Massage And the ‘New Normal’- The Covid Era: For the Healthy, a needed service.
The new Germicidal Lamps sterilize the room - including air!
NEW PRACTICES AT PAINS END:
Major changes have been made in the Ballard Studio Works office, to provide sanitary environs for patients. We’re working to replace all furniture with new furnishings that can be fully sanitized. When you come into suite 470 now, you can be assured that very potent, very aggressive measures have been taken to ensure that the space is truly clean and safe.
Here is a list of new things that you’ll notice
- Sanitize the massage room: This comprises 4 layers of our Swiss Cheese safety system:
o Air scrubbing using active filtration during occupancy of the room: HEPA Filtration.
o Air Sterilization using High Intensity UVC lamps when the room is unoccupied
o Air Sterilization using Ozone while the room is unoccupied.
o Surface Sanitization using Hydorgen Peroxide Fog (30nm) and Disinfectant – The table and all surfaces and even the walls and floor are fogged between sessions, and damp mopping 1x to 2x daily.
o Improved Linen management: All used linens (and now blankets) are removed from the room along with practitioner clothing (scrubs) after each session.
- Hand Washing and Sanitation – Patient and Practitioner wash hands thoroughly upon entering the room, and as needed (or utilize sanitizer) throughout the session.
Fogging with H202 is a very aggressive sanitizer - the addition of disinfectant is also very potent.
MASKING & Barrier protection
o Provider is masked using N95 respirator while in the room (the only exceptions are when administrative times will be followed by a nighttime UVC & Ozone sanitization cycle and at least 40 minutes time before the next person is entering the room.
o Patient is masked in the room. A significant exception is when the patient is lying prone on the massage table, where it may be impractical for most patients to wear a mask. Systems for filtered air supply and some containment for the face cradle (head rest) of the massage table will soon be in place to cover this very significant potential for increasing infection risk, but the patient will be breathing out through fabric that separates their breath from the room and in the near future also receiving air delivered through a filter.
o Provider will be masked and wear a shield when working on the body above the waist when the (masked) patient is supine (face up) on the treatment table.
o Clothing Change – Provider will change clothing (scrubs) after each session
A record kept of all visits - another tool
HEALTHY PEOPLE ARE PATIENTS
Temperature Check: 65% of people with Covid have symptoms of the disease, and nearly all (varying percentages, but typically over 80%) of symptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients have fever.
A Touchless Forehead Thermometer shall be used for each patient to have a temperature check prior to their entering the treatment room. The Temperature should be recorded on their Consent to Treat Form – Pandemic Questionnaire
Pandemic Questionnaire: Each person should newly answer the 4 tracking questions on the Pandemic Consent to Treat Form and sign it. Patients are asked to show willingness to have their session rescheduled – despite the real disappointment any of us would feel – if they cannot answer all four safety questions regarding isolation & social distancing, travel, and symptom tracing.