By Ireland Seagle

Farmville the Magazine

Did you know the veterinarians and veterinary assistants at Ridge Animal Hospital see more than 40 patients daily? This achievement is possible due to the practice’s recently finished renovations. Completed in December 2021, this new expansion arose from the hospital’s growing clientele.

As Hospital Manager Sydney French explains, “For the last few years, we felt that we had outgrown our space.”

The hospital’s treatment areas and exam rooms were congested, preventing veterinary staff from effectively seeing appointments. For this construction, “our goal was to create a very practical workspace where our patients and clients can be comfortable and our doctors and staff can operate most efficiently,” French continues. Many of the hospital staff and veterinarians, including Dr. Mark French, were influential in these new modifications.

After creating plans to begin construction in summer 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the hospital’s projects until early 2021. During the renovations, both the practice’s veterinarians and staff were flexible about working amongst the chaos. The patients and clients at Ridge Animal Hospital were also very understanding regarding the new modifications. “There were certainly a few rough spots – the three days spent tearing down our old brick chimney come to mind – and the hardest part was working in a space that was constantly in flux,” describes Sydney French. In the face of these obstacles, the staff at Ridge Animal maintained their professional and considerate attitudes.

Despite the disorder generated by the construction, Ridge Animal Hospital remained open during the majority of the renovation. The practice only closed early for one week to redo their floors and to paint one or two exam rooms at a time. In fact, the hospital staff decided to keep the building operational due to a local and nationwide demand for veterinary services. As Sydney French emphasizes, “We were concerned that decreasing our hours or patient volume would place undue hardship on both our clients and our nearby emergency hospitals.”

Following months of work, the modifications at Ridge Animal Hospital were completed. The renovation nearly doubled the practice’s square footage by adding two new exam rooms, an ultrasound room, surgical suite, dental suite, a dedicated lab space, new isolation ward, a cat ward, doctors’ office, and a staff break room. Some…