Oregon veterinary hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed

Posted Dec. 1, 2021

By Natalie Hebert

Staff Reporter

Veterinary hospitals and clinics all over Oregon are overwhelmed.

In Oregon, veterinary hospitals and clinics are facing large numbers of animals, understaffing, and burnout. During the pandemic and quarantining, Oregonians became lonely. Because of this loneliness, more animals were adopted and purchased. The more time spent inside with pets the more time the animals' issues and behaviors, both chronic and acute, were noticed. Veterinary clinics were then innidated with new pet patients.

Neighborhood vets are overwhelmed and refer to other locations to seek help. The other locations consist of vet clinics farther from home and veterinary hospitals. Everyday the veterinary emergency hospitals have been receiving an estimate of 100 to 200 patients a day. Some of those patients have to stay for a long duration of time, making it hard for the hospital to keep up with the new workload. Staff has been working overtime and working fast to compensate for the number of new cases, but there isn’t enough staff to go around, and the current staff are burnt out from all the work.

“We’re dealing with medical issues," Dr. Heidi Houchen, president of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, said to Oregon Public Broadcasting. "We want to make sure that we’re getting things right in terms of not only going over estimates to make sure that owners know what sophisticated medical or surgical procedures are going on.”

The veterinarian clinics and hospitals had to adapt to new protocols for safety of the public and for the employees. They had to work with the government's mandates, which takes a lot of time and effort to do. The pandemic has made this routine take place out on the curb. Owners come and drop off their pets to the owners in the parking lot. When the vet is done with the initial inspection, they will contact the owner and let them know if they should stay or come to pick up their animal later.

“Now, we’ll let them go home, and we’ll call them,” DoveLewis animal emergency hospital CEO Ron Morgan said to Portland Business Journal.

Their pre-pandemic issues, such as support staff shortage, tech shortage, and ER doctor shortage, has made it complicated to complete their jobs. If a vet or vet assistant is ill, or can’t come to work, it affects the rest of the staff.

Most vet clinics and hospitals are now hiring up to 30 staff, some permanent and some temporary. They need help with patient flow from the parking lot to the hospital, as well as janitorial staff and security. There are also supply chain issues with the medication, equipment and supplies that impact their work as well.