Barksdale Vet Clinic earns AAHA accreditation

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amber Ashcraft
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated," said Mohandas Gandhi, the 20th century ideological leader of India.

With his passion for the practice of a simple life and non-violence, Gandhi became an inspiration for people all over the world for his philosophies on the way people, animals and the Earth should be treated.

The American Animal Hospital Association holds its value similar to Gandhi's words by expressing its standard of veterinary excellence and giving accreditation to vet clinics that request its assessment.

"The Barksdale Veterinary Treatment Facility has earned accreditation following a thorough evaluation by the AAHA," said Dr. Darrin Olson, Barksdale veterinarian. "This accreditation shows the commitment the staff here provides to ensure the highest quality care possible for the military working dogs and pets of the Barksdale community."

Veterinary practices choose to become AAHA-accredited for several reasons, to include improving practice operations and team building, updating staff skills, enhancing credibility with clients and striving for continuous improvement.

"Nationally, only 15 percent of veterinary clinics have taken the steps and committed themselves to becoming accredited," said Olson. "To date, there are only two other clinics in the local area that have achieved accreditation status."

According to www.healthypet.com, in order to become accredited, a clinic must request an audit by one of AAHA's certified veterinary practice managers.

"About two years ago, I evaluated the clinical operations and procedures, and began to introduce new ways of conducting business," said Olson. "I also requested the purchase of updated, state of the art medical equipment for our facility. When I felt the clinic was within reach of complying with AAHA standards, the clinic became a member and we requested an audit."

The Barksdale vet staff not only began a self-evaluation that prompted the development of additional standards of procedures and staff training, but they also contacted key departments here that were instrumental in assisting them in the accreditation process.

Maxine Whitten, 2nd Medical Group facility manager, and her staff ensured the facility was maintained and documented per the AAHA standards.

"We sent our maintenance professionals to the veterinary facility to review the AAHA standards checklist and made sure they were compliant with everything on the list," she said. "I think that it's excellent that the Barksdale vet clinic achieved the accreditation, and I'm so very proud of them being one of only three clinics in all Shreveport-Bossier area to achieve this."

Along with the 2 MDG facility management, Alex Vega, Human Resources director, and his staff provided the documentation to achieve the human resources standards.

"It had to be a team approach to achieve our goals of accreditation," said Olson. "Our staff also bought into and took on this accreditation process and contributed in various ways."

With more than 40 years of experience, the Barksdale veterinarian staff was able to surpass the accredited status of more than 900 individual AAHA standards.

"I would like to congratulate the Barksdale Veterinary Treatment Facility on achieving accreditation through AAHA," said Michael Cavanaugh, AAHA executive director, in a recent press release. "They are clearly committed to doing their very best as evidenced by the hard work and effort they put into this voluntary process."

Gaining the AAHA accreditation has placed the Barksdale veterinary clinic among the top practices in the country. It goes to show that our animals will receive the best care possible, said Whitten.