A Letter To Our Patients — We Are Reopening
To our patients, We hope you and your families have been safe and well since the coronavirus pandemic began to affect the Shenandoah Valley in March. By mandate of Governor Northam, our office was closed to all but emergency care through the end of April. We began to slowly see a few more patients with both urgent and non-urgent problems through May. Now, as of June 1st, we have started to dip our toes back into a more “normal” schedule, which includes routine preventive hygiene visits. We want you to know what we are doing to help keep you and our team as safe as possible during these uncertain times. What were doing to keep you safe The threat of COVID infection is still present and real and not to be taken lightly. Despite all our precautions, we cannot make any guarantees of safety to anyone during this time. However, we have many new precautions in place to help keep our office as clean and safe as possible. These precautions are based on the most current recommendations from the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH): We are seeing fewer patients per day to allow ample time for cleaning and disinfecting treatment rooms between patients. You will be asked screening questions over the phone before your appointment to determine whether you have symptoms of COVID infection. If you or anyone in your home develops concerning symptoms (fever, dry cough, sore throat, runny nose, chills, shortness of breath, diarrhea), please call our office before your visit to discuss whether you should come to your appointment. Please do not come to the office with active symptoms - call us instead! We ask that you do not bring any additional people to your appointment (children, family members, or friends) to limit traffic in the office. If it is absolutely necessary for you to bring another person to your appointment, these guests will be asked to either wait in your vehicle or wear a face mask while in the office. When you arrive for your appointment, we ask that you stay in your vehicle and call the office at (540) 432-9992 to alert us that you have arrived. A team member will take your temperature and review symptom screening questions before they escort you into the office for your appointment. You will be asked to wear a face mask and clean your hands as you enter the office. We appreciate payment by check or credit card at the time of service, and if you are paying by credit card, we may ask that you exit the office and call us from your vehicle to make payment by phone. We may also ask to schedule your next appointment by phone, from your vehicle, at the end of your appointment. Of course, we will be cleaning the office with great care during this time, and we will be utilizing enhanced PPE and protective barriers to keep everyone as safe as possible. We appreciate your patience & look forward to seeing you! We understand there are a lot of changes, both in our dental office and in our community, and we are all adjusting to the “new normal.” We appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue to work to adapt our protocols and practices based on the latest recommendations from the ADA, CDC, and VDH. We also appreciate your partnership during this time. We understand if you want to postpone care for now if you are immunocompromised or otherwise at “high risk” for COVID infection; we understand if you are not comfortable with seeking care now for other reasons; we understand if you have questions about changes in the office; and we appreciate your understanding if we have to move or change your appointment to accommodate physical distancing in the office. We are all in this together, and we are so grateful for the confidence you have shown in us. Looking forward to seeing you, The Caitlin Batchelor Dentistry Team
