We hope that all of our families have been staying safe and healthy!
We realize this has been a challenging time for all as the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved and all of us have been forced to pivot constantly it seems. As we prepare to reopen our office, we wanted to reach out again and let you know of the current necessary changes in standards and operating procedures in order to ensure the safety and well-being of our patients and team.
What WE are doing:
- We will self-monitor for any respiratory symptoms and will take our temperature upon arriving to the office and again at the end of the day. Team members experiencing any influenza like illness symptoms will not report to work
- We have removed most chairs in our reception area and have removed all magazines, reading materials and other objects that may be touched and are not easily disinfected. Additionally, we have closed our coffee bar and removed bottled water and have closed off our game room.
- We continue to use universal precaution procedures by using hospital grade disinfectants on all patient areas.
- We sterilize all equipment that is not disposable.
- We are continuously being disinfecting common areas.
- We have adjusted our schedule to minimize contact with other patients.
- We are using every other chair in our treatment bay to maintain distance between patients during their treatment.
- We will continue to wear protective barriers to minimize our exposure.
- We are now required to wear N95 masks when we are within 6 feet of all procedures likely to produce aerosols, as such some appointments may have to be modified and some procedures postponed due to current lack of availability of these masks. To this end, we have moved these procedures on our schedule to the end of our day in order to affect as few people as possible and to allow any aerosols to settle overnight and then all surfaces are wiped down again in the morning before seeing patients.
What YOU should do before arriving to your appointment:
- You need to call to reschedule your appointment if you or another family member have traveled on an airplane, have been in close contact with someone who has the virus within the past 14 days, or if you or another family member have any symptoms of a bacterial or viral infection, Influenza or the Coronavirus (COVID-19), such as fever, coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat or runny nose. To this end, if you come to the office and exhibit any symptoms our team will kindly ask you to reschedule your appointment.
- You need to brush your teeth at home as tooth brushing will not be allowed in the office.
- If the patient is a minor and a responsible party is not going to be bringing the patient to the appointment, it is imperative that the attached Supplemental Informed Consent for COVID-19 be signed by a responsible party ahead of time. Preferably sign and email this to our office at mail@herrmannorthodontics.com in order to minimize our contact with paper. If we do not have the Supplemental Informed Consent for COVID-19 consent signed and the responsible party is not present, we will have to reschedule the appointment.
Upon arrival for your appointment:
- Please arrive early as it will take longer than normal to get you checked into our office.
- Late arrivals beyond 10 minutes will almost certainly have to be rescheduled in order to accommodate proper distancing between patients in the treatment area.
- Please text us at 844-407-2284 to let us know that you have arrived. We will text back when we are ready for you to enter our office.
- Upon entering our entryway, we will ask you to use hand sanitizer.
- We will have you sign a Supplemental Informed Consent for COVID-19 on an iPad, then we will prescreen you by having fill out and sign a questionnaire regarding the presence of any
- We will then take your temperature.
- After screening, we will ask our patients to swish for one minute with Listerine at what is normally our toothbrush station before being seated in our treatment bay.
- Please refrain from bringing any guests to your appointments as we will be limiting access. All guest must wear facemask. If you would like to observe your child during their appointment, you may view them thru our treatment bay windows.
What you should do after your appointment:
- At the end of the patient’s appointment, active patients will exit our office directly out the treatment bay door in order to minimize contact with other patients who may be entering our office.
- We ask that you schedule your next appointment by contacting our office or by scheduling your next appointment via our app. We realize that some have had difficulties scheduling via the app and hope to have any issues resolved shortly. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
- Contact our office ASAP if the patient or family members experience COVID-19 symptoms with 14 days after the appointment.
Stay safe and healthy by continuing social distancing and doing as authorities have recommended
The health and safety of our team, our patients, and our community is of utmost importance. Please help us keep each other and our community safe by following these guidelines.
Thank you,
Dr. Rick Herrmann and Team