Awards and Accomplishments

Accreditation

In June 2010 we became the first and only Veterinary Hospital on the Big Island to receive our AAHA accreditation. We are so proud and excited of this accomplishment. We are so very thankful to all of our amazing staff for all their hard work and support. To our family and friends for all their love and understanding as we got ready for our evaluation, it was a long 18 months. Last, but most definitely not least, thank you to our patients and clients who pushed us to be better, for helping us meet your expectations and hopefully exceeding them in our commitment to your furry family members right to have exceptional health care. We will continue to strive for excellence in both the work we do in the hospital and in the community service work we do here on the island and abroad. We are privileged to work with such a talented and committed staff everyday, and grateful for the immeasurable opportunity to serve this community and the Big Island. Mahalo Nui Loa for your encouragement, your well wishes and for trusting us to care for your furry family. We could not have done it with out you!

Jacob Head, DVM

Jolene Head

In Brief - Business

By local sources
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 9:22 AM HST

Keauhou Veterinary earns accreditation

Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, of Kailua-Kona, has received accreditation following a comprehensive evaluation by the American Animal Hospital Association. The evaluation includes a quality assessment review of the hospital's facility, medical equipment, practice methods and pet health care management.

Only 15 percent of all small animal veterinary practices in the U.S. have achieved accreditation by the association. In order to maintain accredited status, Keauhou Veterinary Hospital must continue to be evaluated regularly by the association's consultants.

Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, located at 78-6728 Walua Road, can be reached online at keauhouvet.com.

For more information about accreditation click link.

Best Veterinarian in West Hawaii 2009

Dr. Jacob Head was voted by the community of West Hawaii as the best veterinarian in 2009. This award is given to one veterinarian on the East side and the West side of the Island per year.

As written in the West Hawaii Today.

Best Veterinarian

Dr. Jacob Head at Keauhou Veterinary Hospital

West Hawaii’s pet owners agree – Keauhou Veterinary Hospital offers the best pet care in West Hawaii. Committed to taking care of animals while educating their owners about veterinary procedures, the educated, experienced, compassionate, honest, hardworking team at Keauhou Veterinary Hospital will do what it takes to keep your pets in perfect health.

Located on Walua Rd. above Keauhou, Keauhou Veterinary Hospital pro- vides the most sophisti- cated pet care equipment and procedures available. Offering everything from an- nual checkups to soft-tissue surgery, Keauhou Veterinary Hospital provides your pet many of the services that hospitals provide for their human patients. They have the technology required for Ultrasounds, Radiology work, and ECGs. Surgery options range from routine spays and neuters to C- sections and Oncology and Orthopedics. They also offer the newest knee surgery available, the TTA. Whatever your pet’s affliction, Dr.

Head at Keauhou Veterinary Hospital can diagnose and address it.

Dr. Jacob Head, owner and veterinarian at Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, was born and raised on the Big Island, and loved animals from an early age. He graduated from Konawaena High School before earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in Colorado. He later moved back to the Big Island, where he lives with his wife, Jolene, who is the practice manager of Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, and their children Bradly, Conner, and Elaina. He also owns two cats, Rune and Jenner, as well as one- eyed dog named Pikes Peak.

For the staff at Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, communicating with their patient’s owners about treatment options and care is as important as the care itself. “I want my clients to feel informed about their pet’s care,” Dr. Head explains. Not only does Keauhou Veterinary Hospital offer advanced veterinary procedures, but the friendly staff members will make sure that pet owners understand those procedures, and why they will help their pet’s situation. Dr. Head and his team are on call 24/7, to make sure they are there whenever they are needed.

In addition to helping the pets that come through their doors, Keauhou Veterinary Hospital supports community organizations that help West Hawaii’s animals. They work with advoCATS, The Hawaii Island Humane Society and Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary. Dr. Head is a director for the Konawaena Foundation. Keauhou Veterinary Hospital also started a program to help local schools teach students how to take care of the land and animals of Hawaii. Dr. Head was featured in ER Vets By Donna Jackson for his work in the veterinary ER in Colorado.

