Steps We Have Taken to Make Your Appointment as Safe as Possible
As COVID-19 continues to impact our local communities, we are sharing what we are doing to make your therapy appointment as safe as possible.
Step 1: Ongoing education of our workforce using validated resources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the US Department of Health.
Step 2: Continuously evaluating our ability to provide services without increasing exposure risks to our patients, visitors, and staff. As part of this process, each patient must answer a questionnaire intended to ascertain exposure risk. This questionnaire is based on CDC guidelines and includes the following questions:
- Have you tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
- Are you currently awaiting results from a COVID-19 test?
- Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed healthcare provider in the past 10 days?
- Have you been told that you are suspected to have COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider in the past 10 days?
- Have you had any these symptoms in the past 48 hours?
- Fever over 100.4° or chills
- Persistent cough
- Shortness of breath/difficulty in breathing
- Fatigue
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Muscle or body aches
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Headaches
Step 3: Intensified our housekeeping & infection control procedures to assure that we have minimized contact with areas that could harbor harmful bacteria or viruses. In doing so we are asking all individuals who enter our clinic to:
- Complete the Patient Coronavirus-19 Questionnaire per visit or to confirm ‘no changes’ since the completion of the Questionnaire.
- Confirm a temperature lower than 100.4 degrees.
- Apply our hand-sanitizer prior to completing paperwork, signing-in for the appointment, taking a seat in our reception area or starting treatment.
- Practice good hand hygiene (frequent handwashing) as well as good cough and sneeze etiquette (I.e. Cover mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and deposit the tissue in a trash can, immediately). Because the CDC does not recognize the “cough in arm/elbow technique” as effective in blocking respiratory droplet transmission this will only be used in lieu of coughing into one’s hands. Thorough handwashing and sanitizing should be used with either technique.
- Apply our hand hand-sanitizer when departing the clinic.
- Do not remove your mask prior to exiting our clinic.
Step 4: Reconfigured our gym and reception areas to permit greater physical separation of patients.
Step 5: Given our patients access to telehealth services, as permitted by state and federal law.
The final step we have taken is to continually educate our workforce and our patient community regarding the COVID-19. We will consistently employ measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 according to CDC and state/local recommendations and will keep you informed of any changes in protocols.