VETERINARY HISTORY
 

Graduating from Michigan State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983, Dr. Claudia G. Lewis, chose her residency as an associate veterinarian in a rural, small animal hospital in Pennsylvania. After 6 months of intensive, varied medical and surgical practice, she relocated and resumed practice in Iowa as a self-employed, relief veterinarian in the Des Moines metro area.  There she contracted with as many as fifteen hospitals for stand-in medical/surgical services.

This first entrepreneurial experience sharpened her interest in the proprietary practice of veterinary medicine. It greatly broadened her professional skills, while enhancing her knowledge of personnel management, staff support, and community service. In service to the community, she advanced the cause of animal medicine and care among children and adults on all financial and educational levels.

Dr. Lewis left Des Moines in 1984 in favor of the opportunities offered in the Chicago metropolitan area.  In Joliet,  Illinois, she associated with an corporate chain animal hospital operation.  In addition to medical and surgical practice, she had the opportunity to evaluate the level of professionalism and quality of service provided in multiple hospital operations as well as the business aspects of these large veterinary medical delivery systems. Joliet was to prove to be her final preparatory step before purchasing her own animal hospital in South Haven, Michigan, in 1988.

The newly purchased South Haven practice had coasted along on a no-growth, accommodation basis for a number of years. After Dr. Lewis' purchase the practice focused on 24-hour emergency medical/surgical service, boarding, grooming, and sale of pet supplies. It was a period of concentrated business reconstruction. Balancing the practice of medicine with client redevelopment and repair, the replacement of depreciated assets presented a challenge beyond her investment objective. After 5 years, Dr. Lewis terminated her interest in the South Haven hospital, relocating her practice to Douglas, Michigan in October, 1993.

Now, having experienced and evaluated the quality of veterinary services offered by a wide range of current animal medical/surgical operations, Dr. Lewis opened her hospital in Douglas with a vision of what a small animal hospital should be to the patients and their owners. From the beginning, she has tailored her practice to her own unique standard of professional excellence and service. The hospital has grown every year since inception and is flourishing... a testimonial to extraordinary service and results. She moved her office to Scmidt Veterinary Clinic in Holland, Michigan in 1999.

On May 19, 1999 Claudia Lewis DVM and Katherine Wilcox won an Everyday Hero Award from the Allegan County Red Cross in the Animal Rescue category for the collaboration of this web page. They received a trophy and certificate. To see pictures from the event go to photos.

Dr, Claudia G. Lewis, Veterinarian
Schmidt Veterinary Clinic
964 S Washington Ave
Holland MI  49422
(616) 396-7102
 

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