On October 30th, 2006 ground was broken for an expansion of our veterinary facility. In addition, the existing building will be entirely renovated. We, the staff, are very excited about these enhancements, and trust that our clients and patients will be too.

The entire project is expected to take 6 months to complete. During that time, we will have some days that the construction will interfere with our normal routine. We are asking for your patience during these times and will try our best to keep the inconveniences to a minimum.

Some of the improvements:

  • Two more exam rooms are being added, which will bring our total exam room number to six. Our goal is to decrease our client wait time. A consultation/grieving room will be added. This will give owners time and privacy to make difficult decisions concerning their pets.

  • Additional 300 square feet of waiting room with a children’s play area.

  • Intensive care and surgery recovery area that is separate from the treatment room. This area will be quiet and have more subdued lighting to help keep patients calm. It has a large window so that the patients can be watched at all times from the treatment room.

  • A brand new kennel area with heated flooring and epoxy sealed floors.

  • Cat boarding room with 2-3 story kitty condos and an outside window with bird feeders to keep cats entertained.

  • An enclosed pet adoption room in the reception area for convenient viewing of pets that need homes.

In addition, there are many other subtle changes that will help improve client and patient care. We are planning an Open House sometime in the spring or early summer 2007 to show off all of the improvements.


Groundbreaking!


Construction begins


The new addition takes shape
July Update

By the end of July, the finishing touches were being applied to the building. The landscaping is complete. We now have a dog walk that is sodded to the east of the parking lot. The adoption center is enclosed next to the reception desk. It has a large window so that the cats and kittens can be easily observed. The new coffee counter is complete in the reception area and it is stocked. All six of the examination rooms are ready to go. This should help to decrease wait time to see a veterinarian.

June Update (select photos for larger view)

As you can see from the pictures below, most of the construction is continuing in the reception area. The tile for the floor and walls continues to be placed. We have small decorative tiles that were created by a local artist that adorn the face of the reception desk. The treatment room is complete with oxygen outlets, a built-in gas scavenger system and surgical lighting over all 4 treatment islands.

Progress is being made outside also, where the landscaping has been updated and placed in new areas. The asphalt has been repaired in the parking lot and an employee patio was poured at the south side of the building. The kennel exercise yard has new sod and newly secured fencing.

Adoption Room Fence being installed for dog walking area Food storage area while construction was going on
Installing skylights Landscaping New file room
New sky lights New treatment room Food storage area
Tile at front reception desk Fireplace in waiting room New reception desk
   
View from adoption room to reception area    
May Update (select photos for larger view)

Those of you who have visited Southpointe within the last 2 weeks have seen the beginning of changes in the exam rooms and reception area. You, most likely, have had to be more patient also. We have definitely moved the focus of the renovations from the treatment and surgery rooms and boarding/hospitalization areas to the outpatient facilities.

In the past month the epoxy flooring in the treatment room and doctors’ office was finally completely installed. The tile flooring in the outpatient area is being laid on weekends to avoid working during our office hours. This will probably be completed by the middle of June. The new cabinets have been installed and the front reception desk looks beautiful.

Our new phone system is in. The computers are set to be moved and updated on Friday, June 1. The patient files have been relocated to a more central area that can be easily accessed by all areas of the hospital. The aluminum siding has been updated in color and the landscaping will begin to be installed in June.

Stop by and take a peek. You will be surprised at the progress.
New aluminum siding color Outdoor work area behind the hospital Looking into the cat ward window
Exam room with vinyl tile removed New ceramic tile being installed The new exam room benches are longer!
Putting up the wall to create a consultation room and exam room. This area was the doctors' office. New doctors office adjoining the treatment and laboratory Laboratory looking into doctors office.
New phone and file room (being used to store boxes right now) Looking from new waiting room addition towards the reception desk Looking from the reception desk towards the new waiting room addition
Taking down the "old" reception desk No reception desk! New reception desk!
April Update (select photos for larger view)

A lot more progress was seen in April, but we can still see that we have a ways to go before the facility is 100% completed. By the end of April the treatment room, offices and kennels should be 95-98% completed. However, the pharmacy, exam rooms and reception/waiting area are just beginning to go through their transition!

The second phase of the epoxy flooring was installed the weekend of April 21. In order to do this, we had to move everything out of the treatment room, ICU, surgery and radiology room. Our x-ray machine was moved with heavy equipment. We were without x-rays or surgery on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. We were able to move all of our lab equipment and ICU cages into the front so that we were still able to perform these functions.

Looking into the ICU room from the treatment room. There will be a window so that we can keep an eye on hospitalized patients, but being in a separate room means that it will be quieter and not as stressful for our patients. Dog Ward: This is a small room that the cages for small dogs will be housed. File Room: Where patient files will now be kept centrally located in the hospital off of the treatment room.
This wall will house most of our laboratory equipment.You can see the electrical strip for all of the equipment that needs to be plugged in. Another view into the ICU unit. One of our new treatment tables. This is our dental unit that has 2 wet sinks to perform dental procedures on. The vertical chase (brown) to the ceiling, houses electrical, oxygen, gas scavenger and plumbing lines!
This is our new phone room. It used to be our employee lounge. It is centrally located to the reception area and the treatment room for easy access from all. The phone room contains 4 workstations with telephones and computers. It also holds all of the patient records and the FAX machine and copier. Another view of the treatment room that shows both treatment islands. There are 4 different treatment tables on the 2 islands. In the background you can see the ICU.
March Update

The month of March saw a lot of progress in our renovations:

  • The dog kennel in-floor heating system was installed and all of the new run gates were put in. The epoxy flooring in this area was poured which took 4 days to complete. It looks beautiful and will be easy to disinfect.
  • The high pressure sprayer for cleaning the kennels was also installed.
  • The walk-in raised bathtub was placed. This set up is a real improvement over our last tub that required the kennel attendant to lift the patient into the tub. Our new tub has an area cut out at the end that the pet can walk through to enter the tub.
  • The old kennels were demolished and the wall between the kennels and treatment room was removed.Our treatment room has doubled in size and will be able to have a dedicated dental area, surgical prep area and an enclosed ICU unit with window right off of the treatment room.
  • The treatment tables are being installed.
  • The new doctors' office will give the six doctors all their own desks and computers. It is located right off of the treatment room so that it is convenient to write up patient charts or make a phone call.
  • Some days are hectic working around construction but we can all see the improvements and we are all very excited to share them with you at our open house in the fall.
  • In April we will be pouring the epoxy flooring in the treatment room, doctors' office, x-ray room and surgical suite starting the weekend of April 20. We will have to do some creative scheduling for a couple of days that week as we will not be able to access the radiology room or surgery room. We will also start to tear up the existing flooring in the reception area in preparation for the new ceramic tile flooring.
  • More pictures and news in April……
New bathtubs being built in Food prep area cabinets being installed New kennel runs with heated epoxy flooring
The old kennel area that will become the new doctors' office Water heating system for the kennel floor Old kennels being removed this area will become part of the treatment room
   
What a mess! The wall is removed between the old kennels and the treatment room    
February Update (select pictures for larger view)
View out the cat ward window Employee lounge View from kennels to bath to food preparation area
   
The kennels    
January Update (select pictures for larger view)
 
December Update (select pictures for larger view)
View of south addition before the floor is poured Exterior window to the cat ward View from employee parking lot of the south addition
The roof goes on! Employee lounge and the cat ward windows View from Allen Road--door to dog kennels that lead to exercise yard
Employee lounge area North waiting room addition (opening for fireplace) View from front parking lot of new waiting area.