| Complaint: | Complaint 18-15 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Cody Alcott |
| Premises: | Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson |
| Related: | 18-14 |
The complainant from 18-14 wasn't happy about how she and her dog were treated, so she complained. She complained about having such a hard time getting her records, wanted a refund, and asked for copies of all her records because she felt they did a bad job in not finding the blade of grass in the first place. She was told she'd get the records after going through a variety of procedural steps, and she finally did except for the portions which related to client communication. This was problematic because a large part of her complaint was that her frequent communications about the dog's health status or need for copies of records appeared to be getting ignored or lost somehow. She attempted to to speak with Alcott (the medical director) without success and an attempt to contact the district manager failed. When she told the hospital manager that they weren't being transparent, the hospital manager told her to never bring her dog back there ever again.
Alcott said that he stands behind what the hospital did regarding care and that their handling of the case was appropriate. Alcott also says that contrary to complainant, the records from her other veterinarians suggested the dog had vomiting both before and after the grass was removed; even if there was grass he doesn't think it was a problem. Also, he offered the complainant a 50% discount, which is more than he had to offer!
The Investigative Committee said they understood that the complainant was frustrated in not being able to talk to anybody but that it didn't rise to the level of a violation. They suggested that perhaps Alcott's staff just didn't do a good job of letting him know that she wanted to speak with him. The remaining concerns about records, communication, and so on appear to have been ignored in the discussion. Also, if the staff is doing such a bad job that such problems occur, is that not Alcott's problem as well given that he's the responsible veterinarian for the hospital?
| Source: | November 11, 2017 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Cody Alcott | Respondent |
| Suzie Irwin | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Donald Noah | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Tamara Murphy | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | December 12, 2017 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Cody Alcott | Respondent |
| Suzie Irwin | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Christina Bertch-Mumaw |
| Seconded By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Absent |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Julie Young | Absent |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.