They are proud to support the local community, as well as organizations such as Full life, Arts of Kona, PATH, the Kona Marathon, and many others.

If you are a pet owner in West Hawaii, call Keauhou Veterinary Hospital to find out why they are truly the cat’s meow.

Thank you West Hawaii.

ER VETS by Donna Jackson

Dr. Head was featured in the book ER VETS for his work in the animal emergency room. The story tells the tale of Shelly who was hit by a car.

Kuleana Green Business Program

The Kuleana Green Business Program recognizes ethical and environmental Stewardship among Chamber members and through out Hawaii. Program members understand their kuleana (right and responsibility) to the generate profits as well as positive impacts in their social and natural environments. As business citizens, they set high standards of integrity, commitment and respect in their engagement with employees, customers, community and the environment.

There are 5 levels in this program 5 being the highest. Keauhou Veterinary Hospital came in at a level 3, for their continued commitment to the community in which they live and serve.

The Keauhou Veterinary Hospital in Kona received $1.9 million in loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the most of any small business in Hawaii in fiscal 2007.

Friday, January 30, 2008

SBA loan helps Big Island veterinary hospital expand service

PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS (HONOLULU) - BY Randi Petrello PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS

Courtesy Keauhou Veterinary Hospital

Veterinarian Jacob Head, left, takes members of his Keauhou Veterinary Hospital staff on a team-building adventure, this one involving dolphins.

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The Keauhou Veterinary Hospital in Kona received $1.9 million in loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the most of any small business in Hawaii in fiscal 2007.

The hospital, owned by Jacob Head and his wife, Jolene, put that money to good use for its patients — small animals.

The Heads used the SBA loan to buy the practice in 2007 from its previous owner, who had it for about 15 years. The hospital on Walua Road has been in business for more than 40 years and was started in the 1960s by Kid McCoy.

“We couldn’t do it any other way,” Jolene Head said of the loan. “I liked the security of knowing it is a government-backed loan and now, with the economy, we are grateful to have that.”

Jane Sawyer, a business development specialist at the SBA’s Hawaii District office, said a company would need a good business plan to get such a sizeable loan.

“They have to be able to show they have the ability to pay back the loan, they have good credit and have repaid other loans,” Sawyer said.

The loan covered all the costs of the land, the practice and $250,000 worth of new equipment such as X-ray machines, ultrasound and surgical equipment and supplies for the hospital’s pharmacy.

“We probably have one of the most extensive pharmacies on the island,” said Jolene Head, a veterinary technician. “Living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you don’t have time to wait for care and medicine. You don’t have options living here.”

The hospital’s services range from general health care such as puppy and kitten wellness and annual check-ups to extensive surgery and oncology. It offers state-of-the-art digital dental radiology, ultrasound, chemotherapy, reproductive artificial insemination and orthopedics for small animals. It also has its own laboratory that produces faster results.

The hospital has a staff of eight in addition to the Heads, who are not on the payroll. The staff is trained to deal with emergencies and is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Although the state does not mandate continuing eduction for veterinarians or staff, the Heads require staff to have at least 20 hours of continuing education a year and veterinarians to take a minimum of 30 hours of classes.

Some staff members are trained in areas such as acupuncture and massage.

“It was kind of run as a rural practice when we bought it,” Jolene Head said. “We wanted to upgrade the quality of care that was given to the animals.”

Jacob Head, who was born and raised on the Big Island, also is trained in some speciality areas that other practices don’t offer, such as the Synthes fracture treatment and bone plating.

“We do a lot of really big surgery here such as cardio-thoracic surgery and other types,” Jolene Head said. “These are the kind of things that make us really stand out from the other people here.”

She said they strive for a “Nordstrom-like” approach to customer service for their more than 5,200 clients.

“We value customer service,” she said. “We are definitely not the least expensive in town, but we practice really good medicine.”