Meet Dr. K.C. Van Fleet

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. K.C. Van Fleet a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. K.C. , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I think my resilience comes from a combination of struggle, purpose, and a willingness to be honest about my own doubts. When I first started Omnivet, I was stepping into something that didn’t exist in my community — an independently owned urgent care hospital that operated differently than the traditional model. It was bold, but it also brought up a lot of imposter syndrome. There were moments I asked myself: Who am I to think I can compete with established hospitals? Who am I to reinvent the way care is delivered here?
The answer I kept coming back to was purpose. My purpose is clear: to create a place where pets get the care they need, where clients are given transparency and real choices, and where veterinary professionals can thrive without burning out. That purpose has become my anchor — every time the fear creeps in, it reminds me why I keep going.
Generosity is tied into that resilience as well. Building Omnivet has never been just about me — it’s about giving my team a place where their careers can grow, giving families peace of mind, and giving patients dignity in their care. When I lean into generosity, I find more energy to push through the tough moments, because I’m not just pushing for myself.
And if I’m honest, optimism is still a work in progress. Entrepreneurship has a way of testing even the most positive person. But I’ve learned that resilience doesn’t always mean blind optimism. It means being willing to stand in the hard truths, acknowledge when things are tough, and still keep moving forward with purpose. For me, resilience is not about being unshakable — it’s about being willing to be shaken and still choosing to rise again.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m the founder and owner of Omnivet, an independently owned veterinary urgent care and specialty hospital in Traverse City, Michigan. At its core, Omnivet was built to reimagine what veterinary medicine can look like for both families and the professionals who dedicate their lives to this work.
What excites me most is that we are pioneering a new approach to pet care — one that blends cutting-edge diagnostics with a philosophy we call the “spectrum of care.” That means we meet families where they are, offering transparent options across different financial and medical ranges, so every pet has access to the treatment they need without shame or judgment. At the same time, we’re building a workplace culture designed to sustain veterinary professionals — where collaboration, mentorship, and well-being are just as important as medical excellence.
Right now, what feels most special is that we are still small enough to be personal, yet bold enough to be innovative. We’re expanding our services to include mobile care for seniors and home hospice, as well as building partnerships with traveling specialists — making specialty medicine more accessible to our region. Every step forward is about creating something lasting: a hospital that is deeply woven into the fabric of Northern Michigan, trusted not only for emergency care but also for compassion, transparency, and community connection.
For me, Omnivet is more than a hospital — it’s a movement to prove that veterinary medicine can evolve in a way that honors pets, people, and the dedicated team members who make the work possible.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, the three qualities that have been most impactful for me are resilience, adaptability, and vision.

Resilience has been the cornerstone. Building a hospital from scratch, especially in a market with established competitors, has meant facing more than just the usual business hurdles. There has been skepticism — times when people have said, “you can’t do that,” or when the support I had hoped for from some of the local veterinary community didn’t materialize in the way I expected. Those moments could have easily stopped me in my tracks, but instead they became fuel. Resilience, for me, has been about holding onto the belief that a different model of care is not only possible, but necessary. My advice: practice resilience like a muscle. Expect the resistance, and don’t let it define you. Surround yourself with mentors, friends, or colleagues who can remind you of the bigger picture when you’re in the trenches.

Adaptability has been equally important. The veterinary field, like many industries, is constantly changing — client expectations, staffing realities, new technology, and even economic pressures. I’ve had to pivot plans more times than I can count, from adjusting services to refining the business model. My advice: learn to welcome change rather than fear it. The faster you can adjust without losing sight of your values, the stronger you’ll become.

Vision ties it all together. Without a clear sense of why you’re doing this, it’s too easy to get lost in the day-to-day chaos. For me, vision means knowing that Omnivet isn’t just about medicine, but about transparency, spectrum of care, and creating a sustainable environment for veterinary professionals. My advice: spend time clarifying your purpose. Write it down, revisit it, and let it be your compass when tough decisions come up.

If I could give one piece of encouragement to someone early in their journey, it would be this: don’t wait to feel “ready.” Readiness is a myth. Build resilience, stay adaptable, and anchor yourself in vision — those qualities will carry you further than perfect timing ever could.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The number one obstacle we’re currently facing is the reality of growth as a young, independent hospital. We’ve only been open a little over a year, and building caseload, gaining trust in the community, and carrying the financial weight of a start-up all at once is no small feat. Add to that the challenge of balancing family life and protecting my own quality of life outside of work, and it becomes clear that resilience is tested daily. There are days when it feels like the math doesn’t add up — when I wonder how to balance serving patients, supporting staff, being present for my family, and keeping the lights on. That challenge has been humbling, but also motivating. It pushes me to keep finding creative ways to connect with our community, to tell our story, and to demonstrate that Omnivet isn’t just another hospital — we are a different model of care that Northern Michigan truly needs.

At the same time, my biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been stepping more fully into the role of leader and entrepreneur. I’ve grown not just as a veterinarian, but as someone who communicates vision to a team, makes hard business decisions, and learns to adapt without losing sight of our values. We’ve expanded mobile care, deepened partnerships, and built a culture of transparency and collaboration — all while holding true to our promise of spectrum of care.

So while the challenge is real, the growth has been just as real. And I’ve learned that both can coexist: you can struggle with the weight of building something new and still be proud of how far you’ve come. For me, that tension — between challenge and growth, between work and family — is where resilience and boldness are forged.

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Image Credits

Kaitlyn Alpers – Cedar & Sage Photography

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