Local vet meets urgent need with Twin Cities 1st stand-alone clinic | News

Local veterinarian Dr. Liz Sitter is hoping she can fill a need in the north metro.

The Marine on St. Croix resident recently opened Aurora Urgent Veterinary Clinic in White Bear Lake, which is likely the first stand-alone pet emergency care in the Twin Cities.

“There’s a high demand. It is hard to get into your regular vet, and a lot of times you have to wait for weeks, and the emergency clinics are at capacity,” Sitter explained. “I saw a big need in the market for urgent care. It’s kind of a newer thing.”

Before the pandemic, general practices could generally carve out time for both regular visits in addition to urgent care, but now there are so many pets in the market that they are having a tough time accommodating them all. Some emergency clinics in the Twin Cities also provide urgent care, but as far as Sitter knows, she is the first vet to open a stand-alone urgent care.

Sitter, who is originally from New Jersey, went to vet school in Oklahoma. She moved to Minnesota about 11 years ago to be close to her sister. She has been in general practice for 10 years; she formerly worked at Stillwater Veterinary Clinic and Century Animal Clinic in Maplewood.

It was that need she saw while working in general practice that prompted her to open Aurora Urgent Care.

“After the pandemic, I just saw we were turning so many people away every day, especially new clients that didn’t have a clinic, because we were barely being able to fit our current clients,” Sitter recalled. “I thought it really stunk that their only option was the emergency clinic, which is really expensive, and you have to wait for hours and hours.”

The urgent care offers same-day appointments only from Monday through Friday. It offers in-house blood work and diagnostics, imaging via X-rays and ultrasounds, minor surgeries, end-of-life care and an in-house pharmacy.

The clinic does not offer vaccinations or elective procedures, but can help when it comes to things like vomiting or diarrhea, coughing or sneezing, minor wounds, skin rashes and more. (See pullout box for more information.)

The clinic is designed to feel more like a home, rather than a pet hospital.

“I wanted a warm, welcoming, homey atmosphere and not so sterile and ‘doctory,'” she explained. “I wanted it to look a bit more like a house versus a hospital.”

For clients who are forced to make one of the toughest decisions they will ever have to make, they will find a room that looks just like a living room, rather than a doctor’s office. They can sit on a couch, or the floor with their pup while they lay on a comfortable bed rather than a cold metal table.

In addition to the health of the pets, the sitter also cares about the health of her staff.

“A lot of people in this field struggle with mental health issues,” she said. “One thing I wanted to do is to open a space that has a positive company culture, (values) lots of open communication and puts staff first.” She added, “I want to help as many pets get seen in a timely, more cost-effective matter, but also while balancing and maintaining like mental health of the staff.”

Dr. Sitter currently has two technicians, Riley Jorissen and Anny Yang. Jorissen, of Fridley, has been in the field for 26 years, 14 of those serving as a certified veterinary technician.

“During COVID, the veterinary field changed a lot; it changed for the worse. A lot of technicians are leaving the field,” she explained. Jorissen left the field herself for a year and was trying to figure out what she was going to do next. She stumbled across what Dr. Sitter was doing and applied to be the receptionist.

“During the interview, I was impressed with her wanting to keep everything local and just helping the people around us,” Jorissen explained. “I was excited to work with Dr. Liz because she’s offering something that is so new to this field. I am super excited to like be at the beginning of this. Twenty-six years in this field, and this is probably the coolest thing I’ve done.”

Yang, of St. Paul, has been in the field for 3 1/2 years. She said she is looking forward to the opportunity to continue to grow her skill set in the field.

“I think with this clinic being here, it will help a lot of the clients that come in,” she said. “We are open to seeing anybody.”

The clinic is located at 4874 Highway 61 in White Bear Lake. For more information about Aurora Urgent Veterinary Clinic, visit www.auroraurgentvet.com. To make a same-day appointment, call the clinic at 651-422-PETS (7387).