Telford Veterinary Hospital in the News

 Telford Veterinary Hospital 
was the proud recipient of the prestigious Forbes Enterprise Award.  This award is given annually to small businesses who reflect innovation and excellence in business practices. 

TELFORD, PA January 29, 2007 — The Telford Veterinary Clinic has won a Forbes Magazine Enterprise Award.  This is the first year that Forbes has held the competition.  Practice owners, Dr. Sharon Minninger, DVM, and Mr. Jonathan Detweiler, along with other Enterprise Award winners will receive their awards on February 5 at Lincoln Center, New York City, N.Y.  Out of thousands of applicants, Telford is one of only 40 winners.  Entrants were judged on Marketing, Customer Service, Employee Relations, Community Service and New Products/Service Offerings. 

Marketing and community service are two examples of their winning application.  The most recent marketing campaign involved marketing a new facility they are building, scheduled to open in the spring.  The hospital coined the phrase “Follow Our Tracks” then gave away over 2000 vehicle paw print magnets and awarded weekly cash prizes for vehicles proudly displaying the magnet. For community service, because of her personal commitment to preventing rabies, Dr. Minninger has offered free Rabies vaccine to all of her clients since the clinic opened its doors.

Telford Veterinary Hospital, in Telford, Pennsylvania, is a full service companion animal hospital. It is their commitment to provide quality veterinary care throughout the life of their animal clients. Their services and facilities are designed to assist in routine preventive care for young, healthy pets; early detection and treatment of disease as pets age; and complete medical and surgical care as necessary during a pet’s lifetime. www.telfordvet.com   

No bones about it: They want to be best of breed

Philadelphia Business Journal - by Adam Stone Special to the Business Journal

That's the first thing you notice when you walk into Telford Veterinary Hospital. It may seem like a small point, but the people who run the place say it is emblematic of what they are trying to do. They are trying to run a different kind of pet clinic, something apart from the usual breed, and the numbers suggest the effort is paying off: from less than $668,000 in 2004 to almost $750,000 last year and climbing steadily. "We are striving for attention to detail, whether that is in treating a patient or in how the building is put together," said Dr. Sharon Minninger, who founded the practice in 1999. "We want people and animals to feel comfortable in what is usually a stressful situation."  That philosophy has Minninger's clinic literally bursting at the seams. Having outgrown its Telford home, the hospital will move this fall to a new space two miles away. It will cost about $1.5 million to renovate its new home in Souderton.  With a second doctor on staff and a growing roster of technicians and assistants, "things are very tight," said Jonathan Detweiler, hospital administrator.

Cathryn Chipley understands just how good this hospital can be. Last year her golden retriever Jewel got swept into a drain pipe and was trapped there for about 20 minutes. Chipley's husband lost his life attempting to rescue their pet. Jewel survived and the staff at Telford Veterinary rose to the occasion.  "Jewel needed emergency around-the-clock care for the first 48 hours and even though Telford Vet Hospital was closed for the Labor Day weekend, the staff, including Dr. Minninger, immediately came in and stayed with my dog," Chipley recalled.  "The staff sent me flowers for my husband. They came to his funeral. They made a house call when Jewel showed signs of deteriorating. They would not allow me to pay for her emergency care."

This is not your ordinary veterinary clinic. Staff are paid above the industry average. The Web site is packed with information about animal health and wellness. The clinic gives out free rabies shots.  "For a minimal cost on my part, I feel I can do something that benefits everybody," Minninger said of the rabies program.  At the same time, the staff here treats veterinary medicine as medicine. Surgery is preceded by extensive blood testing and other diagnostic efforts. "I am not successful if the animal doesn't go home in better shape than when we started. I don't see surgery just as a money maker," Minninger said.

Yet the clinic does make money, in part because of the return business of loyal clients, but also because of aggressive management.  Neil Hilkert is a King of Prussia business consultant whose firm, Direct Insight, has helped Detweiler and Minninger define and implement their growth strategy. Strategy is the key word here.  "They are inclined to follow the process, to develop the process, to implement and follow it and track it. They are really good at understanding the need to put those things into place," Hilkert said. In his experience, this is an unusual attribute among small business owners. "Entrepreneurs typically do things by the seat of their pants, working by the sheer gut force of their initiative," he said. "Process is the backbone, it's the foundation of the organization," Detweiler said. He pointed for instance to the hospital's hiring practices. "When Dr. Minninger started the practice, hiring pretty much came down to finding more bodies to come and work with her. She just needed help," he said. Today things are more refined. Detweiler will seek out not just those who possess the needed skills, but also those who match the culture of the organization.More new hires come from staff referrals, thanks in part to a referral bonus. An in-depth interview includes different forms of personality profiling. "We don't want just a good doctor or a good technician. We want somebody who understands our practice," he said.

