A Detailed Plan for Seek Eye Care’s Reopening

Appointment adjustments to maintain social distancing

• Seek will be open by appointment only  
  • In order to comply with and enforce proper social distancing the number of patients in the office needs to be controlled and limited. 
• All services require an appointment.  These services include:
  • Eye exams
  • Follow up appointments
  • Glasses adjustments
  • Dispensing of eyewear & contact lens orders
  • Glasses repairs and adjustments
  • Shopping for glasses or sunglasses
• Appointments can be scheduled via:
  • Calling or texting the office: (612) 800-7335
  • Online at: www.SeekEyeCare.com
  • Emailing: Dr.Keltgen@SeekEyeCareMN.com
• Appointment availability will be reduced 
  • Extra time will be allotted in between eye exams to allow for proper disinfection and cleaning of all surfaces and equipment.
  • If you would like to schedule family members for back-to-back appointments, please call, text, or email, and we will find a solution.
  • If you do not see any appointment times that work with your schedule, please call, text, or email.
• Patients’ companions will remain outside of the facility and not accompany the patient unless they are a parent/guardian or a true caregiver of the patient. 
• Patients will be highly encouraged to fill out their paperwork and medical history at home
  • The paperwork will include a COVID questionnaire as well as a liability waiver that is required to be completed
    • If the patient answers “yes” to anything on the questionnaire related to COVID, they will be asked to reschedule.

Identification and Isolation of Sick Persons

• Any staff member or patient that is sick will not be allowed to enter into our office
• Patients and staff will be screened for COVID either verbally or through a questionnaire considering the following symptoms within the past 2 weeks:
  • Fever 
  • Cough 
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing 
  • Chills 
  • Repeated shaking with chills 
  • Muscle pain 
  • Headache
  • Sore throat 
  • New loss of taste or smell 
  • Contact with possible COVID-19 patients? 
  • Recent history of travel? 
• Patients that are at high risk for COVID will be asked to reschedule to at least 2 weeks from when symptoms started.
• Staff members will be asked to quarantine for at least 2 weeks from the start of symptoms.

Office procedures to prevent infection

• Signage from the CDC and MDH are posted in strategic areas to remind employees and patients of proper prevention methods, such as hand washing and social distancing protocols.     
• Handwashing Protocols    
  • Employees will be required to thoroughly wash their hands at a minimum:
    • upon entering the clinic
    • after handling any patient materials 
    • prior to any mealtimes and after using the restroom 
  • Patients will be required to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer immediately upon entering the practice. 
  • Hand sanitizer and other sanitizing products are readily available for all employees and patients throughout the facility.
  • Doctors of optometry will continue to follow standard handwashing practices between and during every patient encounter.
• Face Mask Protocols 
  • Surgical masks will be worn by all employees.
  • Patients are encouraged to wear face masks but are not required.
    • Cloth masks will be available to patients upon request.
• Employees will have separate work stations.
  • Employees are discouraged from using each other’s phones, computers, offices, or other work tools and equipment when possible.
• All employee work attire is required to be freshly laundered daily, including sweaters, lab coats, etc. 
  • Items which are difficult to launder (neckties, scarves, etc.) will be eliminated. 
  • Employees are required to tie long hair back to minimize hand-to-face contact
• Frame shopping protocols 
  • Patients will be limited from “browsing” through the optical area 
    • A staff member will assist them with frame selection, limiting the number of frames handled. 
    • Any frame that has been removed from the board will be placed in a specified tray labeled “dirty.” 
    • These frames will be properly disinfected immediately, and placed in a tray labeled “clean” before returning to the frame boards.
      • Depending on the individual frame types, in order to not damage the materials and still meet CDC requirements, frames will be disinfected via:
        • Alcohol
        • Soapy Water
• Cleaning, disinfection, and decontamination protocols
  • Disinfectants that meet the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS- CoV-2 will be used to clean all equipment before and after every patient encounter.
    • See specific protocols below:
  • Opening Protocol 
    • Before initiating patient care, all surfaces in the office will be disinfected with appropriate cleaning supplies. This includes: 
      • Door entrance  
      • Front desk area (both patient and staff areas)  
      • Waiting room chairs and tables - all magazines, flyers, and handouts have been removed  
      • All surfaces and chairs in optical area  
      • All equipment, chairs, and computers and peripherals throughout office  
      • All door knobs and light switches  
      • All mirrors 
      • All surfaces in bathroom 
  • Exam Room Protocol 
    • In between each patient everything will be disinfected with appropriate cleaning supplies. 
      • This includes but is not limited to: 
        • Slit lamp shield, table, joystick, power buttons, chin and forehead rests  
        • Arm rests, headrest, and seat of the exam chair  
        • Side table, keyboard, mouse, and stools  
        • Guest chairs 
        • Door Knobs/handles both inside and out 
        • Phoropter head rest, facial area, and knobs 
        • Any surface touched by the patient including, but not limited to, occluders, near point cards, etc.  
        • Any surface touched by the doctor or technician including, but not limited to, condensing lenses, pens, penlights, handheld equipment, binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, eye drop bottles, tonometer tips, etc. 
  • Periodic Protocol 
    • On a regular schedule throughout the day, particular attention should be paid to disinfecting the following: 
      •  Door Knobs, mirrors, chair armrests, phones, keyboard and mouse 
    • After each use, employees will properly disinfect the bathroom (including sink and other surfaces, etc.) 
  • Closing Cleaning Protocol 
    • At the end of the work day, all areas and items listed in the opening cleaning protocol and exam room protocol will be disinfected. 
    • All employees will thoroughly wash their hands before leaving the office.