Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Alex Casuccio.
Dr. Casuccio, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I owned a very successful veterinary hospital in Morgantown, WV for 23 years. In 2003 I sold it to move to Arizona, thinking that I would semi-retire. Unexpectedly, I was hired by a large corporate veterinary practice to manage several of their hospitals in Arizona.
A few years passed and I became uneasy with my new job as I experienced the atmosphere in corporate-owned veterinary hospitals. The staff of the hospitals were just not warm and friendly enough to the clients and the ridged structure of corporate protocols was stifling to the doctors. After dealing with unhappy client and multiple other issues that seem inherent in the corporate world, I felt the intense need for a veterinary hospital built around the warmth and family-values that had been so successful in my first hospital. So, I decided that it was time for me to return to my roots; to private practice.
I left corporate practice in 2013 and began to build a new veterinary hospital of my own. Scottsdale Animal Healthcare opened in April of 2014 and very rapidly my instincts proved right. The surrounding communities in North Scottsdale have flocked to our hospital seeking our kind and gentle medical care for their pets and superb, friendly client-care for themselves. Our growth has been nothing short of remarkable. In 4 short years we have grown from zero clients and one lonely doctor to become a 3 doctor practice, now looking for a fourth.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Corporate practice was the most difficult struggle of my professional life. I knew that the recipe to create a successful veterinary practice contained three critical ingredients:
1) Treat clients as you want to be treated.
2) Include the pet owner’s needs, wants and desires in all medical decisions for their pets.
3) Never let hospital profit become the driving force of the practice. The driving force must always remain
excellent client service. Profits will follow.
I was specifically hired to bring my experience and knowledge into the corporate hospitals to make them better. Unfortunately, corporate financial metrics and ridged “broad stroke” management protocols were often at odds with the three critical ingredients of a successful veterinary practice. The struggle to climb over those corporate obstacles proved untenable.
Leaving corporate medicine and opening a new veterinary hospital was my most recent challenge. It costs nearly one million dollars to open a state-of-the art veterinary hospital in North Scottsdale. The debt involved with such an undertaking (without a single client to bank on) was scary. I knew that once the pet-owning community heard about us that we would succeed. But, getting the word out proved to be the most challenging hurdle in my new venture.
Since my first hospital opened in 1985 advertising had changed and I was totally unprepared for this new-world of advertising. My old-world method of mailed “we are open” announcements proved a total failure. It was not until I mastered the new-world of internet marketing that the hospital began to grow. Website design, search engine optimization, Google AdWords, key words, metadata, Yelp, Google Places … all had to be mastered before success could be achieved. It was a significant learning curve on my part and, at the time, I had to study fast!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Scottsdale Animal Healthcare – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Scottsdale Animal Healthcare is a full service companion animal veterinary hospital. We offer all aspects of medicine and surgery. In addition to the usual wellness care (vaccines and such), we have a full in-house laboratory, modern radiographic equipment, modern dental equipment and a fully equipped surgical suite. As a result, we can handle most internal medicine cases, surgical cases (soft tissue, orthopedic and ophthalmic) and our dental care is not only excellent but affordable.
Our mission statement summarizes what we are known for: “We partner with the pet owner to tailor an individual healthcare plan for each pet that includes the family’s needs and financial ability to care for the pet.” This approach to veterinary care resounds with pet owners. There is never pressure placed on a pet owner to approve procedures that are beyond what the pet owner wants to provide for their pet. We always offer the best and the pet-owner makes all the decisions. This approach sets us apart from many others and this “caring for the needs of the pet-owning family” is what makes me most proud of our hospital.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Future plans include adding a fourth doctor to our staff. Once that is done, I feel that the hospital will be at its peak performance and ability to serve the community. As we are growing very rapidly (thanks to the wonderful 5-star reviews that we garner weekly!) adding another quality doctor is critical to handle the demand for service. We are currently looking for just the right doctor who shares our view of what good quality client and pet care looks like. Hopefully, in a year or so, we will add that doctor.
Contact Info:
- Address: 18291 N Pima Rd, A100
Scottsdale AZ 85255 - Website: ScottsdaleAnimalHealthcare.com
- Phone: 480-538-9000
- Email: Reception@ScottsdaleAnimalHealthcare.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ScottsdaleAnimalHealthCare1
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/scottsdale-animal-healthcare-scottsdale
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