Safety Protocols
Precautionary Illness Safety Protocols
While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: my commitment to your safety and health. Welcoming, safeguarding, and taking care of others is at the very heart of what I do and who I am.
By its very nature, massage and bodywork require skin-to-skin contact and you should be familiar with the fact that infection control has always been a top priority for my practice. As we navigate life with additional requirements and modify existing measures due to the coronavirus, please help me to support all of my clients by cooperating with some new requirements.
My practice follows Practice Guidelines recommended by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), along with infection control recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. I made these changes to help protect you, my clients and myself.
For example:
BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
- In order to obtain updates to your health information and ask you specifically about your potential exposure to any viral illnesses before every appointment you must fill out the Precautionary Illness Release form. You will not be allowed entry into the office without filling out the form on the day of the session.
New clients will also be asked to fill out their medical intake form & render first payment online as well. - When you arrive at the office, I’ll ask that you text me and then wait in your vehicle until I text you or call you to come in. This ensures that we don’t have clients coming into contact in the reception area and that all sanitation protocols have been completed.
- Masks are optional now. Marjorie will happily wear one if requested.
- I will greet you at the door and use a no-touch thermal temperature screening to confirm that you don’t have a fever.
- I’ll ask you if you have developed any symptoms of illness since we spoke/texted on the phone. If you feel ill on the day of your session, there is no penalty for canceling your appointment. Massage is not advised if you have any symptoms of illness.
- Please do not wear rubber gloves to the office. You will be asked to remove them before entry, as gloves may be contaminated. Fresh gloves will be provided upon request.
- There is a hand hygiene station that I will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find hand sanitizer in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed. Coats, shoes, and bags will be left in the reception room.
AFTER THE SESSION
- Booking the next session will occur in the session room after you have had the opportunity to dress and use the facilities. While I enjoy having you come sit in my office after the session, lessening the surfaces that can be contaminated will reduce the disinfection load.
- I would request that you once again sanitize your hands with hand sanitizer directly before you leave the session room and before passing through the receptin room.
SESSION FOLLOW UP
- My usual next day text will also be asking you to share if you have developed any cold or flulike symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19 or another viral illness.
- Massage practitioners are not authorized to share the health data of their clients without the client’s written consent. However, should you or any client develop symptoms of a viral illness within two weeks of a session, I am obligated to contact the local health department. I will have to share your name and contact details so they may follow up and contain the spread of the disease.
Other changes have been made to help maintain a safer environment including:
- I will be changing my shirt & mask after every session.
- The entire facility will be sanitized from bathroom to reception after every session.
- The laundry, as always, continues to be cleaned on the sanitation cycles of both my washer/dryer.
- A new air purifier designed to extract viruses and other particles from the rooms has been added to the office.
- A non touch soap dispenser and covered garbage pails installed.
Clients at high risk:
While information is still limited, the CDC indicates that these underlying conditions place people at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19:
- People 65 years or older
- Chronic lung disease
- Moderate to severe asthma
- Heart conditions
- Compromised or suppressed immune system
- Diabetes
- Chronic kidney disease
- Liver disease
Unless otherwise directed by your primary healthcare provider, if you are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 you should forgo massage while the virus is present in our community.
All appointment payments must be made ahead of the appointment online.