Humane Pennsylvania, a network of animal welfare facilities in Pennsylvania, is excited to announce the recent acquisition of a new building located at 1729 N. 11th Street, Reading.
The organization has purchased the building, which is adjacent to the Humane Society of Berks County, to act as the headquarters for Humane Pennsylvania as well as the future home of Humane Veterinary Hospitals Reading.
The new building will make it possible to expand veterinary services to help more community and shelter animals while allowing HSBC to dedicate its space to shelter services. It will provide desperately needed administrative offices, off street parking, and storage space, as well as allow Humane Veterinary Hospitals Reading to begin the process to become accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) in the coming year.
Accredited hospitals are the only hospitals that choose to be evaluated on approximately 900 quality standards that go above and beyond basic state regulations, ranging from patient care and pain management to staff training and advanced diagnostic services. AAHA-accredited hospitals are recognized among the finest in the industry, and are consistently at the forefront of advanced veterinary medicine. AAHA standards are continuously reviewed and updated to keep accredited practices on the cutting edge of veterinary excellence.
“AAHA accreditation is HUGE,” explained Humane Pennsylvania President and CEO Karel Minor, “Only about 12% of 33,000 animal hospitals in the United States have attained the accreditation and according to AAHA, only 15 non-profits have done so. Our goal isn’t to merely have veterinarians and a veterinary practice,” continued Minor, “It is to have the best veterinary practice. Earning national accreditation will be a statement to the community that our veterinarians not only do good work for animals, they do it as well as any practice in the region.”
Humane Veterinary Hospitals Reading will be the City of Reading’s first AAHA-accredited hospital.
Humane Veterinary Hospitals, with offices in Lancaster and Reading, is a division of Humane Pennsylvania. Formed to help ensure pet owners have ready access to high quality veterinary care, which has been shown to decrease the likelihood of an animal ever entering an animal shelter, Humane Veterinary Hospitals also provides over $700,000 in care value to sheltered animals and at-risk animals in the community each year.
“We’re creating a life-saving campus,” Minor said, “a space for pet owners to find advanced, cutting-edge treatments for their pets. Humane Pennsylvania is proud to make this million dollar commitment to the future of Reading and Berks County and we look forward to making a real difference in the community as we continue to raise the standard of animal care both locally and nationally.”
A ceremonial groundbreaking will soon be announced and will feature key donors who made the project possible, as well as local dignitaries.
Humane Veterinary Hospitals Reading is open to the public and accepting new patients. At Humane Veterinary Hospitals Reading, pet owners can expect to receive top notch client amenities and the highest quality care from a well-trained, professional veterinary team. The veterinary hospital will remain open and continue to provide top quality veterinary care to the public during renovation of the new building. In addition to serving the general public, the veterinary hospital also serves HSBC’s animals, adopters and pet owners in financial need. It is currently located at 1801 N. 11th Street in Reading and can be reached at 610-921-VETS (8387) or reading@hvhospitals.org. For more information, visit www.hvhospitals.org.
As Humane Pennsylvania acquired this new building, Humane Veterinary Hospitals Lancaster achieved AAHA accreditation and expanded their services. The veterinary hospital now boasts state-of-the-art digital radiology, dental, and surgical suites. Humane Veterinary Hospitals Lancaster serves the Humane League of Lancaster County’s animals, adopters, pet owners in financial need, and the general public.
Humane Pennsylvania is a 501(c)3 organization. The non-profit is the region’s largest partnership of animal welfare organizations. It combines the efforts and resources of open access and adoption guarantee animal shelters, adoption centers, non-profit veterinary hospitals and clinics, equine rescue, emergency animal service organizations, animal welfare management services, an animal-focused charitable foundation, and even a free public dog park. For more information visit www.humanepa.org. For more information about AAHA accreditation, visit aaha.org/petowner.