SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Midstate Veterinary Services evolves with needs of clients

CORTLAND — For a while, the pandemic changed the way people did just about everything, including accessing health care. It also accelerated a change among pet owners in when and how they seek care for their furry friends. Midstate Veterinary Services, located at 806 State Route 13 in Cortland, has been right on the forefront of that change. “We have seen this shift from, ‘It’s just a cat,’ and ‘It’s just a dog,’” says Jennifer Sun, one of Midstate’s co-owners. It wasn’t that long ago, she notes, that the veterinary practice usually only saw an animal when the owner first got it, and they would bring it in to be spayed or neutered and get necessary shots. Then Midstate might not see the animal again until the end of its life, she adds. In recent years, however, pet parents have realized that preventive care, the same as it does for humans, helps doctors catch issues earlier and helps the animals live longer, healthier, and happier lives, Sun says. This has resulted in an increase in demand for veterinary services, and “it’s definitely created an opportunity for us,” she says. A big part of that opportunity is the ability to get to know their animal patients and pet parents much better and develop relationships with them. Fellow Midstate co-owner Laura Brown credits Sun with building up the small-animal practice at Midstate to meet the growing demand. The practice is now a modern one with all the diagnostic equipment needed to care for the animals it sees, she says. The large-animal side of the veterinary practice has also seen change in recent years, Brown says. While the number of small farms in the area has decreased, the number of cows has actually increased and keeps the Midstate staff plenty busy. “The role we play on farms has changed over the last 15 years,” Brown notes. Where Midstate’s veterinarians once visited farms to treat sick animals, their role has become much more of a consultant that is proactive towards preventing illness. Of course, the Midstate staff still visit farms to treat sick animals, but the veterinarians are more actively involved with their farm clients to help them manage the health and wellness of their animals, she says. Midstate does a lot of nontraditional veterinary work, teaching farm workers and owners about illness prevention, developing standard operating procedures that foster health, and more. “We do a lot of training sessions with employees,” Brown says. Whatever the size of their animal patients, “we have four core values that we take very seriously,” Brown says. They are respect, teamwork, customer service, and accountability. While animal medicine at its core hasn’t changed, Midstate Veterinary Services continues to evolve to provide the best care for its patients and also the best working environment it can for its employees. “In the past, there was not a lot of focus on employee well-being,” Brown says, but that’s not the case anymore. Sun and Brown work hard to foster a positive work-life balance for employees and provide the opportunity for employees to learn more about niche veterinary issues of interest to them. “I think happy veterinarians are going to stay longer,” Brown says. “It’s not an easy profession,” Sun adds. The veterinary practice has 11 veterinarians and 27 total employees. With the growing demand for veterinary services, there are also opportunities for those numbers to grow. “I think that at most vet clinics there’s a lot of opportunity right now,” Sun says. Midstate Veterinary Services was formed in 1998 with the merger of two veterinary practices, Animal Barn and Large Animal Clinic. The practice got started with four owners and just four support staff.