Advanced Veterinary Internal Medicine (AVIM) Joins The Compassion-First Family

We are thrilled to welcome our first California specialty practice to our growing family of 45 specialty and emergency hospitals across 14 states.

Founded in 2011, AVIM, located in Tustin, CA, offers comprehensive internal medicine services with over 50 years of combined experience from six veterinarians treating various illnesses and diseases affecting pets’ internal organs and bodily systems. Compassion-First Pet Hospitals continue to steward a new way of practicing veterinary medicine - where medical collaboration occurs seamlessly on a daily basis, with our esteemed veterinary professionals across the United States.

Welcome to the family, AVIM!
The Recipe For A Successful Partnership: Referral Relationship Managers & Our Referring Veterinary Community 

Excellent, lifelong veterinary care requires community-wide collaboration and cooperation. The Compassion-First network of hospitals could not provide world-class emergency and specialty care for pets without the support of our referring hospitals.

Our partner hospitals are so important that each Compassion-First hospital has a Referral Relationship Manager (RRM) dedicated to cultivating and maintaining these important relationships.
 
Pre-COVID, our teams were able to host in-person meet and greets, but in light of recent limitations, our RRM teams have pivoted to continue nurturing the relationships with their referring partners in new innovative ways.
Tails From The Field: Stories From Across our Family of Hospitals

We are guided by our mission of giving pets and their families more happy moments together. It’s at the heart of what we do each and every day.

Our Tails from the Field blog is a glimpse into the heart of our hospitals - the compassionate care, the medical advancements, an unparalleled client experience, and most importantly - our people. Here’s to highlighting moments of passion, resilience, dedication, inspiration, and to always putting compassion first.
Get to Know Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists (GCVS)
We love shining a light on our family of hospitals. For this hospital spotlight, learn more about GCVS, our esteemed 24/7 ER and specialty hospital located in Houston, TX.
 
  • GCVS joined the Compassion-First Pet Hospitals family in 2016.
  • GCVS’ 57,000 square foot, state-of-the-art hospital is home to 15 specialty departments, including 24/7 emergency, and team of 350+ doctors and staff.
  • GCVS is one of the nation’s leaders in joint replacement and arthroscopic surgical techniques. Their seven board-certified surgeons specialize in both soft tissue and orthopedics, and are highly skilled in minimally invasive surgery.
  • GCVS has received the Better Business Bureau's Award for Excellence recognizing excellence and quality in the workplace for 7 consecutive years.
  • GCVS was founded in 1989 and annually treats an over 90,000 dogs, cats and exotic pets!
  • The doctors and staff of GCVS were the focus of two seasons of “Animal ER” on National Geographic WILD!
Raising Awareness: How To Recognize & Treat Pain In Pets
Each September marks Animal Pain Awareness Month - an important month to help raise awareness for the health and well-being of the pets we cherish most. At Compassion-First, we believe in helping pets live their best, pain-free lives every day. Therefore, our hospitals offer a variety of advanced pain management therapies.

Many of our hospitals have board-certified veterinary anesthesia and analgesia specialists, who also are certified in other pain management therapies, such as acupuncture and rehabilitation. Read more about how Rebecca Salazar, DVM, DACVAA, of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, is passionate about making painful pets more comfortable.
We’re Proud To Recognize Our September Compassion-First Kudos Recipients!

The secret to our success is our people, plain and simple. Our hospitals each employ amazing teams who inspire one another to reach even further. Each month we proudly feature inspiring stories of staff members who bring our core values to life - from those who greet to those who treat! 

Each of our Kudos recipients are nominated by their peers for their outstanding work and for inspiring their teammates. You can read each of their stories and learn more about our Compassion-First Kudos employee recognition on our website.
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