A Visit to Access Veterinary Care

by Jenn Stromberg, MVMA Marketing & Communications Manager

Director of Operations Tania Blake, second from left, and Dr. William Frahm-Gilles, far right,
with members of the Access Veterinary Care team in June 2025. 

Established in 2018, Access Veterinary Care has carved out a unique space in veterinary care in the Twin Cities. Access’s business model is helping bridge a gap in services and finding ways to make veterinary care more accessible. I recently visited the clinic, located in Crystal, MN, and spoke with owner Dr. William Frahm-Gilles and Director of Operations Tania Blake about how Access’ collaborative, community-minded model with a focus on education, transparency, and accessibility is making a difference for clients, patients, and partner clinics in the Twin Cities. 

Inside the clinic, built out inside a former bank building, thoughtful touches such as having treats in the lobby not only for dogs but humans as well and Minnesota-themed art in exam rooms make the space feel very welcoming.

Primarily an urgent care clinic open Tuesday through Saturday, Access also offers preventative care on Mondays and has recently expanded their surgical services. Registration for urgent care opens online at 8 a.m., and is a great option for clients who can’t get in soon enough to see their primary veterinarian for something like an ear infection, as well as for clients for whom the cost of an emergency clinic visit might be too much of a barrier. Their preventative care services also lower barriers to access for people who haven’t (yet) established care with a primary veterinarian. 

Prices for services are listed on their website, and Dr. Gilles shared that clients appreciate staff “breaking the ice” by initiating the conversation about costs and options. Tania noted that the online price list is particularly appreciated by younger generations, who prefer to do their research online before making decisions. 

Other ways that Access, as a for-profit business, is making veterinary care more accessible is by proactively sharing information about financial resources, including payment plans, grants, and pet insurance. Those resources are available on their website, and they have a brochure with detailed information that they provide to clients. They also have a community fund that supports clients with high financial needs in difficult situations, which people can contribute to voluntarily. Clinic-branded merch proceeds support this fund as well. Additionally, without the higher overhead costs of emergency clinics, Access is able to provide a number of emergency and surgical services more affordably than at an emergency hospital.

Access Veterinary Care’s business model is also unique in how collaborative it is. In addition to accepting clients who register for their urgent and preventative care clinics online, they also work with partner clinics—both accepting and making referrals in order to best meet client and patient needs. They accept surgical referrals from area clinics and also regularly refer clients to clinics and recommend they establish primary care if the client hasn’t already done so. Urgent cases they cannot accommodate in-house get referred to emergency clinics. They make collaboration easy with their online Partner Portal, which facilitates the transfer of records and patient care between clinics and aids with the scheduling of surgical referrals.

They welcome interested clinics to reach out for more information. Learn more about Access Veterinary Care and find contact information on their website at myaccessvetcare.com.