Covid 19 Safety Procedures for Resuming In-Office Appointments
As plans emerge to reopen society, we are committed to providing you with exceptional care and safety. We have carefully considered how to best support our patients during this time. Your health and safety is our top priority as we implement procedures to resume in-office appointments.
Our goal is to maintain our clinic as a COVID-free environment, and to prevent the further spread of this disease in our community. Please be assured that we are taking every step possible to make our office safe for patients and staff, and we aim to be one of the safest establishments you will visit during this pandemic. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with these new office procedures.
PREVENTION & SAFETY
Preventing Infection
Transmission of COVID-19 is mainly through respiratory droplets and close contact when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The CDC defines close contact as being within 6 feet or within a room or care area for a prolonged period without personal protective equipment OR having direct contact with secretions of a person with COVID-19 infection.
The best way to avoid infection is to stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) away from other people. Many of our new procedures are designed to make this possible.
Masks
The CDC recommends the use of cloth masks in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. The use of masks serves two purposes:
• To protect other people by acting as a physical barrier that limits the spread of viral and bacterial particulates from your nose and mouth.
• To protect health care workers and other professionals who are not able to maintain appropriate social distancing measures because of their job.
We have set up separate work areas for our employees so they can maintain a distance of at least 6 feet during most of their work day. Our employees will wear masks whenever their tasks require close contact with other employees, and they will wear masks whenever they are assisting patients. We also have a sneeze guard to protect our staff and patients.
For the protection of all patients and employees, we require everyone to wear a mask while they are in our office.
Cleaning & Sterilization
We have increased our regular, thorough cleaning, and clean commonly-touched surfaces with disinfectant throughout the day where appropriate. We clean with both alcohol and bleach based solutions to maintain a safe and clean environment. Our equipment, desks, and furniture is being regularly cleaned between patient use.
APPOINTMENTS & SAFETY PROCEDURES
The following procedures are aimed at making our office one of the safest businesses you will visit during this pandemic.
In-Office Appointments:
• Before all in-office appointments, we will be confirming that everyone attending the appointment is free of all COVID-19, cold and flu symptoms including fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, muscle pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Our staff is screened every morning for symptoms and temperature check. If you or your child do have symptoms, we will reschedule your appointment and coordinate appropriate care.
In-office screening for fever and other symptoms will occur before your appointment.
• Everyone must wear masks the entire time they are in the office.
• We will wear a mask, gloves and coat for each appointment.
• Please avoid gathering in the waiting room area or around our reception desk.
Item orders and pick-ups:
In the office, our reception will gather the supplements you need from the shelves for you. Please try to place supplement orders in advance – call us by phone or email. All pick-ups are no-contact if possible. Supplements/medications will be placed in a bag with your name clearly labeled
You and your family’s health and safety is our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and your help in keeping our community healthy and safe during these uncertain times. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Sincerely,
Andy Nguyen MD
Hogan Shy MD