Wisconsin Rapids Vet Clinic Fights to Stay Open for Patient Needs

Wisconsin Rapids (OnFocus) A Wisconsin Rapids veterinary clinic is fighting for the right to continue caring for their patients, after saying they were forced to close due to COVID-19. With a shortage of veterinary care nationwide, the closure exacerbates an already significant problem.

COVID-19 Results in Closure

On July 13, Dr. Kristie Ponce, DVM and owner of Animal Medical and Surgical Clinic of Wisconsin Rapids, learned that a staff member had mild symptoms that could be consistent with COVID-19. The staff member was sent home after being on the premises for less than an hour, though she had worked two days previously with potential symptoms. On July 16th, the staff member’s test result came back positive.

“We had already started wearing masks consistently and have always used a disinfectant with SARS-CoV2 applicability,” said Dr. Ponce. “Initially the health department didn’t contact me, the clinic owner; they contacted my office manager, Connie. I don’t have the original e-mails and was not in on the phone calls. However, I do remember that each staff member seemed to be getting conflicting recommendations from within Wood County, which also differed from what Portage County (our business is in Wood, but some employees live in Portage) was recommending.”

According to Ponce, some employees were told to strictly isolate, even from family; others were told to just wear a mask and stay six feet apart when they went out.

“We began cancelling appointments for the following day, going back down to what was urgent/essential, instituted a ‘no contact’ policy with regards to clients,” said Ponce. “Staff did not even go out to get pets or hand medications to clients. We made plans to reduce the amount of staff we would need to have in the building at any one time. We saw 58 patients on Thursday, and only 22 on Friday. We closed Saturday.”

What followed was a week of back-and-forth with the DHS, while meanwhile Ponce was treating as many patients as possible with a skeleton crew.

On July 21st, Ponce had two staff members helping her most of the day, with a third added in the afternoon and some working from home as best they could.

“We saw 19 patients. Seven were ill; one was a post-surgical recheck; the rest were overdue for vaccinations against rabies and Leptospirosis, both of which are zoonotic diseases,” she said.

The next day, Ponce received information that a second employee had tested positive, along with what she deemed “an ultimatum” from the DHS: they communicated that they had contacted their legal counsel, and were confident that the Wood County Circuit Court would be willing to impose penalties including a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail if Ponce and her staff did not comply with the quarantine demand.

“The e-mail stated that ‘we need to be assured by you that the clinic is either closed or that all employees exposed to either positive case are quarantined at home,’ as if there were a difference between those two things,” Ponce noted.

According to Wood County DHS, Wood County Health Department did not shut the clinic down. Wood County Health Department did not require them to close.

“Wood County Health Department began advising businesses to implement precautions when they were allowed to re-open in May. Wood County Health Department staff developed toolkits for them, guidelines, and recommendations and did walk-throughs for those who requested them,” said Kristie Rauter Egge, MPH. “We did whatever we could to help them open safely. Some businesses took this seriously. Some did not. There are a number of businesses in Wood County that have had cases, but did not have to close because they had measures in place whereby their entire staff were not exposed. They still had an unexposed workforce able to keep the business open. So, they used our business toolkit to assure disinfection and appropriate measures were in place both before and after the positive case occurred. But when a business operates in such a way that all staff are exposed, then they end up having no choice but to close because they have nobody left to work. We just had that occur with another business over the weekend. They chose to close because all staff were exposed. Should someone be non-compliant, we do have the ability to seek legal counsel that could lead to fines/jail time.”

Ponce, having followed the previous recommendations from the DHS, was upset by the directive to close – especially because she said it put her patients at risk.

The Significance of Veterinary Shortages

“There has been a shortage of veterinarians in the US for years, particularly in areas that are not densely populated,” she said. “For example, a client that went to an emergency clinic about an hour away said she was told when she called them that there would be a three hour wait before her pet was even seen. I called a referral center in Appleton that was also an hour away, and the emergency doctor told me that he had fourteen patients that he hadn’t even triaged yet.”

