March 18, 2020
Dearest Patients,
Due to the state of our country’s potential for mass infection with the Covid-19 virus, our office has made the difficult, unprecedented decision to modify our schedule. At this time, we will be moving to a three-day clinical week, with limited hours of operation. On the days that we are not treating patients, we will have limited staff triaging in the office.
Beginning, Thursday, March 18 we will only see those patients who have emergent needs and those that are pregnant; we will be closed on Fridays, beginning March 20. Additionally, we will be limiting the people allowed in the office during this time to “patients only.” Albeit, this is a very strenuous measure, it is being taken to provide the best care and safety for our patients and our team. Rest assured that we are taking every precaution to keep our patients and team safe. We are sanitizing the common areas in our office at a minimum of twice per hour, all magazines and patient information pamphlets have been removed, there will be no patient sign-in with pen and paper. As a result, we strongly urge you to complete all required check-ins and medical information requests through our online portals, prior to your arrival in our office—this includes making payments. Our goal is for you to spend the least amount of time in the office with exposure to the minimum amount of people.
It is very likely that if you have an appointment this week, you have already received a call from our office in order to make adjustments. Please know that it is always our goal to be respectful of our patient’s time and schedules. The short cancellation/rescheduling notices that some may receive is not a function of our failure to prepare, but a function of the rapidly-evolving state of what is happening within healthcare at this time.
During this period, our physicians will be practicing telemedicine. If you are not pregnant, and have an issue that needs medical attention, our physicians will conduct scheduled phone consultations. When calling our office, the staff will be able to give you more information on the tele-med process. In the interim of this situation, our team is available via phone and portal messages 24 hours/day, these messages will be monitored during our new normal business hours. As always, emergency situations should be forwarded to 9-1-1.
The CDC has made recommendations for the nation to practice Social Distancing, which means not greeting with handshakes, avoiding crowds, standing at least six feet away from other people and of most importance, staying home if you do not feel well. Social Distancing is being asked of each of us for the greater good of our entire population. Although, many who will be exposed are young, healthy and possibly, less likely to become fatally ill. Every person has the same ability to be a carrier and pass the Covid-19 virus to others who are more susceptible to the virus’ deadly effects.
Please help us protect all of our patients, especially our pregnant and immunocompromised (i.e. diabetics, hypertensive, over the age of 60, etc.)
Let’s all do our part and stay at home as much as possible.
Take Care and Stay Well,
Dunwoody OBGYN
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html
