Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Staff photo
Kate Steinhacker visits "Sarah," Gerald Meyers' cat. Sarah gets a weekly home visit from Steinhacker, one of the few veterinarians in the state who does house calls.
By TREVOR MAXWELL
Staff Writer
In the veterinary clinic where she used to work, Dr. Kate Steinhacker often found herself limited to 15 minutes for each pet.
For Steinhacker, it was not enough time to discuss the problems and develop solutions. Not to mention the distress of some of the cats and dogs, whose owners struggled to get them through the doors.
"I had seen enough really anxious animals in the clinic setting," she said.
So in 2004, Steinhacker started her own practice in South Portland, and she is now one of a small handful of doctors in Maine who exclusively do house calls.
The advantages for Steinhacker are many. First, she can spend as much time with a patient as she deems necessary. Also, Steinhacker can make lasting connections with families that embrace her alternative philosophies on animal medicine.
Steinhacker describes herself as someone who integrates eastern and western medicine. Some of the techniques she uses are massage, acupuncture and herbal therapies.
"I really like to focus on preventive medicine, whenever possible, using natural types of diets and treatments," she said.
For cases that require ultrasounds or other advanced technologies, Steinhacker refers the pet owner to one of many clinics in the area.
The demand has been high, and for the first time, Steinhacker has struggled to keep pace with the calls this spring. An 80-hour week is not uncommon.
That is one of the drawbacks of the house-call business model, Steinhacker said. Financially, it is very tough. She can only see a small number of clients in a day, and she often drives 30 minutes each way to get to a patient's house. That 30-minute radius is usually Steinhacker's limit for appointments.
Also, Steinhacker cannot afford to hire an assistant, so she does all the work of the business: the housekeeping, accounting, product orders and so on.
If the high demand increases and stays that way, Steinhacker said she will probably hire a helper.
"I have new clients every week," she said. "It is mostly word of mouth. The people who need it seem to find it."
Dr. Anne Del Borgo of Harpswell is president of the Maine Veterinary Medical Association. Del Borgo was aware of Steinhacker, as well as Dr. Susan Matteson of Brunswick, as two doctors who have switched to the house-call model. There could very well be others, Del Borgo said.
Many veterinary clinics across the state provide for house calls in case of emergency or under some other conditions, Del Borgo said. She said the house-call option is a positive for pet owners in Maine.
"I think it is a very useful thing," Del Borgo said. "This is just what a lot of pet owners and pets need. Some pets get very stressed when they come to the office."
Also, some owners do not have vehicles. Others are elderly and cannot get their pets to a clinic.
"There is definitely a place for it," Del Borgo said. "People like the personal touch of having their pets treated at home, but they also like the access to the technology that can only be provided through the brick and mortar clinics."
Staff writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
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My cat gets herbs for a breathing issue. He was on steroids for years which didn't help and left him lethargic. After switching to Dr. Kate and putting him on herbs instead of steroids he has improved dramatically.
I also homecook for my dog, which I'm sure is also laughable to Greg Greg. But I spend less money than if I fed her solely dry food. And you know what else? In the midst of all of these pet food recalls I have no worries. Additionally, my dog is one of the few and far between who isn't the width of an ottoman, and can run circles around nearly all of the other dogs at the beach, dog park, etc.
Mock it all you want, but I love the changes that the alternative therapies, preventive medicine, and house calls have brought out in my animals. But then again, I'm one of those silly people who consider my pets to be part of my family.report abuse
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