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Dear Patients,
We hope you and your family
are in good health. We want to assure you that we are taking specific measures, in addition to our thorough infection control procedures, in order to keep you, our eye care team, and our community safe from the spread of COVID-19. The safety and well-being of our patients and eye care team continues to be our priority. Our office looks a little different now in order to comply with the recommendations made by the ADA, the CDC, and OSHA.
Here are some of the changes you can expect to see:
• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing, as well as extensive cleaning of equipment and surfaces between patients. This may mean fewer options for appointments.
• Prior to your appointment, we will call to ask you some questions; you will also be asked these questions when you arrive. For example Have you had a fever, cough, flu-like symptoms? If yes you would need to wait at least 14 days to have your appointment. Please advise us if you or anyone you live with has had an upper respiratory illness or fever in the past two weeks.
• We ask that you remain in your car, or outside, and call us on your cell phone when you arrive. We will limit the number of persons in our waiting area to a maximum of 2-3 patients at a time.
• To minimize people in the reception area anyone accompanying you should wait in the car, or stay outside. Should you require an escort or if the patient is underage then please limit to one extra person only.
• The front door will be locked to help control patient flow.
• We will take your temperature at the front door with an infrared touchless thermometer. (The staff will have their temperature taken daily as well). Anyone presenting with a temperature over 100*F will need to be rescheduled.
• We ask that you arrive wearing a mask on. If you do not have a mask, please call ahead to make sure that a disposable one is available for you.
• Hand sanitizer will be available for you to use.
• The reception area and countertops are frequently cleaned. Magazines and other non-cleansable items have been removed. Many of our waiting room chairs have been removed to help accommodate the social distancing, 6 feet apart. Surfaces around the office are being constantly cleaned and disinfected for everyone's protection.
• Our Eyecare team will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect you and themselves from the spread of infection through aerosols.
• Our clothing will look different, and even if we do not shake your hand, know that we are happy to see you. We will be wearing KN95 masks, and/or cotton+filter face masks, along with face shields, gloves. Some on our team will also be wearing covered garments, disposable or scrubs.
• We are in the process of switching to all electronic paperwork and financials so that we can avoid long stays in the reception area. Our front desk will notify you when this is completed so we can arrange it.
• Should you have any questions regarding your protection, a member of our team will be happy to assist you. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding during this time.
Please keep in mind that since this virus is easily killed with soap and water, the best thing to do is wash your hands often. While we are taking every measure we can to keep you safe, please understand the only 100 percent way to not get sick is to stay home. If you are at high risk we are happy to discuss with you about whether coming to the eye doctor is the right option for you now.
On a personal note, this has been a very trying time for myself and my staff. I would never have imagined locking our doors after so many years in business and laying off employees. They are like family to me and I could never care for all of you without them. Please be patient with us as we get things up and running, all these changes are new for all of us, and we are trying our best to get used to our
"new normal".
Lastly, our supply chain of PPE has not returned to a normal flow. Should we at any time not have appropriate gear we will need to return to seeing emergencies only. There will be a nominal infection control fee for each appointment to cover the costs of all the additional measures.
If you have any questions, feel free to call (301) 982-4200,
message us on our
Facebook, or
email us and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner.
Best wishes for good health,
Dr. Kathryn Thompson and Staff
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WE WANT TO KEEP YOU SAFE...
All of us here at sincerely hope that you, your family and friends are all healthy during these stressful times.
Our office is open during this time of Covid-19 outbreak, BUT we are taking extra precautions to keep our patients and staff safe.
We are doing what we can to look after your health and your vision, and as always, we appreciate you being our patient.
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Symptoms
• Mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing
• Symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days
Transmission
• Spreads person to person through small droplets from nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
• Can catch the virus by touching objects and surfaces that droplets have landed on and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
Steps to take to minimize risk
• Wash hand with soap & water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people that are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw away the tissue in trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Ensure employees have ample facilities to wash their hands.
PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze with your elbow or a tissue will greatly reduce the number of germs that are able to spread to people and objects around you. Even if your illness doesn't seem very bad to you, it could be much more serious for someone who catches your germs.
SOCIAL DISTANCING
What Is Social Distancing?
Social distancing is a way to keep people from interacting closely or frequently enough to spread an infectious disease.
Here in the office we're asking you to not sit next to each other to observe Social Distancing.
Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, please be respectful of others boundaries.
READ MORE about Coronavirus Eye Safety
at:
(CDC) Center for Disease Control ➤
(AOA)
American Optometric Association ➤
(AAO) American Academy of Ophthalmology ➤ |
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