Animal Clinic of Hammonton is now open at their new facility at 811 S. Egg Harbor Rd.
Dr. Dana Gorman—who co-owns Animal Clinic of Hammonton with her husband, Dr. Ryan Gorman—said that being a veterinarian was a lifelong dream come true.
“You grow up and you always want to help animals, and you’re trying to figure out how’s the best to help them. I was always into biology and chemistry, so going into the health aspect of it made the most sense, in that you can actually create a situation in which you can create the betterment of health and the human/animal bond by helping extend their wellness as well as illness care,” Gorman said.
Gorman received her undergraduate degree at Immaculata University and studied veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania—from whence Dr. Ryan Gorman also graduated—and the two of them opened the Animal Clinic of Millville before setting their sights on Hammonton.
“Hammonton seemed like a great town; we were hoping that they needed a veterinarian to care for their pets. The good news is that we were right; the town has really been amazing. We’ve been very blessed and very happy here,” Gorman said.
Soon, Gorman realized that the practice would need a larger facility than the one they were occupying at Raspberry Run.
“It had been in the works for the past 18 to 24 months. We grew out of Raspberry Run relatively fast—which is always a good problem to have—finding the right building and location and things like that. That was the big thing, trying to make sure that we had enough space to be able to do what we needed, which is care for more pets. We took on two new associates in the past two years. It’s been a really huge growth phase that we had, so we’re very happy,” Gorman said.
The new facility, Gorman said, opened its doors on October 11 and held their ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 30.
“We love it. We love the location. We love the proximity, closer to downtown, the space, the ability to facilitate seeing more patients, having more areas for treatments as well as being able to care for them,” Gorman said.
One of the highlights of the new facility, Gorman said, is a designated cat room.
“We wanted to get a room specific for cats; Hammonton has a large feline population, and lot of people care for their cats around here, so we wanted to build upon that and help them out,” Gorman said.
Additionally, there is more room for their canine patients.
“We see a fair amount of large breeds as well, so our large dog facility; we have a consultation room. We do orthopedic procedures, so having a consultation room to be able to talk to people about orthopedics has been a really good expansion that we’ve been able to do,” Gorman said.
Gorman said that one of the practice’s associate veterinarians, Dr. Blake Chiappetta, just received his certification in animal acupuncture.
“He went to the Chi University in Florida; it takes lots and lots of hours, but he just passed his test. We’ll be building upon that as well. We’ll be able to expand that into our repertoire of what we can do here,” Gorman said.
Gorman said that Animal Clinic of Hammonton recently acquired a new ultrasound unit.
“That’s really exciting; there’s not a lot of people who do ultrasounds in the area, so we’ve been able to help with that. We’re excited ... We do full diagnostics, radiology, soft-tissue surgery as well as orthopedics. It’s been a great experience. We’ve been thrilled of what the people of Hammonton have asked for and what we’ve been able to deliver,” Gorman said.
Wellness care for animals, Gorman said, is just as important as it is for humans.
“I’d rather keep us well instead of chasing illness. We have different kinds of wellness plans for individuals; we keep everything very simple for them to understand, as well as kitten and puppy packages for them,” Gorman said.
Gorman said that she hopes that the new location will allow the practice to continue to expand and serve the community.
“It’s a wonderful community. Every person that I’ve met in this town has been so caring for their pets, so to be a part of that standard of care for them has been extremely important to us. We want to continue to build upon that and to be able to be an extension of their doctor. When they think of their doctor, they go see them, but Fluffy has his doctor, as well. That’s what we want. We want that family doc experience; that’s the biggest thing. I don’t want to seem foreign to people; I want to be as close to them as their pediatrician is to their child,” Gorman said.
For more information, call (609) 878-3725 or visit animalclinicofhammonton.com.