This is all well and good, but this animal hospital still has to stand its ground among the dozens of other veterinary clinics in the area. Minninger does this in part through participation in community involvement: School days, career days, Boy Scout and Girl Scout events.  This is all well and good, but this animal hospital still has to stand its ground among the dozens of other veterinary clinics in the area. Minninger does this in part through participation in community involvement: School days, career days, Boy Scout and Girl Scout events.

Then there are the less orthodox marketing methods.  Recently, the clinic printed up 2,500 red paw print magnets emblazoned with the hospital's logo, gave them out across the area, and then paid $25 each week to drivers spotted with the magnet on their cars.  "People loved this. So many people have bought into this, and it has been a fun thing to do, just seeing how excited the community has gotten," Detweiler said.  Looking ahead, the principals say the new space will give them a chance to be even more competitive. With classrooms and lecture spaces, "this is our stepping stone to get us deeper into the community," Detweiler said. "This will enable us to try and reach out, to use new tools in order to get better exposure."

"It was quite an exercise trying to concisely describe what makes us so special in 500 words," said Detweiler, business manager for the hospital.  Somehow, Detweiler managed to do it and the business was one of 40 winners among thousands of applicants for the small business prize that is in its first year.  In fact, Telford Veterinary Hospital was the only winner in its category of animals, pets and veterinarians, according to Detweiler. For Detweiler and Veterinarian Dr. Sharon Minninger, the prize was just one big way to acknowledge all the employees of the hospital have built over the years. "I was very proud," said Minninger. "Everybody here does an outstanding job and it's always nice to be recognized for what you do. But it's also nice to be recognized at this caliber on a corporate level that some of our ideals and practices are noteworthy."  "There's a lot of pride that goes into this," said Detweiler. "The staff knows that it's their work and their accomplishments that have gotten us to where we are."

The award judged entrants on marketing, customer service, employee relations, community service and new product or service offerings. And for Telford Veterinary Hospital, it was a lot to cram into a little space.   The main emphasis for the hospital is its effect on the community as well as the adored pets of the community, Detweiler said. As part of that dedication, the hospital does rabies clinics and gives away free vaccinations for the disease to anyone's pet that enters the hospital, Detweiler said.  "Dr. Minninger has had a real, almost personal, endeavor to eradicate and completely wipe out rabies in the area," said Detweiler. "It's something she feels very strongly about." Minninger said that while she thinks all the clinics in the area provide excellent medical care, working with the Telford hospital has given her the opportunity to do outreach programs like the rabies clinic that are not typical to the area. 

In addition, the hospital aims to help people take care of their pets, keep track of their health and promotes preventative medicine wherever possible, Minninger said.  "The things that are really important to us are taking care of pets and preventative medicine," said Minninger. "I think that's one of the things that sets us apart."  On the Telford Veterinary Hospital Web site (www.telfordvet.com), the hospital also offers a link to a veterinary information network that allows pet owners to look at a library of information about animal behavior and health questions. 

To further help patients, Detweiler said the hospital does not limit time spent with patients so pet owners do not feel like they are being ignored or looked over.   "The trend in medicine on the whole is to streamline, make things faster," said Detweiler. At Telford, the doctors and staff are encouraged to spend time talking over concerns with patients to provide a level of comfort and increased care that Detweiler says benefits the hospital. The hospital has seen its client base grow over the past few years and at the same time, productivity has grown, he said.   To accommodate more clients, the hospital will also move to a new, larger facility. The waiting room at that facility, where pets and owners are often the most uncomfortable and concerned as they wait, will be one of the largest areas of the hospital to offer comfort and convenience, said Detweiler. The facility will also offer an in-house grooming area operated by Pampered Pets of Souderton to create a sort of one-stop shop in pet care, Detweiler said.
But to keep the patients happy, the staff has to be happy, too. Detweiler said this has been achieved through several means. One is a hiring program that includes psychological profiling and personality profiling that helps the hospital bring staff on board that will work well together. The hospital employees 8 full-time and 3 part-time employees.  "Every member of our staff is an extension of us," said Detweiler. "It's so important to us that they share the same set of values and that they understand our mission." Staff training and development programs are in place, including continuing education. Additionally, the hospital often has teambuilding exercises for the staff. 

The hospital also mentioned its marketing program in the application, which includes 2,500 magnetic paws that were given to community members and patients. Each week, one was "spotted" by the hospital and awarded $25. It gave the hospital exposure, and the patients enjoyed it too, Detweiler said. Some would call in to note they had seen paw stickers as far as Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley and King of Prussia.  Where the hospital will travel next is anyone's guess. "We're very excited," said Minninger. "This is the first time the awards have been done, and we're just excited to see where this goes and see where we go as a hospital.