Covid-19 Policies & Procedures
Our Regulatory Colleges have worked in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the Province of Ontario to determine these guidelines be put in place for therapists to prepare for return to work.
We understand that these new guidelines may be frustrating and upsetting. Many of these new changes are directives from our governing body and without them in place we would not be able to operate. In the interest of keeping everyone as safe as possible we will do what is recommended by government health officials.
Any person with symptoms or other cause for concern according to the screening tool will be asked not to attend their appointment and will be referred to call Telehealth for further instruction.
HYGIENE PRACTICES FOR PATIENTS We require a CLEAN UNUSED MEDICAL MASK to be worn in the clinic at all times for your appointment. This mask will be provided to you at a cost of 50 cents. If you choose to bring your own disposable medical mask, please arrive with it in its packaging or in a ziploc bag and the the mask should be placed over your mouth and nose once you arrive INSIDE the clinic. Cloth masks will not permitted during treatment until further notice.
All patients and visitors will be asked to clean their hands prior to and following any clinical interactions.
PRIOR TO BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT
Please complete the Provincial Self Screening Tool:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/
- If you are not at risk, proceed with booking your appointment
- Once the appointment is booked, you will receive a COVID Screening Email that must be complete prior to coming to the clinic
UPON THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT AND ARRIVAL AT THE CLINIC
Re-take the screening tool – in the event that your status has changed since the time of the initial booking please notify the clinic. Please be advised that at this time we are unable to allow clinic access to any individuals who exhibit symptoms or other cause for concern
- Arrive right on time for your scheduled appointment.
- A QR code will be on the door for self check-in if reception is not available
- A Medical Mask must be worn in the clinic and will be provided to you for a cost of 50 cents (If you chose to bring your own disposable medical mask, please arrive with it in its packaging or in a ziploc bag and it should be placed over your mouth and nose once you arrive INSIDE the clinic)
- Our reception or your therapist will ask you if you reviewed our policies and will ask screening questions again (I know…I know…it is repetitive but we want to keep everyone safe and we are required to do 2 screenings)
- Proceed to wash or sanitize hands – you can walk directly to the bathroom or use the hand sanitizer located on the front desk
- Please also bring your own change of clothes if needed for your treatment (shorts, tank top, etc.) to reduce the amount of staff exposure to laundry
WHAT WILL A TREATMENT DURING COVID LOOK LIKE?
PRIOR TO BOOKING YOUR APPOINTMENT: Please complete the Self Screening Tool provided by Ministry of Public Health of https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/ If you are not at risk, proceed with booking your appointment
PPE: Please arrive to the clinic wearing a mask. Upon entering the clinic you will be asked to clean or sanitize your hands and change into a fresh medical mask that can be purchased from the clinic for 50 cents or you can bring your own in its original packaging or in a ziplock bag. Your therapist will follow the protocols of the Ministry of Health and Public Health of Ontario and will be wearing a properly fitted medical procedural grade mask. Other PPE gloves, safety glasses, shield apron/smock are recommended and will be determined by the therapist after assessing risk.
APPOINTMENT AND AVAILABILITY: We will need to invest more time between clients to disinfect our spaces more thoroughly and stagger appointment times with other therapists in the clinic to allow for physical distancing. NO walk-in patients are to be accepted at this time. Patients will be instructed to come alone to appointments. If someone has accompanied them, that individual is NOT allowed in the clinic (unless they are a guardian) and must wait for them outside the cliniSCREENING: Active screening – a confidential online COVID Symptom questionnaire will be emailed to you 24 hours prior to every appointment at the clinic. On arrival at the clinic, your therapist or front reception will re screen and ask if you reviewed our policies.
Passive screening – please read and adhere to the signage posted on the front door and throughout the studio.
WAITING AREA: You will be asked to arrive no more than 5 minutes before your appointment time. We have very limited space in the clinic to allow for social distancing.
TREATMENT ROOMS: These may feel sparse and sterile due to removal of fabric furniture and anything else that cannot be wiped clean. Water and glasses will not be available at this time.
HAND HYGIENE – You will be asked to wash or sanitize your hands upon entering the clinic and again before you leave. Therapists are already trained in proper hand hygiene and will continue these practices.
INFECTION CONTROL AND OPERATIONAL PRACTICES
DISINFECTION AND SANITIZATION
Disinfection and Sanitization of the entire clinic prior to the re-opening of the clinic – spraying down surfaces and wiping of all clinic equipment once spraying is complete.
CLEANING OF HIGH-TOUCH AREAS AND SURFACES
Commonly touched areas include but are not limited to: light switches, doorknobs, taps, handrails, counter tops, touch screens/mobile devices, phones and keyboards and point-of-sale machines will be cleaned after each patient.
