03/27/2020
To our patients and caregivers,
We at Dr. Lynn Johnsonās office would like to take the time to explain the changes we have made in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. In order to keep you and your family as safe as possible, we have developed a strategy that allows us to continue to care for our sick patients while maintaining the well-being of our healthy patients and visitors. Our new policies, outlined below, were created in accordance with current guidelines as set forth by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
VISIT TIMES: Effective immediately, we will be seeing our healthy patients in the mornings and our sick patients in the afternoons. We are accommodating all patients who already have afternoon appointments by calling ahead of time to reschedule your visit for that morning. You may choose to cancel your appointment but we strongly encourage any child 2 and under to follow the recommended well visit schedule in order to keep immunizations current.
VIRTUAL VISITS: In order to meet social distancing expectations as set forth by the governor of Ohio, we have created telemedicine options for our patients. There are two types of virtual visits that we could utilize depending on the problem: phone call check in or telemedicine visit with video. Virtual sick visits are only an option when our providers deem appropriate. Our providers will only use virtual visits in place of an in person assessment if we feel it provides the same level of care to the patient and it is the best alternative to reduce unnecessary exposure.
SANITATION: We are sanitizing our entire office at regular intervals throughout the day. We also sanitize exam rooms and tools after every patient encounter. We have developed strategies to prevent fellow patients and caregivers from handling the same items while in our office to further reduce exposure risks. All patients have the option to wait in their personal vehicle while we prepare to room you. Call our office when you have arrived and we will call or wave you in when your room is ready.
VISITORS: We are requesting that only the patient(s) being seen and one healthy caregiver accompany the patient to the visits. We understand that sometimes this is difficult for our families with multiple children but this is the safest way to minimize exposure and allows us to stay as close as possible to the federal governmentās maximum capacity recommendation.
STAFF: Our staff is trained to handle personal protective equipment properly. You may have already noticed, our staff members are instructed to wear face masks while they are providing care to our patients. This is to reduce risk of exposure to your child in the case of asymptomatic transmission. We also check our temperatures every day before work. Any staff member with an elevated temperature is going to be sent home.
In addition to the above mentioned strategies, we are asking that all patients and visitors with cough or fever, notify our staff immediately when scheduling and again when entering the office. You may be asked to wear a mask when possible. We are screening all patients for potential COVID-19 illness and any patients with known exposure or recent travel, are being kept away from general areas of our office.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding with these changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call us. We are always here to educate, reduce anxiety, and help our families in any way possible. Take care.
Dr. Lynn Johnson and staff
