COVID-19 Policy/Procedures 03/01/2023 – Face Masks Required in Health Care Settings
Dear Valued Patients,
During the stay-at-home order, our clinic temporarily limited visits to urgent and emergency care. Now that our state is slowly re-opening, we are gradually increasing our hours of operation and are now accepting appointments for all types of eye care again.
The safety of our patients and staff continues to be our top priority. We are taking many steps to ensure everyone’s safety and we need your help to do so:
1. We ask all patients with symptoms of illness(that may include fever, chills/repeated shaking with chills, cough, runny nose, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, sore throat, new loss of taste/smell) to call and reschedule their upcoming appointment and call their primary care doctor immediately.
2. We will screen all patients before their appointment to confirm that they are not feeling ill AND have not traveled or been exposed to someone with an illness in the past two weeks. If patients believe they may not be completely symptom-free or may have been exposed to the coronavirus, their appointment will be rescheduled for at least two weeks later.
3. We ask patients with RED and/or WATERY-STICKY eyes to call our office for further instructions. COVID-19 can show up as conjunctivitis (pink eye), so we must be extra careful with this.
4. We will check your temperature prior to entering the clinic. Any patient or person accompanying a patient who presents with a fever, cold or flu-like symptoms will be asked to reschedule.
5. Please complete your online history form at least 24 hours prior to your appointment. Our staff may call and review it with you.
6. Please come to your appointment alone. If someone accompanies you to an appointment, they will be asked to wait outside the facility unless they provide a caregiving service (for example: parent of a child, language interpreter, or physical assistance.)
7. Please call us from your vehicle when you arrive to virtually check in. We will let you know when to enter the office. This will help minimize the number of people in the office at any given time and allow for social distancing.
8. All patients and staff are required to wear a cloth or medical face mask inside the clinic. We will reschedule anyone without a mask. Valved masks are not allowed as some allow unfiltered exhaled air out, which puts others at risk. We are unable to provide masks at this time due to PPE shortages.
9. Please do not wear gloves to your appointment. You will be asked to sanitize your hands upon arrival. Please try to touch things as little as possible as we have a No-Touch policy in place.
10. Our No-Touch Policy is that you Avoid touching things as much as possible during your visit to our clinic. This also applies in the Optical. Our optical staff will bring frames to you to try on. We disinfect all “tried-on” eyewear before returning it to the display. ADD the following: Any frame that you touch will need to be disinfected prior to returning it to the display.
11. Please keep your mask on when selecting and trying on eyeglass frames. Before making your final selection, you will be allowed to remove your mask at a designated location so that you can try on the frame without your mask. Please be mindful of the time and distance you spend with the optician as we are trying to keep everyone healthy.
12. An appointment is required to pick up glasses or contact lenses. Please call us in advance to schedule a time. This will help to minimize the number of people in the office and allow for social distancing.
13. We have enhanced our cleaning protocol. Making sure our facility meets a high level of cleanliness is a priority. As always, we clean and disinfect equipment used in patient care between every patient visit. We are also cleaning and disinfecting more frequently, focusing on high-touch and high-use areas such as doors, door handles, tables, and countertops.
14. Staff are screened for symptoms daily and will stay home if we develop any.
15. We will enforce a NO FOOD OR DRINK policy anywhere in the office. Eating and drinking involves a “hand-to-mouth” motion and may contribute to a “touch”-then-“infect” scenario.
Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and trust during this challenging time as we all work together to keep our community healthy and safe. Please contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
RedWood Eye Clinic