$3.2M Expansion Allows Veterinary Clinic to Provide More Care

MINERAL RIDGE, Ohio –  Dr. Aaron Tangeman said he knew he wanted to be a veterinarian since he was in about third grade after spending some time working at his western Ohio family farm. 

Tangeman quickly became passionate about working with animals and opened his own veterinary clinic at 3971 Main St. in 2010. 

Tangeman, owner of Mahoning Valley Veterinary Centre, said the clinic was seeing many patients before the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the pandemic hit, pet adoptions increased, causing an increased need for care.

“Since we only had two exam rooms, we were using any area of our hospital that wasn’t being used as an exam room,” he said. “Doctors were moving throughout the clinic trying to meet the needs of the public, and through that it was, ‘We have to do something.'”

Tangeman quickly sprung into action once other space in the plaza became available, and he eventually purchased the plaza. 

“Our hospital went from 1,400 square feet to 4,400 square,” he said. 

A renovation project was funded through a small business loan through Huntington Bank. The $3.2 million investment included new equipment and more staff in addition to the expansion.

“We have grown from an initial nine part-time and full-time [staff members] to 25,” Tangeman said.

Tangeman said the original clinic had two exam rooms, one surgery suite, a treatment area, dental suite and radiology/x-ray units. The newly renovated facility now has a cat ward, dog ward, isolation areas, two dental suites, two surgery suites, an expanded treatment area and an additional two exam rooms.

The clinic now sees between 4,500 and 6,000 active patients.

“We also brought in a lot of new equipment – [a] laser, sound wave, pulse therapy and ultrasound,” he said.

The clinic wants to do as much as it can for patients before sending them to referral centers, Tangeman said. 

“We really focused on dentistry as well in this new practice because one of the unmet needs in the community is dental disease,” he said.

The expansion will allow the hospital to care for about 30 patients at a time. Previously, Tangeman said it could handle only about 10 patients.

“Everything has seemed to have either doubled or tripled from what we were able to provide previously,” he said. 

Stacey McCale, practice manager and registered veterinary technician, began her work as a manager for the clinic in 2019. She said they were staffed “bare bones” at the time.

“Now we have grown to the point where we have at least three to four techs per doctor. We have dedicated receptionists, [and] we have everything from an assistant to registered RVTs working with our doctors,” she said. “We have brought on a couple new doctors.” 

McCale said they have been working hard to match the growth since the pet increase during the pandemic. 

“That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to do this – so we would never have to turn anyone away with their pet,” she said.

About 100 new patients are taken every quarter, McCale said.

“We have been doing parking lot appointments, which has been difficult on all sides,” she said. 

McCale said the construction process began about two years ago, and they are continuing to grow. 

“We are coming to the final bits of it,” she said. “For the majority part [of the project], this is it. We are finally seeing the end of the tunnel.” 

Vaccines, preventative care, surgeries and more are done at the clinic. 

“Presentation is most important because it is easier to prevent than to treat,” McCale said. “It is also a matter of public health safety.”

The clinic is open Monday through Saturday. For more information, click HERE.

Pictured at top: Dr. Aaron Tangeman, owner of Mahoning Valley Veterinary Centre.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.