COVID Related Protocols and Policies

April 2023: At this point in time, although many people/massage therapists are no longer taking

any specific precautions related to COVID,

I will continue to implement the policies/protocols

for hands-on, in-person treatments that I believe will best keep you, me, our families and our communities as safe and healthy as can be.

These policies will help reduce spread of all infectious diseases, including flu.

HEPA air purifiers are in use in my office spaces; I am masked; I am requiring clients to be masked.

Please read the information below for specifics about mask wearing and health screening.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see some precautionary notes regarding underlying

health conditions /having massage after having had Covid.

If you are cleared by your doctor to schedule an appointment with me, please let me know your

high risk factors when we schedule your appointment.

MASKS

I am still requiring clients to wear "high quality", well-fitted, KN or N95s, while in my office areas.

"High quality" means masks that are either NIOSH approved, or purchased from reputable

sources, such as projectn95.org or bonafidemasks.com. A KN95 has ear straps, an N95 has head straps.

Surgical masks are not acceptable (partly because they do not

form a well-fitted "seal" on many people) right now, nor are cloth masks.

Eric Topol, Twitter:

Aug 15

The use of high-quality masks (like N95/KN95 respirators) by patients, compared with surgical masks, substantially reduced Covid infections among nearly 4,000 health care workers https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2795150…

@JAMANetworkOpen

I do have KN and N95s available for client use, including the "duck bill" type of mask, which

some people find more comfortable than the more commonly seen masks.

Contact me if you have questions/would like more information about masks.

When you arrive for your appointment, please already have on your properly fitting mask, covering both your nose and mouth, and meeting your face around the edges, metal nose bar pressed to your face.

I will determine if your mask is appropriate for our setting, and if not, will provide one for you.

You will be wearing your properly fitting mask the ENTIRE TIME you are in my office spaces.

This includes while you are changing your clothes, and while you are lying face-down.

If you need to take a sip of water/blow your nose, please step outside before you pull your mask down, and put your mask back on properly before stepping back inside.

If you feel you will not be able to breathe comfortably with a mask on while lying face down,

we can achieve our goals by working with you in other positions instead.

Since I do not have always have a client lie face down during a session, that would not present a problem.

If you are not comfortable with these masking policies, we can either work together

via Distance or a Zoom session instead, or wait until I am no longer requiring masks in my office.

VACCINATIONS

My preference is to only see vaccinated and boosted clients. If you cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, or have chosen not to be vaccinated, please let me know when we speak to schedule your appointment.

There are treatment options other than in-person sessions.

HEALTH SCREENING

(My current policies are different than CDC policies.)

The day before your scheduled appointment, and the morning of, for EVERY appointment: Please check in with yourself regarding your health, and contact me if we need to reschedule due to COVID related health concerns (no cancellation charge). This includes exposure to Covid through close contacts: If you have, OR a close contact/housemate has, come down with Covid within 14 days of your scheduled appointment, we will reschedule your appointment.

(Refer to the health forms I will send you prior to your first appointment, and CONTACT ME if you are uncertain)

If you have experienced any new symptoms that might indicate COVID (runny nose, sinus infection, cold symptoms, sore throat, chills, fever, aches/pains, gastrointestinal issues, sudden loss of sense of taste or smell) within the past 14 days (unless you have tested negative a few times in a certain timing, which we can discuss when we speak to schedule your appointment), we will cancel and reschedule your session (no cancellation charge).

If you have been in close contact, within 14 days before your appointment, with someone who has COVID, we will cancel and reschedule your appointment (no cancellation charge). Yes, this is different than current CDC policy.

If you have had COVID, or are in close contact with anyone who has had,

please let me know when we speak to schedule your appointment. We will take that into account for timing

when we schedule your appointment, and you may need to have had a negative test.

After having had Covid, some treatments

are contra-indicted ( see bottom of this page)

If your health indicates the need for us to send you home and reschedule your appointment, we will do so, at least 14 days out, no cancellation charge.

GENERAL OFFICE PROCEDURES:

I will be masked, and clients will be masked.

HEPA filters will be running in my treatment room and waiting area.

I am disinfecting and airing out my office spaces in between clients.

I am allowing more time in between client appointments than I had been before.

When you arrive (please already have on your properly fitting mask, covering both your nose and mouth, and meeting your face around the edges, metal nose bar pressed to your face), enter my waiting area at your appointment time. Remove your shoes, and use the hand sanitizer provided, or you may wash your hands.

Please leave any items not essentially needed during your treatment time in your car: in other words, bring in only your keys, perhaps an Epi-pen if needed, or a cell phone if you absolutely must be reached in case someone needs to contact you in an emergency. Leave any water bottles, extra bags, etc., in your car, and bring in only what you need to have with you during your session.

Please throw out any gum in your car.

Please have your payment readily available if you are intending to pay in person.

After our session is completed, we will conclude our time together as quickly as possible.

For payment and rescheduling: If you are paying by check, please have the check made out before you arrive. If you are paying with cash, please have the cash readily accessible. You are welcome to pay when you arrive- some people prefer to pay before we begin our session. Rescheduling your follow-up appointment will be done quickly, or via phone or email after you have left my office. Once payment/ rescheduling has been quickly finished, you will put your shoes on and exit.

For now, we will continue to limit the time we spend chatting after our session.

I will continue to implement some "best practices" that other practitioners may not be implementing.

I believe that, even now with many people vaccinated/boosted, the risk for transmission of infection is highest when in small, enclosed, spaces, at close proximity.

Good air filtration, in addition to well-fitted masks, seems to be key in reducing infection transmission.

Vaccinations are not 100% effective at blocking transmission of COVID.

Although for many vaccinated people who do get infected with COVID, it is "just like a bad cold or allergies", for some people that is not the case, and for all of us, the after effects of COVID are not yet understood-

some otherwise healthy people are experiencing strokes after COVID,

and many people who end up with "long COVID" had very

mild infections initially.

I am putting a number of procedures into place to mitigate transmission risks as much as I can, and I appreciate your cooperation.

As always, contact me if you have any questions/concerns.

Thank you.

Please note:

"...the CDC indicates that these underlying conditions place people at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19: › People 65 years or older › Chronic lung disease › Moderate to severe asthma › Heart conditions › Compromised or suppressed immunity › Severe obesity (body mass index of 40 or higher) › Diabetes › Chronic kidney disease › Liver disease" (from FSMTB.org)

If you are in one or more of the above categories, please check with your doctor before scheduling an appointment.

People who have had COVID are at higher risk for blood clotting. Those at high risk for blood clotting, as a result of COVID or something else, should speak with their physician specifically about the risk of blood clotting before scheduling an appointment with me.

Massage, especially deep tissue work, is contra-indicted for people who have blood clots or a history of blood clots, and new evidence is emerging that is leading some to believe that massage is contra-indicated after someone has ha

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