To our valued patients,

We are happy to announce that our clinic will be reopening on Monday, May 25^th. It is imperative that we carefully manage traffic in regards to our office. Our practitioners will be trialing staggered start times as well as limiting overall treatment options and availability. We have developed important changes to the clinic procedures to align with our respective regulatory college’s requirements and with the Provincial Health Officer’s guidelines. We will be taking these extra precautions in order to protect our patients, our colleagues, our families, and ourselves. Our clinic and protocols will look different than they did prior to the March 2020 closure. Key changes are detailed below.

Version 2: this document is subject to revisions and considered incomplete at this time.

Pre-screening:

Prior to treatment, informed consent is required. This includes ensuring that you as the patient are aware that, while we have taken measures to minimize the risk of viral transmission, the nature of massage and physiotherapy means that physical distancing is not possible in the treatment room.

One day prior to your appointment, you’ll be called and asked to complete the BC COVID-19 self-assessment (https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en). You’ll be asked to stay home if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or loss of sense of smell). You must also confirm that you have not traveled outside BC in the past 14 days. This assessment will be repeated when you arrive for treatment. You will also be asked to complete an informed-consent document in regard to COVID-19.

Your practitioner will also be completing this self-assessment daily and cancel appointments if they are experiencing any symptoms.

Cancellation Policy Revision:

Our cancellation policy has shifted to reflect this new normal, and, if you or anyone in your household are experiencing any possible symptoms of illness, our policy is as follows: No cancellation fee is charged in the event of a late cancellation due to illness. If you arrive for treatment and your physical presentation does not meet screening criteria (eg. you are displaying symptoms that you may not have recognized), we will cancel the treatment. If you have a concern about your practitioner’s physical presentation, you should feel empowered to do the same.

Upon Arrival:

Patients must arrive unaccompanied unless the patient is a minor or requires assistance. In that case, a parent or guardian may accompany the minor, but friends and siblings are not permitted.

When you arrive for your appointment, our front door will either be open or your practitioner will open it for you. The door will be locked between appointments in order to eliminate unexpected traffic and we will not be accepting “walk-in” appointments or appointment requests.

You will be directed to the hand sanitizer at the front door for use and be asked to don your mask if you haven’t already.

Please note the 2-meter social distancing rule. Other than close proximity during assessment and treatment, patients and practitioners will maintain 2 meters of distance as much as possible.

PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY. We have increased the interval between appointments, this is to reduce the possibility of overlap between patients. Patients are asked to arrive promptly at their appointment time. Time between patients is critical for proper cleaning, documentation, and pre-screening.

We will be removing all unnecessary furniture and objects from our waiting room that cannot be sterilized. THERE WILL BE NO CHAIRS AVAILABLE IN OUR WAITING ROOM.

At the end of your treatment and transactions:

Please be considerate of your practitioner’s time at the end of the treatment, we have added additional time to clean surfaces and your practitioner will need that time to prepare for the next client. Your consideration is appreciated.

Each practitioner has preferred method(s) of payment. Methods considered:

• CASH: there will be NO cash transactions.
• CHEQUES: check with your practitioner.
• DIRECT BILLING: check with your practitioner.
• e-TRANSFER: universally accepted
• CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS: check with your practitioner; we DO NOT keep credit card information on file.

We can continue to work with tap and regular transactions. Sterilization of the key pad pre and post transaction is a part of our office hygiene policy.

Receipts will be emailed post transaction, or you can request an annual receipt at year’s end.

Booking and re-booking of appointments will be done either online or over the phone, not in the office waiting room.

Hand Hygiene and Masks/PPE:

Patients must use alcohol-based sanitizer provided at the door.

We will require you to wear a mask. If you have your own mask please bring it, and/or we will have masks available upon your request. We have cloth masks that have been washed in hot water with soap or sterile disposable masks upon request. Please follow the mask guidelines for wearing and removing the masks (http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID19_SurgicalMaskPoster.pdf).

In the context of massage and physiotherapy, there is no benefit to using gloves to prevent transmission that is not achieved with proper hand hygiene.  We will not be using gloves unless requested by you to do so. Patients may also request gloves and face masks if they so desire and have not brought their own.

At this point, we are all becoming accustomed to not touching our faces. If you or your practitioner cough or sneeze during a treatment, which happens at the best of times, hand wipes and sanitizer are available.

If you think you may require water to drink during your visit, we ask that you please bring your own water bottle.

Enhanced Cleaning:

Due to the need for more diligent cleaning practices, more time between patients will mean we will likely have less appointment times available in a given schedule. We apologize for this decrease in availability, but hope you understand our commitment to office hygiene and safety precautions.

All high-touch surfaces in all clinic areas will be thoroughly cleaned between patients. This includes all furniture, doorknobs, clothing hooks, oil bottles, and all aspects of the table, arm rest, and face cradle.

We will also be disinfecting all keyboards and desk surfaces as well as any card payment devices after each use.

Each practitioner will complete a cleaning check list and pre-screening for every client to ensure that the appropriate actions have been taken.

As our washroom facilities are not under our complete control, we recommend that you use your home washroom before coming to your appointment. If the need arises and you must use our building’s washroom, arrangements will be made to keep you as safe as possible. Please use the hand sanitizer provided upon your return.

Please consider:

Any massage therapy or physiotherapy treatment involves some risk of COVID-19 transmission. This risk cannot be reduced to zero. Although we are following all of the health and safety guidelines outlined by the College of Physical Therapists of B.C., the College of Massage Therapists of B.C., and the Provincial Health Officer and that we are taking all reasonable precautions to clean and disinfect the clinic and all the surfaces within the treatment rooms, there are no guarantees that you may not come into contact with COVID-19.

It is up to the practitioner to establish and follow a protocol that mitigates risk, and up to each patient to determine their level of risk tolerance and provide informed consent if they deem that risk to be acceptable. If you do become sick after having visited us, please call 811 for guidance and inform us as soon as possible.

Thank you!

We look forward to having you back in our clinic, and hope you review these comprehensive protocols. If you have any questions regarding these policy changes or your treatment, please do not hesitate to contact us.