A NOTE TO OUR PATIENTS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

Dear Patients,

Due to the recent events regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we want to keep you informed of what we are doing to address the health and safety of our patients, physicians, and staff, as this is,  and will always be, our top priority.

Based on our current guidance and our own standards and practices, we remain open and ready to provide exceptional care to our patients.  Please be advised we are a specialty practice and do not test or treat for acute respiratory illnesses.  We have implemented the following policies and procedures to assist in this endeavor.

PATIENTS WITH SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS:

Please come by yourself to your appointment if possible.  We are permitting only one caregiver to accompany patients to either of our locations.

YOU MUST RESCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT FOR A FUTURE DATE IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY TO YOU:

  • You have traveled internationally in the past 14 days
  • You have traveled on a cruise ship in the past 14 days
  • You have been exposed to someone who has tested positive to COVID-19 in the past 14 days
  • You are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
    • Fever
    • Fatigue
    • Cough
    • Shortness of breath

Please call our office and our staff will reschedule your appointment.  We will be screening every patient at the time the appointment is made, the day before the appointment, as well as at check-in, to identify and limit potential exposure to COVID-19 in our clinics.

PATIENTS REQUESTING APPOINTMENTS – Please call our office to schedule an appointment.  We will make the determination as to how we can best serve you at that point in time.  If you are experiencing a current acute respiratory illness, you will be asked to recover completely from this before an appointment is scheduled.

PATIENTS WITH SCHEDULED SURGERIES:  Our office will communicate with you prior to your scheduled surgery.  Please contact your doctor’s MA/nurse if you experience any of the symptoms noted above or are concerned regarding COVID-19.   Please be advised that ambulatory surgery centers and/or hospital OR’s may choose to direct their resources to more critical care patients.  We will, of course, keep you apprised of any changes in scheduling/facility location, etc.

A NOTE TO OUR HIGHER RISK PATIENTS

We routinely visit with and evaluate people with serious and chronic medical conditions.  In an effort to protect and safeguard our most vulnerable patients, the elderly and higher-risk patients may want to consider changing any routine, non-urgent visits to a later date.

WHAT WE ARE DOING – Our staff has been trained in infection control practices, standard precautions, and hand hygiene.  We are limiting the number of patients being seen and expanding the time between patients to allow staff to properly sanitize each exam room.  We will triage each patient both at the time of their appointment being scheduled, the day before, as well as at the time of their visit.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov  for the most up-to-date information.