Veterinarians Dr. Stevie Jones Jr. and Dr. Jasmine Nolan opened ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care, Montgomery County’s first independently owned urgent-care-only center for dogs and cats, in September 2023.

The service is primarily for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses for pets. 

Dr. Jones handles the business aspects of the practice. He has been a general practice veterinarian for the past 15 years – which is what most people think of as their family veterinarian, handling care like vaccines, flea and tick prevention, and management of long term diseases.

Dr. Nolan is the medical director. Before launching their business, she spent 5 years seeing pets who had been experiencing critical emergencies such as pets that were hit by cars, having seizures, needing extensive wound repair, and pets needing to be hospitalized.

With ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care, the couple has brought together two areas of veterinary medicine, closing the gap for cases that fall in between. They explained the need they are fulfilling this way:

“During the pandemic, everyone cleared the shelters. The new pet parents wanted to be seen by their family veterinarians, but they were experiencing several-week wait times,” said Dr. Nolan.

Many of these pet parents would end up in emergency rooms for even minor injuries. Many were also new to pet ownership, and still learning how to take care of new animals in the home. As a result, some of the pets got stepped on, leading to fractures. Some pets ingested toxic food or toys that became stuck. Some were introduced to other pets too soon and ended up with bite wounds as well as other injuries.

“Sometimes when I got to work, pet owners would be facing anywhere from a 4- to 8-hour wait to see a doctor. And when I left at the end of my 12-hour shift, that wait time would not be any shorter. Pet owners were just overflowing the ER. It was crazy.”

“That being said, not every injury needs to go to the ER,” said Dr. Jones. “For example, minor cases such as a urinary tract infection, an eye infection, or an ear infection were waiting hours. There were also cases such as ‘My pet got into something, and now they're vomiting or having diarrhea.’ These cases do not necessarily need to be seen immediately. But they can’t wait several weeks, either.”

They conceived the urgent care model to handle these kinds of cases. 

At a time when all of medicine - including veterinary medicine - is getting corporatized, this is a niche market. It is a new concept in veterinary medicine and new to Montgomery County.

“We can get pets in and out pretty quickly, very much like urgent care centers for humans,” said Dr. Nolan.

Establishing ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care 

ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care was established in Montgomery County because Dr. Nolan is a DMV native from Prince George's County. She went to Delaware State University to obtain her bachelor’s degree. For her master's and doctoral degrees, she chose Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Dr. Jones is a native of Danville, Virginia. He describes himself as a “country boy,” and never imagined he’d end up in or near a big northern city. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University before going to Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine for his doctoral degree.

The couple met when Dr. Jones went back to campus for a veterinary medical symposium. They moved to Maryland together in the summer of 2019 when Dr. Nolan began an internship. They married in June 2023 – just as they were launching their practice.

They like that MoCo is a cultural melting pot. They like the diversity of experiences for their family and business.

Getting the Word Out About ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care

As with any new enterprise, gaining exposure is among their topmost concerns. Dr. Jones is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, Silver Spring Alumni Chapter, so he knows the power of strong networks. 

They say that the Montgomery County Black Database has been very essential, it exposed them to the Montgomery County Black Collective and the wealth of other resources available in the county. They plan to soon join the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the Rockville Chamber of Commerce, and the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce. 

“Veterinary urgent care is not the kind of service you need every day – however you want to know where to go for care before you need it. As a result, we are trying to get out into the community and let the people know we’re here,” said Dr. Jones. 

Therefore, Dr. Jones and Dr. Nolan have been getting serious about making their rounds at events and networking. They will have a booth at the upcoming Montgomery County Humane Society event in June: Paws in the Park. 

They exhibited at the Montgomery County Black Business Expo in Rockville back in February 2024. They have shown up at markets and special events that cater to pet-related products and services. There they rub shoulders with makers of pet treats, dog clothes, along with services such as pet groomers, pet trainers, pet sitters, pet boarding facilities, and more. All of these are potential referral sources for a veterinary urgent care model. 

ACHIEVE has also hosted their own events. In February 2024, they held an “Unsung Heroes” special event for Client Service Representatives (CSRs): a wine and cheese mixer with the topic of “Self Care.” These veterinary receptionists are essential to any practice but they do not get a lot of recognition. The event gave the doctors a chance to meet and hear from these important referral partners and learn how they, in turn, can help make the referring hospital’s jobs easier.

“We are complementing and helping other practices when they cannot accommodate pets that need urgent medical attention.”

“We don’t compete,” Dr. Jones points out. “We help relieve them of overflow, and then send their pet parents back to them for follow up care.” This helps to relieve the stress on overwhelmed practices.

The Future of Veterinary Medicine 

ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care is privately owned and operated, which is a major selling point today for many pet parents.

Like much of modern medicine, veterinary medicine has taken a shift in the past 10 to 15 years. People and companies with money see the need in the market – and see that veterinary medicine can be profitable. As a result, they have bought up dozens of practices that were once privately owned. 

Dr. Jones and Dr. Nolan both recognize that their small practice will be competing with corporate hospitals that can afford to blanket the airwaves with marketing and are already well along the way to monopolizing the industry. 

“Clients like how we approach medicine – and they see that each case is tailored to the presenting problem,” said Dr. Jones. “We take pride in being privately owned and feel that veterinary medicine should be controlled by veterinarians and their supporting staff.”

There Will Be Challenges to Overcome

When Dr. Nolan asked if she had any advice for new business owners, she noted that they should “be realistic with your opening goals.” 

It took from April to September 2023 to get through the County’s permitting process before they could open their doors officially. This was a major setback. 

“Choose a contractor who knows your business model – but also knows how to work with the permitting department,” Dr. Nolan recommends.

Dr. Jones notes that starting out with more savings would also have been helpful. “As a startup, your working capital gets chipped away pretty quickly,” he laments. So building up as big of a cushion as possible is a good idea before you open a business. 

Dr. Jones also emphasizes the importance of networking and building relationships alongside a willingness to assist others. 

For more information on ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care, visit: https://achievevet.com/