How we are preventing and preparing for COVID-19

Page updated on January 20, 2022

Here is what Arlington Physical Therapy is/has been doing to make your therapy appointment as safe as possible.

The first step we took was to educate our workforce using validated resources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), and the US Department of Health.

The second step we took was to evaluate our ability to continue to provide services without increasing exposure risks to you, to our visitors, and staff. As part of that process, we made a list of questions that we will ask to ascertain the exposure risk. These are the questions:

• Have you tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
• Are you currently awaiting results from a COVID-19 test?
• Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider in the past 10 days?
• Have you been told that you are suspected to have COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider in the past 10 days?
• Have you had any of the symptoms in the past 48 hours: fever over 100.4, persistent cough, or shortness of breath/ difficulty breathing, fatigue, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, muscle or body aches, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or headaches?
• If positive for symptoms we are asking the patient to contact his/her physician for guidance and written permission to attend therapy. We are also asking patients to call the clinic prior to arriving if they have any flu/virus-like symptoms.
• Have you been in close contact, in the past 14 days, with an individual who has had any worrisome symptoms?

The third step we took was to intensify our housekeeping & infection control procedures to assure that we have minimized contact with anything or areas that could harbor harmful bacteria or viruses. In doing so we are asking all individuals who enter our clinic to:

• To complete the Patient Coronavisus-19 Questionnaire per visit or to confirm ‘no changes’ since the completion of the Questionnaire
• Apply our hand sanitizer prior to completing paperwork, signing in for the appointment, taking a seat in our reception area, or starting treatment
• Practice good hand hygiene (frequent handwashing) as well as good cough and sneeze etiquette (cover mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and deposit the tissue in a hands-free trash can or cover his/her mouth with his/her elbow if tissues are not immediately available).
• Apply our hand-sanitizer when departing the clinic
• Advise caregivers and visitors to wait in their car so our reception area is less congested
• All staff members are required to wear a mask at all times and we recommend patients do as well, while inside the clinic. We provide one free mask to each patient who doesn’t already have one.
• All patients will have their temperature taken upon entering the clinic.

The fourth step we are taking is to reconfigure our gym and reception areas to permit greater physical separation of patients. We also have stickers on the floor in the lobby to encourage social distancing practices.

The fifth step we are taking is to adapt our schedule to accommodate our immunological compromised patients.

The final step we are taking is to continue to educate our workforce and our patient community regarding the COVID-19. We consistently employ measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 according to the CDC (and other credible authorities) recommendations and will keep you informed of any changes in protocols.