Thank you for everything you’ve done to keep yourselves and the community around us safe. Now that we are open for non-emergent patient care, we want you to feel safe when visiting our offices. Here are some of the changes that we’ve put in place in order to meet the health and safety challenges presented by COVID-19, and to protect the health of the high-risk population we serve, our staff, and our community.
Temperature checks / screening questions
We’re taking temperatures and asking specific screening questions to every person who walks through our doors, including patients, staff, and providers. Any patient, or patient caregiver, with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, or who has answered “yes” to any screening question will be asked exit the building and wait in the parking lot while a provider determines if your appointment should be rescheduled. Any staff member or provider who answers “yes” to any screening question or has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be asked to leave the building.
Masks
We are all wearing masks to protect anyone in our presence from an aerosol spread that can be transferred by breath, coughing, or sneezing. We also require patients to wear masks.
Fewer Surfaces
We’ve removed furniture from our waiting spaces to minimize the surfaces that hands can touch, and we’ve designated extra space between chairs to practice physical distancing. Magazine and refreshment offerings have also been paused.
Breath Barriers
We’ve installed clear breath barriers at our front desk areas. This will allow our staff to communicate with and assist you while keeping you safe.
Disinfecting
We’ve implemented updated protocols for our staff to thoroughly sanitize waiting room chairs, patient care rooms and exam lanes after each patient and at the close of the day. We are also cleaning and sanitizing shared staff areas daily.
Hand Sanitizers
We’ve installed additional Purell no touch dispensers so that you may sterilize your hands after each time you have contact with a door handle.
Limiting Occupancy / Physical Distancing
Because we are required to maintain 6 feet of distance whenever possible, we ask family and friends who accompany the patient to wait in the parking lot. There will be exceptions to this where caregivers are needed. We have added many barriers throughout both of our offices to practice physical distancing and have more in process.
Telemedicine
You now have the opportunity to have virtual exams and post-ops as an alternative to coming in to see your provider. The exams are conducted via Zoom Video Conferencing, which is user friendly and private. Click here to learn more about telemedicine.
The steps we’re taking on cleanliness and new medical norms are as much about the health and safety of our team members as they are about our patients. We hope that sharing some of our changes helps to set you at ease before arriving for your exam or procedure. Thank you for your support and understanding during this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please call us at 541-779-4711.
Stay safe and healthy,
Medical Eye Center
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