Tawa Physical Therapy Opening for Urgent Patient Visits Policy
Are you an emergency case needing urgent* care, such as a recently injured essential services provider? If so, we can likely see you in person.
We have the necessary personal protective equipment and strict social distancing protocols, along with rigorous screening, cleaning & disinfection policies in place to provide safe urgent patient physiotherapy visits to complement our Tele-Rehabilitation (videoconferencing) treatments. Please note Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health is not allowing massage therapy or acupuncture services at this time.
We have been following the pandemic situation very closely, and we also have been keeping well-informed as to the latest guidelines for safety given by our regulatory college and Alberta Health Services.
Our infection control and social distancing procedures have been intensified as follows:
Waiting room capacity 1 person: Each client waits outside our office until we phone them to enter directly into their appointment room.
No physical paperwork: All forms will be filled out beforehand on the client’s own device, and/or all consent is verbal at this time.
Non-contact thermometers and COVID-19 screening: All staff and clients are given a questionnaire and have their temperature taken with a non-contact forehead thermometer. If they are showing or describing signs of illness, they are sent home to self-isolate and see their doctor.
Personal Protective Equipment:
Cough screen: We have installed a cough screen at our reception desk.
Continuous masking: All staff involved in client contact as well as all clients are asked to wear masks.
Proper Hygienic Practices:
Hand sanitizer/hand washing: All staff and clients are required to use hand sanitizer upon entering the clinic as well as before and after using exercise equipment. Therapists must hand sanitize or wash their hands between patients.
Use of masks: Hand sanitizer must be used before putting on a mask or before touching or adjusting the mask. If the mask is touched before this, it is considered contaminated and must be disposed of.
Coughing/Sneezing: Clients and staff must cough or sneeze into their elbows and turn away from other people.
Clients and staff must avoid touching their faces unless they have just washed their hands or used hand sanitizer.
Disinfectant: Our cleaning staff regularly wipe down all points of contact between clients and therapists in our clinic with an AHS-recommended disinfectant solution. Clients are also asked to wipe down equipment before and after use.
Clinic client numbers limited: Our scheduled appointment times have been reduced, and our client visits are spaced to minimize the number of clients in our clinic. Clients will maintain a distance of 2 meters from other clients.
Therapists reduce the amount of hands-on contact with clients. An effort is made to socially distance between the therapist and the client, but this is not always possible. Hand sanitizing or hand washing is done before and after any contact between the therapist and client.
Can I be seen in person by a physiotherapist? Yes, as an URGENT* client, IF all of the following three points are true for you:
- I don’t have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. Nor have I:
- Been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
- Traveled outside of Canada within the last 14 days
- Been diagnosed as immuno-suppressed
- Tele-rehabilitation or video conferencing treatments won’t work for me.
- I meet at least one of the following criteria:
- I am an essential services worker (ie. working in any business that is currently open, for instance hospital or family medicine staff, police, fire, EMS workers, grocery store workers, construction workers. See the following link for a list of essential services professions https://www.alberta.ca/
essential-services.aspx#toc-2 ) and my injury is making it difficult or preventing me from performing my job. - OR, I am seeking services related to a recent surgery or removal of a cast/immobilizer.
- OR, if I am unable to access physiotherapy treatment in person, I will likely have to go to Emergency (ie. severe pain requiring physician services or prescription medication), or my status will likely deteriorate to the point of requiring invasive management or hospitalization in the foreseeable future.
- I am an essential services worker (ie. working in any business that is currently open, for instance hospital or family medicine staff, police, fire, EMS workers, grocery store workers, construction workers. See the following link for a list of essential services professions https://www.alberta.ca/
If you are unsure if you are an URGENT client, please call our clinic to discuss it with a staff member.
* see the link for the CMOH decision to allow ONLY URGENT ambulatory physiotherapy services here: https://open.alberta.ca/