“The following day I tried to send one to the university teaching hospital in Madison, and was turned away because they had no room,” she continued. “This week we’ve had clinics call from over an hour away to ask for medical records from clients that we have been unable to see. When we were fully operational we had every appointment slot booked for each doctor that was on duty with multiple patients dropped off for urgent issues because there was no place to fit them onto the schedule. I go weeks without a lunch break. A normal work day for most people is eight hours. Mine is a minimum of twelve, five plus days each week, and we still can’t keep up with the demand, turning away at least five pet owners each day.”

Ponce likens the situation to the “flatten the curve” approach to COVID. “Flatten the curve” seeks to not overwhelm medical personnel, but by not treating veterinary hospitals with the same approach during this challenging time, veterinary hospitals are being inundated.

“Veterinary medical personnel are overwhelmed, and pets are dying needlessly because of it,” she said. “Additionally, it puts our communities at increased risk for exposure to zoonotic disease, injuries from pets who may bite due to painful medical conditions or fear (things we normally help with), and the added mental distress for clients who rely on their pets for emotional support, but aren’t able to obtain care for them when needed.”

“Anyone who thinks that two weeks is no big deal for a veterinary clinic to close should have been here yesterday when the hysterical woman was pounding on my door and crying because I couldn’t let her in or help her dog,” said Ponce. “I would have needed an extra set of hands to do anything useful for her pet, and couldn’t even let her assist, no matter how much she wanted to. I wish I knew the outcome of that case.”

Miscommunication & Confusion

Ponce is also frustrated by the confusion and miscommunication coming from various health departments.

“We did everything they asked of us, including getting N95 masks and getting fitted for them, and they still shut us down,” said Ponce. “They claim that they only required a complete quarantine after our second employee tested positive, but I can show via e-mails that their statement is false. They only started threatening jail time and fines after the second positive test, but they were becoming insistent before that.”

Ponce hopes to see legislation put into place so it goes on record as a law that veterinary medical services are essential, and veterinary medical personnel are healthcare workers.

“Asymptomatic veterinary staff who have been exposed to someone who tested positive should be allowed to continue to work provided that every effort is taken to reduce exposure of clients and staff,” she said. “It’s what the CDC states, but our health departments have chosen to ignore that.”

How to Help

Ponce said that Mayor Shane Blaser, Senator Patrick Testin, Representative Scott Krug, the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association have taken an interest in her case.

“I would suggest showing support to those that are working to get legislation passed, and letting the two women from the Wood County Health Department know that you do see veterinary medicine as an essential service, that veterinary personnel ARE healthcare workers, with the same right to continue to perform our duties as human healthcare workers have,” said Ponce. “Right now, even a janitor in a hospital or the service that cleans a doctors’ office gets more protection and assistance than veterinary professionals do.”

Ponce added that even when three employees became ill with COVID-like symptoms during the “first wave” in the spring, none were allowed to get tested because they weren’t considered healthcare workers.

“This spring, there was no quarantine recommended and we as a clinic were left to decide on our own how best to manage the situation,” she said. “Was that an ‘outbreak?’ Most likely, yes. Did all of our employees become symptomatic? Nope. Did all of their family members or other close personal contacts become infected? Nope. So what makes this situation different, other than the fact that now there are more tests available and anyone who wants one can get one? Nothing at all, except that we came to the attention of the wrong people”

Ponce added that the two staff members who tested positive are doing fine.

“That is the most important thing, always. Also, at least six others who were potentially exposed during this ‘outbreak’ tested negative,” she said. “I’ve had the most exposure, least amount of sleep, can’t even get away from the clinic phone long enough to take a bathroom break let alone eat or drink anything, am practicing no self-care at all, yet I have no symptoms. The precautions we initiated after the first staff member tested positive must have done some good, as we continued to work together for five more days after that with no evidence of continued spread.”

Editor’s Note: As of press time, Wood County DHS had not responded to requests for comment. Comments were later sent and added.

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