We’ve seen pet owners waiting hours for critical care as emergency pet hospitals scramble to take care of patients.Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 talked with a medical director at one of the region’s largest hospitals to get some answers.Watch the report: Click the video player above.The patient wait times at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center vary on a day-by-day basis. During the height of the pandemic, doctors said they reached more than 12 hours.Dr. Samuel Durkan is a medical director and critical care specialist for PVSEC in North Hills.“We are all here to help you. We are all trying to do the best we can, but there is only so much we can do,” Durkan said.Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, families rely on emergency pet hospitals. “The phones are ringing off the hook,” pet owner Shaun Veshio said.“We have been waiting. They said it can take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours for a doctor to see our dog,” pet owner Bill Puhl said.The same exact problem is happening across the country. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 also talked with families at another emergency trauma center, Avets in Monroeville.“I got here around 5 p.m. in the evening and it’s almost 1 a.m. and we are just about to be seen … it’s pretty frustrating. We don’t know what’s wrong with the dog. It’s a lot on us,” pet owner Michael Wright said.Durkan with PVSEC says if you find yourself sitting in the parking lot for hours, here’s what is happening.“Pet numbers went up, vet numbers went down, and we got the surplus,” Durkan said.Looking at the bigger picture, Durkan says pre-pandemic, each day, the hospital saw 70 to 100 patients for emergency visits. Add in specialty visits, and 200 additional pets were being treated. When COVID-19 hit, the ER caseload increased by 40%. “But unfortunately, decreased our staff load by 20%, so we saw a lot more cases, with a lot of less staff … they’re burnt out, mental health wellbeing, people are going to other avenues, some of our nurses are going to human nursing, some of them are going back to school,” Durkan said.As for the increase in patients, Durkan explained it like this.“A lot more people worked from home. A lot more people were staring at their pets during the day and could see changes that they didn’t see before,” Durkan said.In addition to that, Durkan said a lot of general practices cut back their hours due to staffing shortages, and PVSEC took on those extra cases.“We are a very large ER facility, probably the largest in the tri-state area, and there is no backstop behind us, so we are it,” Durkan said.That’s exactly what happened to pet owners we talked to when they tried to go to their vet before coming to PVSEC. “They are not open today. They are only open three days a week … then they are off Friday and Saturday, so I can’t take my dog there,” Bill Puhl said.“All day she was on the phone, trying to get him in and like I said, we were just thankful that they were able to,” Christine Lantz said.Despite the challenges, Durkan says at no time, even at the height of the pandemic, did a pet get forgotten.“The pets when they were in the hospital still got care, they were still observed, they were still getting their vitals taken on a very frequent basis, so it wasn’t as if they were being brought into the hospital and stuck in the cage and ignored, they were not at all,” Durkan said. As for the future and the long wait times, Durkan says it’s hard to give an answer.“I think yes it will get better, because I think it is going to change the way we look at it, and I think we are going to have to change as an industry. I think we are going to have to be very cognizant of the demands on those people and the staff,” Durkan said.Until then, pet owners say although it may frustrating, it’s the best option when an emergency occurs.“They did an amazing job here tonight,” Veshio said.“It’s the best place to go so that’s why we always come here,” Donald McGeehan said.Durkan says there are ways to avoid longer waits. If you can, don’t come on weekends because they are the busiest, and call ahead, because sometimes a lot of questions can be answered over the phone.
We’ve seen pet owners waiting hours for critical care as emergency pet hospitals scramble to take care of patients.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 talked with a medical director at one of the region’s largest hospitals to get some answers.
Watch the report: Click the video player above.
The patient wait times at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center vary on a day-by-day basis. During the height of the pandemic, doctors said they reached more than 12 hours.
Dr. Samuel Durkan is a medical director and critical care specialist for PVSEC in North Hills.
“We are all here to help you. We are all trying to do the best we can, but there is only so much we can do,” Durkan said.
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, families rely on emergency pet hospitals.
“The phones are ringing off the hook,” pet owner Shaun Veshio said.
“We have been waiting. They said it can take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours for a doctor to see our dog,” pet owner Bill Puhl said.
The same exact problem is happening across the country. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 also talked with families at another emergency trauma center, Avets in Monroeville.
“I got here around 5 p.m. in the evening and it’s almost 1 a.m. and we are just about to be seen … it’s pretty frustrating. We don’t know what’s wrong with the dog. It’s a lot on us,” pet owner Michael Wright said.
Durkan with PVSEC says if you find yourself sitting in the parking lot for hours, here’s what is happening.
“Pet numbers went up, vet numbers went down, and we got the surplus,” Durkan said.
Looking at the bigger picture, Durkan says pre-pandemic, each day, the hospital saw 70 to 100 patients for emergency visits. Add in specialty visits, and 200 additional pets were being treated. When COVID-19 hit, the ER caseload increased by 40%.
“But unfortunately, decreased our staff load by 20%, so we saw a lot more cases, with a lot of less staff … they’re burnt out, mental health wellbeing, people are going to other avenues, some of our nurses are going to human nursing, some of them are going back to school,” Durkan said.
As for the increase in patients, Durkan explained it like this.
“A lot more people worked from home. A lot more people were staring at their pets during the day and could see changes that they didn’t see before,” Durkan said.
In addition to that, Durkan said a lot of general practices cut back their hours due to staffing shortages, and PVSEC took on those extra cases.
“We are a very large ER facility, probably the largest in the tri-state area, and there is no backstop behind us, so we are it,” Durkan said.
That’s exactly what happened to pet owners we talked to when they tried to go to their vet before coming to PVSEC.
“They are not open today. They are only open three days a week … then they are off Friday and Saturday, so I can’t take my dog there,” Bill Puhl said.
“All day she was on the phone, trying to get him in and like I said, we were just thankful that they were able to,” Christine Lantz said.
Despite the challenges, Durkan says at no time, even at the height of the pandemic, did a pet get forgotten.
“The pets when they were in the hospital still got care, they were still observed, they were still getting their vitals taken on a very frequent basis, so it wasn’t as if they were being brought into the hospital and stuck in the cage and ignored, they were not at all,” Durkan said.
As for the future and the long wait times, Durkan says it’s hard to give an answer.
“I think yes it will get better, because I think it is going to change the way we look at it, and I think we are going to have to change as an industry. I think we are going to have to be very cognizant of the demands on those people and the staff,” Durkan said.
Until then, pet owners say although it may frustrating, it’s the best option when an emergency occurs.
“They did an amazing job here tonight,” Veshio said.
“It’s the best place to go so that’s why we always come here,” Donald McGeehan said.
Durkan says there are ways to avoid longer waits. If you can, don’t come on weekends because they are the busiest, and call ahead, because sometimes a lot of questions can be answered over the phone.