CLEANING OF COMMON AREAS
Cleaning of reception, washrooms and any waiting room will be cleaned thoroughly multiple times of the day
CLEANING OF TREATMENT AREAS, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
Patient contact items must be cleaned and disinfected between each patient/use: treatment tables, exercise equipment, therapeutic tools, modalities and diagnostic tools.
All laundry will be collected after each patient use and will be laundered.
INFECTION CONTROL AND OPERATIONAL PRACTICES
DISINFECTION AND SANITIZATION
Disinfection and Sanitization of the entire clinic prior to the re-opening of the clinic – spraying down surfaces and wiping of all clinic equipment once spraying is complete.
CLEANING OF HIGH-TOUCH AREAS AND SURFACES
Commonly touched areas include but are not limited to: light switches, doorknobs, taps, handrails, counter tops, touch screens/mobile devices, phones and keyboards and point-of-sale machines will be cleaned after each patient.
CLEANING OF COMMON AREAS
Cleaning of reception, washrooms and any waiting room will be cleaned thoroughly multiple times of the day
CLEANING OF TREATMENT AREAS, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
Patient contact items must be cleaned and disinfected between each patient/use: treatment tables, exercise equipment, therapeutic tools, modalities and diagnostic tools.
All laundry will be collected after each patient use and will be laundered.
HYGIENE PRACTICES FOR CLINICAL STAFF
All of our clinical team have been educated and trained hand cleaning and PPE use for the purpose of infection control and prevention. All UBHW Team is required to demonstrate proper hand hygiene when entering and exiting the clinic, entering and exiting treatment rooms, after contacting certain surfaces and with any direct contact with others.
All clinical team members will don the use of appropriate personal protective equipment related to patient care, cleaning and other clinical or non-clinical activities
All clinical team members will be required to change into clean clothes while at the clinic.
OPERATIONAL PRACTICES
Physical barriers and appropriate physical distancing measures shall be followed in the clinic.
Clinic schedule: Appointments will be staggered. This will allow physical distancing between other therapists and patients in the clinic and provides adequate time to clean and disinfect clinic equipment, treatment areas and common areas between patients.
UBHW will keep a log of every person (patient, visitors, team members, other) entering the clinic each day – as advised by our regulatory body – this log will be maintained with privacy as top priority but will serve to help with contact tracing in the event there is an exposure to COVID 19.
Patients are requested to arrive at your treatment time. The waiting room will not be available. Even though we love your pets, children, family and friends, we ask that you come alone. Only patients will be allowed to enter the clinic, unless a guardian is required.
Touchless administrative procedures will be used where possible (e-transfer, tap payments, no cash transactions and emailed receipts/statements, re-booking with practitioners)
PRACTICES FOR UPPER BEACH HEALTH & WELLNESS TEAM MEMBERS
All of our clinical team have been educated and trained in hand hygiene and PPE use for the purpose of infection control and prevention. All RMT team members are required to demonstrate proper hand hygiene when entering and exiting the clinic, entering and exiting treatment rooms, after contacting certain surfaces, soiled linens and with any direct contact with others.
All clinical team members will don the use of appropriate personal protective equipment related to patient care, cleaning and other clinical or non-clinical activities.
While we always have superior cleaning and disinfecting procedures in place we will be even more thorough than ever. We are allowing more time between appointments so the treatment room, bathroom, high contact areas etc. will all be disinfected between clients. The tables are always prepped with fresh new linens for each client and we will continue this practice. All of the decorative textiles (pillow, chairs, etc.) will be removed from the treatment rooms and ensure that all surfaces you may come in contact with are easily disinfected. We will continue to uphold a level of high standards that we have built our reputation on.
DISINFECTION PROCEDURES BETWEEN PATIENTS
Therapists will wash their hands, arms and elbows thoroughly and immediately after treatment with soap and warm water before directing the patient out of the clinic.
Therapist will immediately disinfect any area used with the patient. This includes any equipment or tools used, treatment tables, stools, door handles, common area surfaces, washroom, handrail, mobile device or tablet, etc.
Therapists will wash their hands again after stripping the table and disinfecting.
Therapists will wear gloves to prep the treatment table for next patient
DISINFECTION PROCEDURES AT THE END OF THE DAY:
Deep clean and disinfect all other areas of the clinic that are “traffic areas”. This includes entry, stairway, handrail, hallway, washroom, floors and office.
Thorough cleaning and disinfecting of treatment rooms and floors.
UPPER BEACH HEALTH & WELLNESS will keep a log of every person (patient, visitors, team members, other) entering the clinic each day – as advised by our regulatory body – this log will be maintained with privacy as top priority but will serve to help with contact tracing in the event there is an exposure to COVID 19.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate these changes.