Assurant Solutions

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/12/07) */
(Revdex.com Copied from original document.)
"To Whom It May Concern:
Mrs***'s concerns were addressed in a letter from DrH*** explaining what transpired in the days *** was in the hospitalThis letter will address only the
questions listed on the report from the Revdex.com
1) Whether a patient is stable or not is a DVM's assessment based on temperature, breathing rate, heart rate, comfort level, mucus membrane color, etcThese things were assesed by DrW*** and *** was determined to be stableHe was admitted to the hospital not even hours prior, so huge improvements were not expectedBut on that day, he did not require additional oxygenHis acute need for higher oxygen levels the next day could not be predictedThere are complications of improvement that may or may not occur in any patient
2) Flowers are sent as a courtesy to help a client through a grieving process, not out of guiltThey are not sent to every client or every patient
3) DrW*** called the client from home and left a message on an answering machine for the client to call the clinicIt was DrW***'s day off and she does not give out her personal phone number to clients, but she managed the staff and gave direction for the patient It is unknown whether the client recieved the message, but it was left for certainThis situation would likely have been resolved better if DrW*** could have reached the owner
4) At any time, the client could have asked for another DVM to talk to, and could have declined transfer to Referral and requested euthanasiaShe could have requested another DVM to look at her cat and review the case, sinced her doctor was an hour awayShe never voiced these requests and so, it was assumed, she agreed with themHow could the staff know she
was considering euthanasia instead oftransfer?
& 6) The best thing for a being with difficulty breathing is oxygen, and even then, if lung capacity is severely diminished, there may not be a good outcomeSince *** was not improving in an oxygen cage, transfer to the Referral clinic was the best option for potential improvementThis is something you want to do quicklyThere are no ambulance services with transport oxygen available in our areaEvery one speeds to the emergency clinic; sometimes there is a good outcome, but sometimes not."
"DAVID H***, D.V.M
ANIMAL AND AIVIAN MEDICVAL CENTER
CENTER RD
BRlUNSWICK, OHIO
Revdex.com @ case #***,
In response to your second letter regarding Ms*** and her cat, ***I responded to all of Ms***'s questions in a letter, and then again in a letter to Revdex.comI was not the veterinarian on ***'s case, but I did review it with the staffI do not meet with clients personallly, unless I feel that their is a breach of hospital policy that needs to be addressed directly with a particular client, which is not the case
I very much understand the grief over the loss of a pet that Ms*** is going throughIt can make a person second guess their decisions, the decisions of others, and for them to missinterpret or forget details of a situationAs a courtesy, I will again go over a few questions to the best of my knowlege of ***'s care
Proof that *** appeared to be doing a little better on Tuesday is subjective to the veterinarian, but improved mucus membrane color, comfort and activity are all assessed and there seemed to be some improvement Many pets and even humans appear to "rally" or improve for short durations with critical conditions only to decompensate later, with no good reason for the short-term improvementI did not see ***,but it appears that this may have been the case
We currently send flowers to clients one to four times weeklyAll clients are Sent a sympathy card from the staff, because we all love animals and empathize with their owners lossThe veterinarians and staff have a very small budgett set aside for flowersBecause flowers are too expensive to send for all patients that are deceased, only a few get this token of sympathyThey are sent by the veterinarian or staff, due to an extraspecial bond that they felt with that pet and/or that owner at the time of it's
death
DrW*** did call Ms*** and informed her of ***'s critical condition by voicemailIt was a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) that released ***We do not offer pet any transport
services and I know of none available in the areaThere are three emergency, referral clinics in the area that can offer intranasal oxygen and other specialized services that DrW*** hoped could help ***We gave Ms*** directions and their phone numberAlthough I could not confirm the nurses "big eyes", hurrv would be an appropriate response for any critical caseThere are no waivers for client transportationThe emergency, referral hospitals operate independentlyDrWillson's call and the RVT explained that *** was critical and if he was able to be saved it would only be possible at an emergency, specialty hospitalThey assumed that if Ms*** was interested in euthanasia that she would have expressed this concernI apologize for any misscommunications that occurred and I empathize with Ms***'s loss."
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 13, 2015/12/14) */
(Revdex.com received an email from the consumer.)
"Ms***,
Thank you very much for your assistance with our complaint against Animal & AvianUnfortunately, we are not satisfied with the doctor's/business' responseHaving to witness the suffering and death of a beloved pet has been overly traumatic and completely unbearableI don't wish that on anyone
After years of being a client for veterinarian and grooming services, Animal & Avian has lost our business due to this incidentWe have found another Vet for the care of our other pets
We believe that we are going to move forward with filing a complaint with the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board, and consulting with an attorney about possible legal action (Animal & Avian made no mention about a refund in their response), as we still feel as though we were wronged and ***'s treatment was mishandled
Thank you again for all of your assistance
Sincerely,
*** *** & *** ***"