COVID and Client Safety
COVID is experiencing a huge growth in the US, and is currently at a much larger crisis point than at any other time since the first known case appeared. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase, especially in areas with higher levels of community transmission and lower vaccination coverage. Pediatric cases and hospitalizations have also increased in recent weeks. At this time, there are only a handful of states that do not have critically high levels of community transmission. The overall number of cases has doubled in the past two weeks, and more children are affected than ever before. As in-person school is starting back in most states, we can only expect that to keep rising.
As healthcare providers, our obligation is to first do no harm. Our clients should be able to trust that we take that very seriously. The CDC, the American Medical Association, the American Chiropractic Association, American Massage Therapy Association, Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals and every other healthcare professional organization have COVID resources on their website. THEY are taking this seriously, and every individual practitioner should be doing the same. Hospitals and front-line providers are overwhelmed. Tent hospitals are being set up again. More ventilators are being requested. ICU units are filled, mostly with unvaccinated people. Last week, the University of Mississippi Medical Center had 1500 COVID patients--more than 1300 of whom were unvaccinated. They were forced to turn a parking garage into a field hospital and are bringing in the National Guard to help. Many frontline workers confirm that the COVID patients in the hospital are begging for the vaccine. Getting the vaccine while you are already sick with it is not going to help your immune system or make the virus less contagious.
So what can you do if you are in practice and open for business?
- Get vaccinated.
- Wear a mask.
- Ask screening questions of all who enter your office.
- Wash hands frequently, before and after every patient contact.
- Require everyone who enters your office (including all staff members) to wear a mask and to wash their hands before and after being in contact with patients.
- Sanitize all surfaces that patients have touched in your workspace after each patient (examination tables, massage tables, etc).
- Arrange lobby chairs to be socially distant.
- Avoid socializing in crowds.
- Maintain social distancing anywhere away from your office.
- Have a plan for contacting patients in the event it comes to your attention that anyone in your office has tested positive for COVID. Also consider who among your staff members were exposed.
- Require all staff members to inform you if they have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive.
These are all simple to do, and a minor inconvenience when stacked up against being on a ventilator or having someone become sick because of you. Again, we have to first do no harm, and that means doing everything in our power to protect our patients.
May you and your families and patients/clients remain safe and well.
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