COVID-19 Safety and Infection Control Measures for Patients

With the number of new cases rising in regions across the province, the Ontario Government has recently announced new province wide lockdown restrictions.

While these restrictions do involve the closure of all non-essential businesses, as healthcare facilities, our clinics remain unaffected by these restrictions and remain open for in-person care.

Of course, we are continuing to operate with enhanced safety protocols in place and are continuing to keep abreast of this on-going and evolving situation to ensure the continued well-being of our patients, our clinical teams and members of the broader community.

In keeping with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health and other officials, Physiomed has implemented the following changes to both our clinics’ physical setup and operational procedures including:

• Adding plexiglass shields at reception desks (where possible)
• Placing floor decals at the front of the clinics to ensure proper patient spacing
• Reducing seating capacity in reception areas to maintain distancing
• Removing all non-essential displays or reception/waiting area content
• Sanitizing all reception and common areas at least once every 3 hours
• Sanitizing all treatment rooms & equipment between each patient visit
• Screening all staff & practitioners prior to entering the clinic for their shifts
• Having all staff stay 6-feet apart, wear a level 2 surgical mask & wash their hands regularly
• Having all practitioners wear gloves & a KN95 or level 2 surgical mask during treatment
• Screening patients on the phone and in-person before entering the clinic
• Requiring patients to wear a mask while at all time while in the clinic
• Ensuring hand sanitizer is readily available for all patients
• Limiting daily patient bookings to allow for physical distancing and for cleaning treatment rooms & equipment between appointments

WHAT WE CAN DO INDIVIDUALLY:

While it’s easy to feel a sense of helpless in the face of this on-going situation, there are things that we can do to help ourselves and our communities.

Continue Social Distancing:

• Limit non-essential trips and going out in large groups
• While outside, avoid crowds and maintain a two-metre distance
• When distancing is not possible, wear a mask or other face covering

Continue Practicing Good Hygiene:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water
• Cough or sneeze into your sleeve, not your hands
• Keep hands away from your face (especially your eyes, nose and mouth)

Continue Boosting Your Immune System:

• Incorporate nutrient-dense foods into your diet, including vegetables, beans and nuts
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night
• Commit to at least 20 minutes of low-to-moderate intensity exercise per day

Continue Staying Informed:

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the volume and, at times, conflicting nature of the information being disseminated. To avoid becoming overly stressed, try to:

• Pick a set time during the day to catch up on updates (e.g., during breakfast or after dinner)
• Resist scanning the internet outside this designated window
• Remember: It’s far more valuable to learn day-old information from a credible news source than unverified updates from social media feed.

CONTINUING YOUR CARE VIRTUALLY:

For those patients who are nervous about in-person care, our clinics offer a safe, secure and effective virtual care option to help ensure that, for these patients, staying safe and receiving much needed clinical care does not have to be a binary choice. To learn more about continuing care though our virtual care program, please visit our Virtual Care program page.

As always, and on behalf of all of us at Physiomed, I want you to know that we are here for you. We’ll have further updates as needed but, in the meantime, please stay safe.

Sincerely,

Dr. Scott Wilson
Physiomed Founder & Chairman