Pawsh Place Veterinary Center will be temporarily closing for 10 days in September following a complaint filed by the state Veterinary Medical Board in 2018 over issues that took place prior to 2016 and have since been corrected.
According to VMB documents, the board received a complaint from a former Pawsh employee on April 11, 2016 which prompted a visit from a board investigator and veterinarian James. P. Howard that July. The board wrote that staff at Pawsh “were courteous and permitted the investigator and Dr. Howard to inspect the premises and interview various employees on site,” including owner and CEO Dr. Celina Hatt.
The board wrote that Howard “found the practice overall to have a high level of organization, order, cleanliness, and attention to patient care” and reiterated that staff were courteous and hospitable during the investigation. However, the board covered a number of issues that violated the state’s Business and Professions Code.
Among the issues outlined in a formal complaint filed in 2018 were Hatt allowing unlicensed individuals to induce anesthesia or perform dental operations such as extractions, failing to wear a sterilized surgical gown during spays and aseptic surgeries, failing to maintain sufficient medical records and failing to maintain a biennial inventory for controlled substances.
Michelle Cave, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which the VMB is a division of, said all complaints are investigated by the board.
“In this case with the complaint being investigated, there was cause to investigate further and for the board to file an accusation,” she said.
During the investigation, Hatt told the investigator that she allowed unlicensed veterinary assistants to administer dental anesthesia for training purposes, since many of them were studying to be registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) and were in the process of getting their licenses. Hatt also said that she was in the room with the unlicensed VAs when they performed those actions 90 percent of the time and in the immediate area or on the premises the remaining 10 percent.
Hatt further said she always approved the drugs being administered ahead of time and always assessed the patient and that anesthesia was usually monitored by a machine unless it was a complicated case. She also said she did around 40 percent of the tooth extractions and did all of the complicated cases, including feline extractions and all dental suturing.
Hatt also told the investigator that only veterinarians performed surgeries, dental or otherwise, and that all employees who touched an animal during surgery were required to wear a cap, gown, mask and gloves. However, she said she did not wear a gown at the time for “dirty cases” like laceration repairs, abscesses and ear hematomas and admitted that she did not wear a gown, cap or mask during certain neuters and did not wear a gown during some spays, although she did wear caps, gloves and masks, according to documents.
The initial investigation also found that Pawsh did not have a biennial inventory of controlled substances on hand. After the veterinary center submitted the requested corrections in August 2016, Howard found that Pawsh had complied with most corrections, although he noted that the submitted biennial inventory grouped all Schedule 2, 3 and 4 controlled substances were grouped together and the inventory did not state whether it was performed at the start or the end of the business day.
During a hearing, Howard said he found no evidence of animal abuse or harm at Pawsh and that in California, VAs can do minor teeth procedures such as cleaning and can scrape plaque off an animal’s teeth if a veterinarian is on the premises. However, he said they must have a controlled substances permit to handle controlled substances and can not perform extractions.
Since the initial investigation, the board wrote that Pawsh has turned its initial issues around substantially.
“The clinic has more structure, and the employees’ roles are clearly defined,” the board wrote. “The clinic experienced rapid growth and some growing pains initially; it runs more smoothly now.”
Among other things, the board wrote that VAs no longer do extractions, induce anesthesia or place sutures, as the business now has enough RVTs to perform those actions.
“The staff is now very clear on the parameters of their duties,” the board wrote.
Additionally, the board wrote that Hatt now always wears a gown when performing spays and other aseptic surgeries, only veterinarians administer controlled substances and has put up a sign in the treatment area outlining the duties that RVTs must perform rather than VAs. Additionally, the board wrote that Hatt has corrected the biennial inventory to comply with federal regulations.
The board also noted that Pawsh was accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association in 2017, that clients spoke very highly of Hatt and that she was heavily involved in the community through her work with Soroptimist International of Vacaville and Pawsh’s donations toward the nonprofit Saving Gracie, which raises money to provide life-saving surgeries to pets in Solano County.
The numerous findings over three years, both positive and negative, resulted in the board deciding to place Hatt under three years’ probation with 19 terms and conditions. These include paying a $5,000 fine, undergoing ethics training, issuing quarterly reports to the board on Pawsh’s compliance with the terms and conditions and the suspension of Hatt’s license and Pawsh’s premises registration from Sept. 3 to 12. Pawsh will be closed during this time, and a notice of suspension will be posted in a visibly public place.
“(Hatt) has established sufficient evidence of rehabilitation to warrant allowing her to remain licensed under the scrutiny of a probation with appropriate terms and conditions,” the board wrote.
Pawsh clients who wish to seek more information on the temporary closure may call 451-0571 X 4.
