I have been prohibited by telling you all about Dr Pooler for the past 3 years because of a non-compete agreement that she had with her previous partner.
That agreement ended January 1st, 2014.
I apologize for the delay in announcing her official arrival.
Dr Pooler is a Bangor native…raised in Bangor, graduate of Bangor High. She started her career in geology but changed gears in her 30’s to pursue a childhood dream of being a vet. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University and came back to her home town to practice. About 5 years ago, I followed her into the parking lot of Eastern Maine Emergency Clinic and told her that I was looking for someone to help with the load at Kindred Spirits that was exactly like her. She didn’t get the hint, and told her partner that I was looking for another vet.
What I loved about her approach to practice was that she treated her clients and her patients like her family. When I met someone in the community who had her as a vet they always said “We LOVE Karen”. …every single time.
I shared a few cases with her and her degree of commitment to the situation was always 150%. She emailed and called people at home. She did house calls to put pets to sleep and cried with them. She saw emergencies and worried about the patients, calling to check on them the next day.
Long story short, she went into business with a high school friend and it didn’t work out. They remain friends, but I got an opportunity to see if she was as awesome as I thought at a distance.
So, I have had her quietly in the practice for 3 years. Now for those of you who are receiving this that are already her clients, you know that when I say “quietly” in the practice, I am not being truthful. Her laugh and the laugh of her clients can be heard throughout the halls of Kindred. I mean quietly in that I have honored their agreement and not done anything but mention her in passing.
In addition to not announcing her presence in the practice in print, another part of the agreement is that she was not able to work at any clinic more than two days a week. We honored that too, but now that the waiting time is over, she is working 3 days at Kindred. Karen is in Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Now the other guy I told you about already. Dr Miller is someone I have known for at least 10 years and he had his own practices in California and Maine. He has already taught me several surgical techniques that are amazing, and he has become loved by clients and staff in the past year he has been at Kindred Spirits. He never gets frazzled…no matter what. Fred is certified in Stem Cell therapy and also has been teaching us about ultrasound. He is one of the most positive people I have ever met, and you can tell us apart because he has a lot of hair. Dr Miller is in Monday and Tuesday.
So here is the deal. From now on, there will be two doctors in daily at Kindred Spirits. I will be in Monday through Friday, but will not being seeing appointments 1/2 day Monday and 1/2 day Friday. This will allow me to finally focus time to the management parts of the practice without having to wear pajamas while doing it.
When you make an appointment, you make it for an individual doctor. If you have not met Fred or Karen, I encourage you to make appointments with them with your pets. We will always have appointments for individual doctors. When I was at another practice many years ago, you saw who you saw…whoever picked up the chart was the person who saw you. I will never do it like that, because you as clients deserve to know who you see before you see them. But the other side of the coin is that I will never hire a vet that :
#1 Isn’t great at what they do
#2 Doesn’t care about you and your pet.
I have to say that I am thrilled to have the A team at Kindred Spirits. Yesterday we had a 100lb German Shepherd that had a tumor on its spleen that had bled into his abdomen. While I did the surgery with Christina and Susan, Dr Pooler was able to see clients without rescheduling everyone in the practice. I successfully removed the spleen, but the dog lost 5 L of blood in the process. A dog that size only has about 5L of blood. He as pale and shocky and Jo-el went home and got her own German Shepherd to give him a transfusion. Christina took the blood and gave it. He pinked up and his blood pressure rose. I was covered in blood and had to go home and change. Karen calculated a pain medication drip, sat cross-legged next to the dog with a book and calculator beside her and the crash cart open.
I called the owner and went home to change. I came back and his vitals were better, they had put another catheter into him and were giving fluids and blood simultaneously. Last night Christina loaded him up in her car and drove him to the Emergency Clinic. We gave each other high fives.
Some teams have synergy…the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That Shepherd’s name is Max, and everyone in the clinic played a role in making him live through the day. Yesterday we were supposed to be doing employee reviews, but we saved Max instead. Every single person at Kindred Spirits brings their best game, and together, we have some pretty friggin’ good synergy.
This year I promise to appreciate the little things in life.
and today I appreciate synergy.
