about us :: policies

Our mission

The Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital is driven to provide the best in quality animal care, including trauma, acute care and critical care medicine in the San Fernando Valley. We will be available for all necessary services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are committed to providing quality, compassionate, and gentle medical care to pets with integrity and service to the pet's owners.

To achieve this mission we will:

Provide estimates to clients before undertaking treatment, so that there is agreement between the client and the hospital care-givers before treatment is initiated.
Update estimates every 24 hours to keep clients informed.
Maintain continuous staffing of the hospital.
Maintain open communication between care-givers and clients and the referring practices.
Continually seek to maintain doctors, and where applicable, staff members' education on the latest techniques, information, and diagnostics, so that we can remain educated, and where possible, able to provide the best medical care in the San Fernando Valley.
Maintain high hospital and practice standards by participating with, and seeking accreditation from voluntary professional associations, such as AAHA and VECCS. Maintain memberships in local and national professional associations, such as the AVMA, CVMA, and SCVMA.
Maintain a safe workplace and physical plant for clients, pets and staff by complying with OSHA regulations, animal restraint recommendations, maintaining cleanliness and safety from intruders.
Maintain a web presence so that clients can find us and access hospital information 24 hours a day.
Maintain and distribute a written set of hospital policies to clients to maintain clear understandings.
Maintain fiduciary health of the practice to ensure that long term and short term financial obligations can be met.
Expand the practice where applicable and practical to accommodate new needs and/or trends in quality animal care.

Policies

Finances

Payment is required at the time of service.
Accepted forms of payment include cash. Visa, Master Card, American Express, and Discover. Checks are not accepted. Clients on a revolving account, and whose payments are handled through an accounting firm, may pay by check. The check must contain the client identification number and the date(s) of treatment and the pet name.
If the patient is hospitalized, a deposit is required at the time of admission. The deposit amount is 75 percent of the estimate chosen and signed by the owner during the admission process. Please be advised that the majority of the estimate is for services performed during the first 12 hours of your pet's stay.
If the hospital stay exceeds what is estimated, or if additional diagnostics or treatments are necessary and approved by the owner that are not included in the original estimate, an additional deposit may be requested and the owner will be apprised of a revised estimate based on the patient's medical needs at that point. Further, if your current balance exceeds $800.00, you will be required to provide an additional deposit of $800.00.
Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital does not do billing. When a patient is discharged from the hospital, payment for the invoice total is expected in full. We do not accept postdated checks or partial payment.
If the total invoice amount does not equal or exceed the deposit amount at the time of discharge, a refund will be issued the same way the deposit was made. If the deposit was made by check, Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital will issue a refund check three weeks after the deposit was made.
If you are unable to pay your bill or deposit, it is possible to arrange for a friend or relative to pay the amount due to Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital. However, in order to prevent fraud, the cardholder must present their credit card in person or fill out a credit card authorization form with a copy of their driver's license and the front and back of the credit card.

Personal Belongings

When a patient is hospitalized, we will not accept any personal belongings, i.e. leashes, blankets, pillows, toys, etc. Bedding is provided for patients. If you decide to leave personal belongings with your pet, Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital will not be responsible for lost items.

Visiting

We encourage clients to visit their pets when they are hospitalized. It can be beneficial to both you and your pet. Please call prior to visiting. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, room visits are standard hospital policy. Our visiting hours are between 9 a.m.-10 p.m. We do not allow visiting between the hours of midnight-9 a.m.

Phone Calls

Clients are encouraged to call at any time to get updates on their pet's condition. If a doctor is unavailable to speak with the client at that time, the client is welcome to leave a message or get a clinical update from a technician. The doctor or doctor's assistant will give all medical updates.

If a client calls regarding test results, a technician or assistant may relay results to owners, but only if instructed to do so by a doctor. Technicians are not expected to interpret test results.

Medication Refills:

Refills on your pet's medication take 24 hours to be authorized.