National Veterinary Associates

DO NOT TAKE YOUR ANIMALS TO Big Sky Animal Medical Center in Great Falls, MT! This Clinic is owned by the National Veterinary Association. They admitted to failing to do their job and the system error that led to them failing to perform CPR. They have not tried to right their wrong or even get back to me to set up a meeting. DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE IN AN EMERGENCY. OR EVER. Took my 4 year old dog during Emergency hours. Initially I signed a DNR upon arrival due to his medical history but after we spoke with the vet and got some of his lab work back I decided to change and remove the DNR paperwork when they had me sign to admit him for overnight hospitalization. The vet then waited 3 hours after he died to call me and notify me that he went into cardiac arrest. That big of a delay meant that by time I got to go say bye and see him that rigor mortis had already set in and made it even harder for me see him. The admitting Vet told me that she did not do CPR because she didn’t have an IV in place to give medication and that the clinic did not have other means to administer life resuscitation medications other than IV. I picked up his paper work today that clearly shows I choose that in case of emergency they were to perform CPR but in the vets notes she said he went into cardiac arrest and did not perform CPR because he had a DNR on file. Spoke with the managing vet today and was told it’s a problem with their system that had a delay in updating the DNR status. You expect the only Vet ER in town would have a flawless system for emergency’s. Also the vet we saw lied because the managing vet told me that they do have other ways of administering resuscitation medications and the emergency vet on call was just not aware. WHY IS SHE THE ONLY VET ON STAFF AT AN ER IF SHE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO DO THESE EMERGENCY TASK LET ALONE AWARE THEY ARE AVAILABLE THERE? My dog may not have survived even with CPR but this clinic took that chance away from him entirely! They knew their system had a delay in updating changed DNR status yet failed to verify his status the second he was left in their care leading to them not attempting due to a “computer or paperwork error”. This is unacceptable something as important as a DNR status she not have a delay in updating in their system. This clinic should not legally be allowed to provide emergency services at the very least! Save your pet and make the drive to another city if you need an emergency veterinarian!!!

I work for this corporation and it is absolutely disgusting. They do not care about their employees at all. They owe me around $1000 and I have emailed them repeatedly along with my manager and they still owe me money from my license renewal from last year, $700 worth of CE credit, and 10 hours of pay that was missing on my paycheck two weeks ago they told me I could wait another two weeks to get the additional 10 hours of my pay that was missing from my paycheck last pay period. They told me I didn’t need the 10 hours of additional pay because I made enough on my paycheck so I could wait another two weeks to get the additional 10 hours of pay that I am owed. This is why I do not usually work for corporate but these people absolutely do not care about their employees.

Buying out smaller companies around the country with the goal of going public. Mistreating employees and drastically reducing wages based on no market research. It seems manager level positions are grossly underpaid in the agency itself, and the hourly/salary compensation provided to hospital employees tends to be around minimum wage. I'm unsure the quality of this organizations Human Resources' team, but it does not seem like their priority is on protecting individuals rights. In an employee focused economy, this couldn't be more disturbing and concerning as an organization. The leadership is clearly focused on going public, and focused on the almighty dollar instead of the physical, emotional and social health-safety and wellbeing of their employees. Curious what this looks like in a year from now - if you are a vet hospital who is considering selling to them, beware!

It is such a shame that small businesses are selling out to corporations such as this who only care about the bottom line and not about the patients themselves. It's really a shame because years ago I used to work at this practice in my Hometown and the standard of care has drastically gone down. Overworked and under staffed.

I have been a customer for over a decade, with 6 dogs. Over the past couple years things have really gone downhill there. The Doctors are good, some of the front desk and most of the techs are the best. But this is a corporate vet operation and it is starting to show. I think this a management issue. I have tried to discuss my concerns with the manager, but she really seemed to carry a grudge against me and my puppies after that. It is sad really. I have had some many happy times (and few sad times too) with the staff there, I think I am going to look for a new vet if this doesn't improve.