High-quality care standards are critical when choosing a veterinary hospital, but determining which facilities meet these qualifications can be difficult for pet owners to identify without insider knowledge. To ensure your pet receives care from a top-tier veterinary hospital, look for an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)-accredited facility. AAHA hospitals, including Stanton Pet Hospital, have earned the credential by meeting hundreds of quality and practice standards. Consider how AAHA accreditation benefits your pet’s care.

What is AAHA accreditation?

AAHA is dedicated to standardizing and improving veterinary medicine. This organization is the profession’s guiding light, following the most current research and gathering the industry’s brightest minds to create veterinary guidelines and protocols to inform veterinary medicine practices. AAHA also focuses on professional education in the veterinary industry, accrediting individual veterinary hospitals on a voluntary basis. Only 15% of veterinary hospitals in the United States and Canada are AAHA-accredited, which they earn after undergoing comprehensive evaluations to ensure that they adhere to AAHA’s standards.

AAHA standards for veterinary practice accreditation

Achieving accreditation takes several months to years of hard work to ensure the hospital operates optimally and provides high-level patient and client care. Hospitals must achieve a passing score by meeting a minimum number of standards in each of the following categories: 

  • Anesthesia — Anesthesia standards outline drug administration, monitoring, team member qualifications, and other techniques to minimize pet anesthetic risks.
  • Dentistry — Dentistry standards ensure a safe, thorough, and minimally invasive procedure, including a requirement for anesthesia during professional dental cleanings.
  • Emergency and critical care — Emergency care standards outline patient and client care protocols during emergency visits and overnight or extended hospitalizations.
  • Human resources — Human resources standards ensure the entire team is properly trained, qualified, educated, and managed.
  • Laboratory — Lab standards ensure proper sample collection, sample handling, results reporting, and recordkeeping for accurate patient diagnosis.
  • Medical records — Records standards state requirements for recordkeeping that facilitate continuity of care.
  • Pain management — Pain management standards ensure teams are able to evaluate pets’ pain accurately and use the most up-to-date management protocols.
  • Patient care — Patient care standards cover medical protocols and patient handling, including techniques to reduce pet fear and stress.
  • Pharmacy — Pharmacy standards ensure medications’ proper storage, handling, and dispensing, including recordkeeping.
  • Surgery — Surgery standards focus on strict cleanliness, sterility, and safety by ensuring proper equipment use and team training.

Why choose an AAHA-accredited veterinary hospital?

AAHA-accredited veterinary hospitals benefit pets and pet owners. Consider the following benefits:

  • Confidence — Pet owners can be confident that their pets are receiving high-quality care because the hospital meets or exceeds established standards across all hospital areas. 
  • Access to technology — Accredited hospitals are early adopters of new equipment and technology that help them provide pets with the most advanced diagnostics and treatments.
  • Qualified team members — AAHA hospitals employ skilled veterinarians, credentialed technicians, and experienced support staff who undergo regular training and continuing education.
  • Preventive care emphasis — AAHA establishes preventive care and vaccination guidelines based on medical research, emphasizing proactive care’s importance in preventing problems or detecting them earlier.
  • Client education — Accredited hospitals have access to unique client education tools and resources that help pet owners learn about their furry pals’ health and wellness needs, empowering them to make informed health care decisions.

AAHA-accredited veterinary hospitals give pet owners confidence and peace of mind that their furry pals are receiving the best possible care. Our Stanton Pet Hospital team chooses to maintain our AAHA accreditation to demonstrate our commitment to caring for pets, focusing on innovation and evidence-based care. Contact us to schedule your pet’s next visit or to learn more about how accreditation benefits your pet’s well-being.