The green light has been given from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafe BC, the BC Center for Disease Control and the College of Chiropractors of BC for Lansdowne Chiropractic to reopen as part of the transition to Phase 2 of the government’s COVID-19 response.
We received the information from the government late Friday afternoon and we are currently working hard to set up the office for the safety of you and us. It is anticipated that Lansdowne Chiropractic will be open for your needs May 19th.
There will be a new normal for a time period. We have all been touched in different ways by this odd situation. At Lansdowne Chiropractic we prefer to focus on positive change. This experience had us revisit what we do and how we do it for our patients. We are very excited that we are now better positioned to help you than we’ve ever been before. We have pivoted to provide the services you need in a safe conscientious manner.
If you are wondering what the new normal will look like at our office here is a list of changes we have instituted. Many of them will be familiar to you now from your experiences in grocery stores and other retail locations. All of these measures are suggested so as to minimize the chance of spreading COVID-19.
One overriding feeling we have sensed in the public is fear. Don’t be fearful. Be smart and cautious. Fear brings stress and stress brings a lowered immune system. We all need human interaction. It just needs to be a smart and cautious interaction for a time being. We all need to see smiles and to hear laughter – from family, friends and also strangers. Let’s bring that back into our lives in a huge way.
There are quite a few changes so let’s run down them point by point. All of these changes have science that is pro and con and is continuing to change. We will implement further changes as new information surfaces. As an aside, Lansdowne Chiropractic prefers the term physical distancing rather that social distancing. We should all be social, just at a distance.
- Appointments will be less frequent – to minimize the number of people in the office at one time and to allow us time to clean high touch areas more frequently than required (twice per day) the appointments will be spaced out more.
- Arrival on time – we are asking people with appointments to show up just before their appointment time. If you cannot make your appointment please call. We will not be able to accommodate late arrivals for their appointments.
- Wait in your car if preferred – we offer to give you a call when you can come up to the office for your appointment time if you prefer to wait in the comfort of your car in the parking lot. Please be aware that you will have to come up immediately when called so be ready.
- Front Door Poster – this is an information poster that asks a person not to enter the office if they have symptoms, have been in contact with someone with symptoms, or have travelled into the country in the last 14 days. It also asks anyone who enters to practice physical distancing. Importantly, it asks anyone who enters to go to our washroom and wash their hands with soap and water.
- Please wash your hands – this one is so important we are listing it on it’s own as well as in the above point. Upon entering the office please wash your hands right away in our washroom. There is a poster on the washroom mirror to guide you in proper hand washing technique but you probably know it by now ;-).
- Floor signs – the new normal everywhere. For your convenience we will have the ‘Stand here’ type of floor markers for both sides of the reception desk area.
- Only Bev or Jackie at a time – to minimize people in the office and due to the possible close proximity behind the reception desk we are going to have Bev or Jackie work one at a time for their and your safety.
- Reduced number of chairs in reception area – in concert with keeping the number of people in the office to a minimum at any one time we have taken away 50% of the chairs. They are now spaced out enough that you can sit if need be and be safe.
- Plexiglas barriers on reception desk – here is the ubiquitous new normal. We have installed the Plexiglas type of barrier on both sides of the reception desk. Both barriers have the pass through cut out.
- Point of sale terminal tap limit raised – we had our POS supplier raise the card tap limit to the highest available so you won’t have to touch the buttons on the POS machine if you choose.
- Books and magazines removed – although the science has shown that COVID-19 transfer by paper is not a problem, and the BC CDC regulations do not tell us to remove them, a lot of people are still uncomfortable with handling paper. For the time being we will remove them. Besides, most people carry their reading material – a cell phone!
- Minimize paperwork – we are minimizing, as much as possible, the amount of paperwork and signing of documents in the office. As above, the BC CDC does not recommend this but, temporarily, we will minimize it.
- Toys removed – the children toys in the office have been removed for the time being for the same reason as the books and magazines.
- Less touching of door handles – wherever possible we plan to shut the doors in the treatment areas to rest against the latch instead of fully closed. It will still function as an audible barrier. That will allow us to use the toe of our shoe to open a door and minimize hand contact on the door handles. We would also ask you to allow us to open and close the doors as much as possible for you.
- More frequent cleaning – we have received extra supplies of cleaning materials and will be wiping high traffic touch points and areas even more frequently than is recommended by the BC CDC.
- Dr. Nero will wipe down the high traffic touch points in the treatment rooms after each patient visit.
- Dr. Nero will wash his hands with soap and very hot water in the staff washroom after each patient encounter.
- Masks, gloves and face shields – we have received a supply of non N-95 masks, gloves and face shields. These will be used as needed following the guidelines of the BC Center for Disease Control regulations for Community-Based Allied Health Care Providers in Clinic Settings.
- You can read the entire BC CDC document at this link http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19
If you have any concerns or question please email the office or phone to speak with someone. For the latter, the office will be very busy next week so we recommend emailing with your questions. You can email the office via the Contact page.
We are so happy to be back to what we enjoy doing – providing services that help people achieve pain relief, a more functional life, ease of movement, and pursuit of a wellness lifestyle. Let’s get going forward!
Remember, first and foremost, do not touch your face. Regularly clean your hands with soap and water, hydrate with water, get quality sleep and be positive with everyone around you.
Best of health to you and your family.
Dr. Nero and Bev and Jackie
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