SurTHRIVing: COVID-19 and the multimodal approach

Veterinary rehabilitation and sports medicine specialist Matthew Brunke, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRP, CVPP, CVA, medical director at Veterinary Surgery Centers (VSC) in Virginia, imparted pearls of wisdom to the audience during his keynote address at the Fetch dvm360^® San Diego conference in California. Delivering a presentation peppered in inspiration, Brunke instilled hope to professionals who are trying to navigate the abrupt changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From addressing the changes of the multimodal approaches to rehabilitation to fit the new guidelines to how these adaptations sparked advantages for both clients and staff alike, Brunke disclosed his story of how he not just survived but thrived during the height of the pandemic.

(Safely) engaging with clients

Just because clients are not inside the building does not mean that engaging with them has ceased, said Brunke. He shared that one problem he ran into at his facility was that because of curbside care, clients were unable to see their pets working out in rehabilitation because of the limited ways in which staff and pet parents could interact (ie, social distancing). Therefore, Brunke and his team decided to find innovative ways to keep owners feeling engaged and connected such as throwing a Halloween costume contest. The team took pictures and posted them to social media and asked their clients to vote as a way to safely engage and have fun together virtually.

Brunke revealed how this idea came to fruition. “As much as we liked not having them in the building, I also was not going to do Facetime for every exam,” he said. “But they were not seeing their pets work out in rehabilitation, so we were sending photos and videos of them on the treadmill and then we said, ‘You know what, what if we bought a whole bunch of animal Halloween costumes and did a costume contest?’”

In addition, both Brunke and his colleagues began noticing that clients were not able to interact with one another like they did pre-pandemic. With the adaptation of curbside care, clients would remain inside their cars without the chance to mingle with others. However, despite this barrier, Brunke revealed a unique story of how 2 of his clients and their 2 dachshunds beat the odds and formed a heartfelt friendship that no one could have predicted.

“These 2 [dachshunds] became workout buddies. And what happened? They both blew disks on the same day, at the same time, and had the same surgery by the same surgeon in back-to-back [operating rooms]. Both of the [dogs'] moms would come for rehab, and they didn’t know each other….one day, we accidentally brought the wrong dog to the wrong car because they look alike,” Brunke told attendees.

“And now, those 2 ladies have become friends. During their dog's rehab sessions, they set up a wine and cheese platter on the back of their SUV and they would go out [together] and are now lifelong friends. They are actually starting a business together next year,” he continued.

A boost in team morale

One obvious but very big change caused by the pandemic was prohibiting clients from entering a practice. According to Brunke, this played a critical part in morale within clinics because veterinary professionals did not have to deal with any rude or overbearing clients. As a result, veterinary professionals were able to provide the care needed to their patients without any interruptions from owners, thus igniting a positive change in their day-to-day operations.

“If you track FAS [Fear, Stress, and Anxiety Scale] scores in your practice, we tracked FAS scored before the pandemic and track them now. Unofficially, our fear, anxiety, and stress scores have dropped by over 50%. What’s the variable? No clients in the building,” Brunke imparted.

Another trend that many practices have adopted is supporting their team members by providing lunches. Brunke shared that at his practice, the administration went a step further and, instead, of opting to order pizza, they offered customized meals to team members from local small businesses in the 3 towns surrounding VSCRs location. Because of this, the team not only experienced a boost in morale but also extended support to local businesses and the community.

“We knew what the problem was and how do we make things better? Food, right? Food helps. We try to find a way because when you get lunch breaks, people did not want to go outside and interact with others so, we brought in food, but nobody would get tired of eating pizza really fast,” said Brunke.

“[VSC] had custom lunch orders [and] we figured things out. We were rotating with small businesses and supporting our local towns because we were watching as our friends and clients were shutting down their businesses and yet, still coming in with their pets to figure out how to pay for stuff, he continued.

Take-home points

For Brunke, the key to surviving these unprecedented times is to keep moving forward. Throughout clients and relationships, the pandemic has allowed staff members and clients to have a positive experience with each other while providing pets with the best standard of care possible.

During his address, Brunke and Multi Radiance Veterinary Lasers—developing laser therapy devices that provide accelerated pain relief and healing—announced that they will be raffling off 4 lasers to 4 lucky Fetch dvm360^® San Diego conference. They hope to improve the lives of pets and elevate the quality of veterinary care by making this resource available.