Margaret Evans, the practice manager at Whitefish Animal Hospital since 2007, hasn’t put out a hiring ad in nearly 20 years, she said, save for the occasional Facebook post. Most of the time when the clinic needs to hire someone, Evans looks at resumes that have landed on her desk, or she calls up a recommendation made by an employee or community member. Sometimes she’ll make a part-time job offer to a friendly server at a local restaurant.
Of the clinic’s 28 staff members, more than half are high school graduates from around the Flathead Valley. Four technicians graduated from Whitefish High School, three from Columbia Falls, seven from Flathead and Glacier High Schools, and one from Bigfork.
“It’s not like we are going out and trying to get local people,” Evans said. “We have people just walk in and apply … honestly, that’s how we end up hiring people.”
Once they’re hired, the rest tends to be history. Many of the staff have stuck around for years, including Evans, who’s worked at the clinic since 1999.
A positive work environment, good pay, and flexible scheduling all likely factor into the high retention rate, Evans said. Those with families who drop their kids off before work can come in a half hour late, or those who have a yoga class that starts at 5 p.m. can work with Evans to leave a half hour early.
“I try to schedule your schedule so you can still do those things,” Evans said. “Work life balance is important here at this hospital and in vet medicine in general.”
Maintaining that balance and its relationship to mental health is a nationwide issue for the discipline. A 2019 study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that veterinarians are between two to four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Researchers point to high stress levels, burnout and compassion fatigue as contributing factors. The American Animal Hospital Association reports that the average annual turnover rate for veterinary staff is 23%.
“I think that it’s important that we take care of our staff, and I feel like we take good care of them,” Evans said. “It’s a high stress environment but everyone seems to support one another.”
Dr. Shea Stevens went to Glacier High with the son of Dr. Jim Thompson, the hospital’s owner. Stevens got a job as a technician before leaving for college, eventually returning to the clinic as a vet doc.
When her son was in the hospital last year, clinic staff brought her family dinner, texted her and took care of Stevens’ work without skipping a beat.
“Our collegiality extends beyond the workplace,” Stevens said. “When things happen in your personal life, they’re often the first people to reach out or show up.”
A graduate of Flathead High School, Dr. Lena Blackhurst has worked at five other veterinary clinics from Missoula to Kalispell. When the Whitefish Animal Hospital hired her on in September last year, she was taken aback by the number of other Flathead Valley graduates and the close-knit work environment.
“We celebrate all those life things together, too,” Blackhurst said, mentioning bridal showers and baby showers with the clinic’s all-women staff, save for Thompson. “I’ve never worked at a clinic that’s done that before.”
Though the clinic’s doors are open to any animal in an emergency, staff most often see dogs and cats. Those who have worked at the hospital for years have watched kittens and puppies grow into cats and dogs, building lifelong relationships with community members and their canine and feline counterparts.
“It’s just fun seeing the same people,” Martha Rendahl, a Columbia Falls grad and receptionist and vet technician who’s been at the clinic since 2001, said. “I’ve been here long enough now to where dogs and kittens came as babies, you know. You see their whole life cycle.”
The same is somewhat true for humans.
One of Stevens’ favorite moments is when she was working with a woman whose pets she was seeing for the first time. Stevens introduced herself, and at the end of the appointment the woman said they had met before. Confused, Stevens watched as the woman pulled out a picture of Stevens’ 1999 preschool class at St. Matthew’s Catholic School.
“She said my maiden name and was like, ‘I was your preschool teacher!’” Stevens recalled.