While we are awaiting New York to allow businesses to resume operations in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19 or Sars-CoV-2, we have been developing a plan with additional steps in how we will operate going forward. The following plan is subject to change as our knowledge of the Coronavirus expands.
I. Precautionary steps in place prior to Sars-CoV-2
A. While rare, because of the potential exposure to blood, we follow universal precautions, including hand washing before and after each client utilizing a sink present in each treatment room, nitrile gloves during sessions, skin cleansing and preparation of areas to be treated and post-treatment aftercare.
B. All surfaces people contact undergo disinfection with an appropriate agent.
C. Most of the supplies are single use and are disposed of after each client.
D. The few tools that we re-use are properly cleaned and sterilized in a FDA listed sterilizer, and that sterilizer undergoes weekly spore testing through an independent lab to ensure it is functioning properly.
E. Masks are worn if either a technician or client was having any symptoms of a cold, but the symptoms weren’t severe enough to warrant cancellation. Signs are posted in the office asking our clients to cancel if they are sick.
F. Technicians use loupes with shields available, protecting their eyes from pathogens.
G. We schedule a 15 minute gap between clients to give technicians an appropriate amount of time to ensure thorough cleaning can be accomplished and to maintain privacy for our clients by reducing the likelihood of sitting in our waiting area with other clients.
H. All services are by appointment only and each technician has her own separate room for privacy.
I. Payments are made with a card terminal that allows contactless payment and has a chip reader so that clients may pay by themselves.
II. Additional steps to be taken after re-opening
A. Clients and technicians will be asked to certify a screening that they are not ill and have not had any symptoms or positive diagnoses in their household in the previous 14 days.
B. To enforce social distancing, the waiting room has been rearranged to make sure chairs are separated by an appropriate distance and/or barriers.
C. We are asking clients to not bring unnecessary visitors with them – minors may have a support person present, all other non-necessary persons should wait in their car or at the picnic area outside. Additional seating is available in the hallway outside the office.
D. Hand sanitizer will be available in the waiting area.
E. In addition to technicians washing their hands before and after appointments, clients will be asked to wash their hands as well.
F. Facial coverings for technicians are now mandatory during appointments and clients will maintain facial coverings when possible.
G. Disinfection of surfaces will now include door handles and credit card terminals in addition to the previous surfaces that were disinfected after each client.
H. Additional signage will be posted in the waiting area to inform clients of the symptoms and risks of COVID-19 with additional instructions on our guidelines.
Ultimately, our goal is not only to make you feel safe, we want you to be safe. And, that was our goal from the very first day we opened. I’ve shared the story of losing my father to a MRSA infection that he acquired when he was in the hospital, and, with that in mind, the business was set up to minimize the spread of infectious disease from the start. After all, we don’t just want to make sure you don’t get sick, we don’t want to get sick either.