A Detailed Plan for Seek Eye Care’s Reopening
Appointment adjustments to maintain social distancing
Identification and Isolation of Sick Persons
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.
- The paperwork will include a COVID questionnaire as well as a liability waiver that is required to be completed
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.
- 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.
- Employees will be required to thoroughly wash their hands at a minimum:
- 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
- Depending on the individual frame types, in order to not damage the materials and still meet CDC requirements, frames will be disinfected via:
- Patients will be limited from “browsing” through the optical area
- 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
- Before initiating patient care, all surfaces in the office will be disinfected with appropriate cleaning supplies. This includes:
- 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.
- This includes but is not limited to:
- In between each patient everything will be disinfected with appropriate cleaning supplies.
- 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.)
- On a regular schedule throughout the day, particular attention should be paid to disinfecting the following:
- 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.
- 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.