Small Town Veterinary Care with National Standards.
Coastal Plains Animal Clinic has been AAHA accredited for 26 years. The parts of veterinary medicine pet owners never see have been inspected against a national standard for more than two decades.
Not All Veterinary Clinics Are Inspected.
We Chose to Be.
The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is the only organization in North America that sets and verifies standards for veterinary hospitals.
AAHA publishes more than 900 standards across areas like anesthesia, dentistry, pain management, and medical records. Out of tens of thousands of veterinary practices around the US and Canada, only a select few (around 15%) earn the accreditation. Every three years, an AAHA evaluator comes onsite to inspect whether we still meet the standard.
For us, this isn’t just about earning a badge. AAHA sets the gold standard for how veterinary care should be delivered. As stewards of veterinary medicine, we believe this matters. Your pet matters. You matter. AAHA is how we prove it.
Why is AAHA Accreditation Important for Your Pet?
The standards aren’t abstract; they show up in specific ways during your dog or cat’s visit.
Your pet’s anesthesia is monitored, start to finish.
We construct each anesthetic event based on the needs of that particular patient using AAHA Anesthetic Guidelines. During the procedure, one nurse’s only job is the safety of your pet- to watch temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen, exhaled carbon dioxide, ECG, and heart rate, and record every reading. Heating pads keep your pet’s body temperature steady the whole time. If anything shifts, the doctor knows before it becomes a problem.
Pain management starts before the procedure and continues after.
AAHA sets standards for how pain is prevented before, during, and after anything your pet has done. During dental work, Dr. Baron uses local anesthetic for every tooth that needs it, which lets us keep the general anesthesia lighter and safer, even for older pets. Your pet goes home with pain medication chosen specifically for the type of treatment they just went through.
Our physical building is part of the inspection.
AAHA inspects how the building is cleaned, how instruments are sterilized, and how waste is handled. Veterinarians who tour our hospital have told us it’s one of the cleanest they’ve visited, which isn’t the kind of thing pet owners usually get to judge for themselves. If you’d like to have a hospital tour, just ask—we’re always happy to show you around.
The medicine your pet gets stays current.
AAHA mandates continuing education for every doctor and nurse on our clinical team. At Coastal Plains, that’s resulted in the addition of acupuncture, ozone therapy, and AI-assisted radiograph interpretation to our list of services as the field has evolved. What was best practice five or ten years ago isn’t always best practice now, and we’re committed to staying on top of the latest advances in veterinary medicine.
Plus dozens of other areas.
Beyond the above, AAHA also inspects how medical records are kept, how medications are handled, how the team communicates with you, and what happens in an emergency. Their 900+ standards cover nearly everything a veterinary hospital does.
26 Years on the Same Standard.
Coastal Plains has been AAHA accredited for 26 years. Every three years for more than two decades, an AAHA evaluator has walked through this hospital, gone through every category of the standard, and found us in good standing.
In 2026, AAHA chose 28 hospitals out of more than 4,500 accredited practices in the U.S., Canada, & Puerto Rico to nominate for Practice of the Year. We’re thrilled to share that Coastal Plains Animal Clinic is one of them.
Accreditation has always been our baseline. But beyond that, we care deeply for how your pets are treated in our clinic. That was true before the nomination, and it will still be true after.
“We would still do everything the same even if we had never been nominated.”
— Dr. Fred Baron, DVM
Why is AAHA Accreditation Important for Your Pet?
The standards aren’t abstract; they show up in specific ways during your dog or cat’s visit.
Where a Small Community Shines.
Pain management starts before the procedure and continues after.
AAHA’s standards aren’t just about whether we cleaned our tools correctly. They’re about the questions that sit underneath that. How do we train the team? How do we show up for our staff? Are we building the right culture inside this practice? AAHA requires ongoing continuing education for every member of the clinical team. When a team feels strong together, your pet receives better care. That’s why it matters.
Beyond the team, we’re your neighbors. We see you at the grocery store. We see your kids at the Youth Fair. We see rescue dogs for SPOT. Being part of this community isn’t a line on a values page. It’s what the work actually looks like.
What That Means in Practice
Pain management starts before the procedure and continues after.
- We’re the primary veterinarian for Wharton County SPOT, a local rescue, offering discounted services and lots of love to every homeless pet they bring in. Dr. Baron and Rebecca were both recognized as honored guests at the last SPOT Wag N Tails dinner fundraiser.
- Dr. Baron has served on the El Campo Chamber of Commerce. Practice Manager Rebecca Baron currently sits on the board. We give back to the community that supports us.
- Every year, Dr. Baron helps judge the Wee Folks pets show at the Wharton County Youth Fair. It’s one of the highlights of our year.
