Located on a patch of prairie near the round barnAdvanced Care Pet Hospital is Central Minnesota's newest veterinary practice. The pet hospital opened in December 2009. It is owned and operated by Doctor Pamela Gerds and her husband Tom.
Dr. Gerds Pictured with husband Tom & the Kids: Suzie, Scout and Biwabik. Photo by County Gallery, Kimball, MNDr. Gerds spent much of her career working for others, building a foundation of skills and experience. For 10 years she served in Fergus Falls, followed by 6 years managing a growing pet hospital in Plymouth Minnesota.
In the Spring of 2009 plans were put in place to create a veterinary practice for the rest of us. As she aptly describes, "it is time to open a pet hospital that does pet medicine right."
In 2009 with the assistance of the local Small Business Development Center, Advanced Care was up and running by year's end.
The economy is still touch and go, we are all on fixed incomes doing what we can to get by. We understand.
Advanced Care Pet Hospital knows your pet's health is important to you. We affirm your right to afford the quality of care your pet deserves. Dr Gerds takes the time to explain your pet's care options so you can decide the appropriate treatment course for your pet.
We would not recommend treatment plan options that we would not do for our own pets or those of our staff. Advanced Care simply does not "guilt" you into uncomfortable decisions or criticize your judgement if you chose alternate treatment plan options. We won't make you feel like a bad pet owner for your decision. In short, "we don't treat you or your pets like animals."
Our clients find this a refreshing perspective.
We are quietly building a reputation as the friendly, honest and down-to-earth vet in Central Minnesota. Dr. Gerds honestly cares about the well being of her patients and you reognize the difference when you bring your pets here.
Here you get the straight scoop about your pet's health. You will not get the sensation of being pushed into buying stuff of marginal value. Often our clients ask for our recommendations and we are happy to help.
We did not grow our business and our reputation by pushing product or services you don't need or want. We did it by doing what is right for you and your pet.
The name came to Dr. Gerds in a dream, she woke up early one morning and said it clear as a bell. I said write it down so we wouldn't forget it, "Advanced Care Pet Hospital." We keep a pad of paper on the night stand for these moments of insipration. We immediately checked the name availability that morning and it was set.
It works on several levels, "Advanced Care" says it all in just two words. Advanced diagnostic services with the fastest most reliable diagnostic tools on-site combined with providing customers and their pets a humane and personal warmth when coming in for Care.
Scout is the name of our long haired miniature Dachshund. When looking for locations, we found Pine Cone Market Place and happened to turn on Scout Drive and see the round barn.
Looking back, we feel the 911 street number was a gift by the City of Sartell. Being a Pet Hospital for veterinary health care, the 911 street number truly was an elegant touch with its implications for rapid medical care.
Open weekends, expanded weekday hours, convenient drop off service, experienced people and great service add up to real value for you. We treat you like we like to be treated ourselves.
We don't nickle and dime you. If a recheck is in order for a persistant condition and the doctor requests the pet be rechecked we don't recharge you for the exam.
When your pet needs stitches and they need to be removed later, we don't charge you a fee to remove them. Want to bring in multiple pets on the same day? It's convenient for you and you can save money by doing so. There is also exam savings when you do vaccines. We do not charge a new customer registration fee. We don't charge a microchip registration fee. Our everyday dental rates are very reasonable.
We don't recommend anything more than what we would do for our own pets. We won't treat your pet like an animal.
People frequently compliment us on our Practice. We hear from many people that our pet hospital does not smell like an animal hospital. Other folks complement us on how it does not sound like a pet hospital, that it is quiet and their pets seem less stressed as a result.
Numerous folks tell us, their pets have never behaved this well at any vet before coming here. They appreciate our attention to little details like wiping down exam tables between pets and keeping the lobby clean.
Three ways we help you save on new puppy and kitten shots: 1st Advanced Care Pet Hospital does not charge you a new pet registration fee to become our customer. 2nd, when it is time for booster shots, we don't charge you again for an office visit or exam fee. 3rd, you only get and pay for the services you want and really need. We don't expect or require you to load up on a whole bunch of stuff you and your pet will survive without.
One of two remaining round barns in Stearns County is found a few hundred yards from our location at the end of Scout Drive.
A Sartell City staffer mentioned they would like one day to see the barn restored with a round about around it as a center piece for their new Town Center concept. Dr. Gerds and Tom are big fans of old barns and buildings. We enjoy looking out at it.
We are not the only ones as we see many people stopping to photograph the structure. Learn more about the round barn by clicking on the heading.
When we purchased the land for Advanced Care Pet Hospital,
Sartell City code required a minimum one acre purchase for our business. This left a lot
of dirt in need of cover. Green turf was suggested but it requires significant irrigation
and maintenance. This is very costly and it further reduces the environment
for wildlife and birds.
We contacted Prairie Restoration in Princeton, MN to create a prairie landscape. Learn more by clicking the heading.
Advanced Care Pet Hospital was featured in the 2009 MN SBDC yearbook. Our start-up story was featured to represent the Central Region in the annual directory. 12 business are featured annually, 1 for each of the 12 SBDC districts. The link above opens a PDF of our page in the 2009 Directory.
Advanced Care Pet Hospital received recognition from Google
and the National Association of Small Business Development
Centers in 2011. Tom wrote and entered a 350 word essay on how
Google services helped grow our business.
The essay cited 10 Google services we actively use. The most novel is Google Earth
where you will find a 3D model of our veterinary practice. It is one of the 1st four 3-D models in
the St. Cloud region found on Google Earth and Sartell's 1st.
Click below to view the Google commercial we won:
The 1st digital x-ray unit for pets in St. Cloud along with a human grade ultrasound. Board certified radiology done here in St. Cloud with Tele-medicine.
Bright, spacious lobby, individual cat and dog exam rooms
Our Digital X-Rays, Ultrasounds, internal and external lab results are all electronically linked to provide direct on-line connectivity with our Electronic Medical Records system.
This on-line connectivity saves data entry time. But more importantly, errors in data entry are eliminated.
Advanced Care has all patient records computerized. It is a task many human medical practices and traditional vet clinics have been coming to grips with in the last decade. Being quite new, Advanced Care was equipped to handle the challenge from day one.
From initial scheduling of your appointment through exam, invoicing and after care follow-up all information is documented and managed electronically. Records are backed up daily.
For new patients, all previous paper based records are scanned into the patient file so we can review all prior history at the click of a mouse. Relevant procedures and shot dates are entered into the electronic record.
Pet are photographed for their records and when they are all up to date on their shots, we create a free Pet ID Card with vaccine dates, microchip number, rabies tag number, etc. These are ideal to bring to groomers and boarding facilities.
Just a little extra service and value for our clients.
Advanced Care Pet Hospital actively supports the work of the Tri-County Humane Society.
As we are a very small business. We focus our limited resources for community support by assisting TCHS. Learn More HereOur goal is to be the vet you recommend to friends with pets. We are Central Minnesota's newest veterinary practice. We put together a great staff, current technology and a doctor with 17 years experience. Discover why so many already recommend Advanced Care Pet Hospital!
Copyright © 2012 Advanced Care Pet Hospital P.A.
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