The Stone Clinic Patient Care during COVID-19

During this time, The Stone Clinic is fully committed to keeping you informed and up-to-date regarding your safe care in our practice as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We recognize the uncertainty this global health issue is creating and the decisions we are making heavily rely on the guidance received from the CDC and the California Department of Public Health. We intend to protect the local Stone Clinic patient community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommendations for clinical office infection control. Dr. Stone and our team are always focused on your safety and work hard to prevent the spread of infection.

What does all of this mean on a day-to-day basis? Before you enter the exam room, all surfaces, such as the exam table, reception desk, drawer handles, keyboard, mouse and countertops, have been meticulously cleaned and disinfected. Even pens, pencils or other such items are disinfected between patients. We routinely drape examination tables and other surfaces with paper coverings, which are replaced after each patient.
Non-disposable items are always cleaned and sterilized between patients and undergo a strict protocol, in sync with the rigid principles of universal precautions. Disposable instruments and needles are never reused. Infection control precautions also require all clinical staff involved in patient care to use appropriate protective equipment such as gloves, masks, gowns, and eyewear when needed. After each patient, disposable protective equipment such as gloves and masks are thrown away. Before seeing the next patient, everyone in the treatment team washes their hands and puts on new protective equipment. If they plan to leave the treatment room for any reason, they remove their gloves and dispose of them immediately within the room.

What about the new Coronavirus?

With so many news stories, it’s understandable to be concerned about the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Please know that the precautions our team already takes every day to prevent the spread of infection in our practice also help prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, to step up our game during these extremely challenging times we want to share our recently established guidelines.

1. All patients and visitors are screened by phone prior to their arrival at our office. During this phone screening, they will be asked if they have traveled outside of the country since December 2019 or have been in contact with someone who has. We also ask if they have visited a moderate or high-risk area for COVID-19 transmission within the past 14 days, and whether they have been in close contact with a person who is known or suspected to have COVID-19 within the past 14 days. If so, a more involved discussion will take place in an isolated area, as to their relative risk of hosting the virus. This phone screening process is repeated when all patients and visitors arrive 
2. Patients who are ill and experiencing flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness, a cough, and/or fever will be required to postpone visits. Such patients will be encouraged to seek medical attention.
3. Our clinical team is always available by phone if a new or existing patient sustains a new injury, has an urgent orthopaedic medical concern, or is experiencing significant joint symptoms (i.e., moderate-to-severe pain, joint instability, a sudden onset of new symptoms without injury, inability to bend or fully extend a joint, etc.). If a patient is experiencing symptoms and is unsure whether the symptoms are “significant” enough to warrant an office visit, we strongly urge them to call the office and speak with one of our clinical staff members to discuss the appropriate plan of care. If our clinical staff determines in-office treatment is the best approach to manage the patient’s symptoms, our staff will schedule an appointment for Dr. Stone to see the patient. The Stone Clinic is quite accustomed to coordinating patient care for urgent injuries and symptoms at a moment’s notice, our team is very accustomed to coordinating visits and treatment promptly while adhering to all of the current social distancing guidelines and always practicing universal precautions for infection prevention.  
4. As a part of The Stone Clinic’s screening process, all patients will be screened by thermometer to detect early signs of viral infection. If a patient is experiencing fever or any other relative symptoms while here at the office, they are to be rescheduled for another time, at once. Symptoms and recommendations will be recorded in the patient’s chart and the patient will be advised to seek medical attention immediately.
5. As an extra precaution, the office is continuously being disinfected throughout the day, and again will be disinfected at the end of each day. The closing employees will be responsible for, and are not limited to the following: spraying down reception room chairs with Lysol, wiping all access point door handles and all light switches, spraying/wiping down the bathroom and front desks, as well as the consultation room table and chairs. 
6. Hand sanitizer will be placed at the front desk. Employees will encourage patients to use hand sanitizer and/or encourage adequate hand hygiene practices. All staff will accelerate the frequency and duration of handwashing techniques. If any employee suspects a patient of having the COVID-19 virus, the CDC mandates that we report such suspicion to the California Department of Public Health. Jamie, our Practice Administrator, will be advised immediately.

In summary, if you are ill with flu-like symptoms, you should reschedule your appointment.

If within the past 14 days, you or someone you are in close contact with have: 

• been exposed to or in close contact with someone else who was diagnosed with COVID-19
• been exposed to or in close contact with someone who was quarantined as a precaution
• been exposed to or in close contact with someone who suspects they may have COVID-19 

If any of the above scenarios apply, The Stone Clinic asks you to wait a minimum of 14 days until you come to our office to make sure you have not caught the coronavirus.

If you are healthy, there’s no reason to cancel your regularly scheduled appointment.

It’s important to know that the majority of people infected with the coronavirus experience flu-like symptoms and then recover. Most people do not develop serious respiratory complications.

Those most at risk of becoming seriously ill are elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease, among others. Children, thus far, have been largely unaffected.

Here are a few things that you may already be aware of that you can do on your own to help keep yourself and those around you healthy:

• Keep yourself fit. We have extensive exercise programs available at https://www.stoneclinic.com/rehabilitation-and-fitness-videos.
• Spend time in a sauna if you have one available to you.
• Wash your hands frequently, or use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethyl alcohol.
• Avoid touching your face, eyes or nose to reduce the spread of germs.
• Cover your cough with a fabric or sneeze into your elbow. Infections like the coronavirus spread through the tiny droplets in coughs and sneezes.
• Stay home if you feel sick. If you have flu-like symptoms or otherwise feel unwell, stay home and rest.