Covid-19, Update #9: July 6, 2020
A message from Dr. Lieberman and Dr. Parekh,
Friends,
It has been 4 months since our first Covid-19 update and 4 weeks since our last update. Much has changed and many things have stayed the same and will continue to be the same for the foreseeable future.
We welcome Governor Abbott’s recent executive order on the universal use of masks in public places. Our office has had a mandatory mask policy in place since March for all of our staff and patients. Masks are now required upon entering our building and must remain on while in our suite.
The following screening questions will be asked for all who enter our suite:
Have you or a member of your household had any of the following symptoms in the last 7 days: sore throat, cough, chills, body aches for unknown reasons, shortness of breath for unknown reasons, loss of smell, loss of taste, fever, temperature at or greater than 100 ℉?
To the best of your knowledge have you been in close proximity to anyone who tested positive for COVID-19?
Please call our office first if you answer yes to either of these questions.
Due to Covid-19 precautions, the following procedures are NOT being performed: spirometry (lung function testing), peak flow readings, and nebulizer treatments. We have also placed on hold any new starts for oral immunotherapy (OIT) and food challenges will be scheduled on a very limited basis for the time being.
Rest assured we will continue with the current safety measures we have in place:
– For the safety of our staff and fellow patients, all patients must have a face mask or face covering when entering the clinic either for an office visit or allergy injection. The face covering must remain on during the entire visit. All of our staff wears masks during all patient interactions and our nurses wear gloves with any direct patient contact.
– Foreheads temps will be taken for all those who enter the clinic and for all staff every morning.
– Patients are messaged the evening before an office visit to remind to reschedule if they are ill or have a fever (see above screening questions).
– Hand sanitizer is immediately available upon entering the building and in our suite.
– Safety signage is on our front door, signage is on our flooring to remind about social distancing.
– We will continue to offer and encourage telemedicine visits. Telemedicine has been very effective to connect with our patients, provide refills and provide follow up appointments for our injection patients. This has also aided greatly to keep office volume at a minimum.
– Social distancing measures will remain in place for all of our patients, we will continue to utilize empty exam rooms when available for those to wait after injections.
– Exam rooms are cleaned with disinfectant after each use, the waiting room is continually cleaned with disinfectant throughout the day with special and frequent attention to the door handles and contact areas.
– Our office hours will remain Monday thru Friday, 8-5 and injections every other Saturday for the summer, July 11, 25, August 8, 22.
Please continue to help:
Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we are able to provide care and continue to administer allergy shots in a safe manner. Please do not come to our clinic if you have a cough or fever and please leave family members who are not patients at home.
We are here to help, please feel free to give us a call if we can help with any advice or guidance during these trying times.
As always, stay safe, stay healthy and stay on your asthma meds!
(please see the helpful infographic from the AAAAI)
