Keeping our Flourish Community Safe with Updated Covid Protocols

COVID numbers are surging. Sigh. As you know, we’ve had careful measures in place since we reopened in June. Due to the current spread of the pandemic and because of the holiday season, which will have more traveling and gatherings, we are changing some of our regulations and covid protocols in order to keep everyone in the Flourish community safe. 

This may affect your upcoming care with Flourish, so please read this to make sure you’re in the know. It’s long – so take a few minutes to review it in order to keep yourself, our practitioners, and everyone’s families healthy and well.

Changes to who is eligible to continue to receive care:

• • Are you (1) traveling out of state or (2) gathering indoors / unmasked / not socially distanced with people outside of your household or bubble? We ask that you not return to Flourish for care until one of the following: 
    • 1. You receive a negative COVID test performed at least 3 days after your last exposure to others; OR….
    • 2. Seven days have passed from your last exposure to others, and you can confirm that no one that you were exposed to has developed any COVID symptoms, including mild symptoms such as muscle aches, headache, or loss of sense of smell.
  • Are you hosting out-of-town guests for a short- or long-term stay in your home? We ask that you not return to Flourish for care until one of the following: 
    • 1. You receive a negative COVID test performed at least 5 days after the guests’ arrival; OR….
    • 2. Nine days have passed from your first exposure to the guests, and you can confirm that no one that you were exposed to has developed any COVID symptoms (even mild symptoms).
• We would ask that you and your guests refrain from doing high-exposure activities, such as big bus tours of SF, etc. If you do, then please count that as a potential exposure, and follow the guidelines above. 
• If you have any cold symptoms or other possible COVID symptoms, or if you test positive for the coronavirus, ALL of the following criteria (from the CDC) must be met before you can return to the clinic for care (please remember that COVID symptoms can be very mild in some individuals):
  • 10 days since the symptoms first appeared, AND…
  • 24 hours without fever, without using a fever-reducing medication, AND…
  • All COVID-like symptoms are improving.
  • **OR** You get a negative COVID test result performed shortly after your symptoms appeared, and your symptoms have passed.

Changes to how to prepare for your appointment at the clinic:

1. While we have required masks since June for all patients and practitioners, we are changing the standard to assure everyone’s safety. We are now requiring patients to wear face masks that are in accordance with the following regulations:
   • Masks with vents, neck gaiters, and bandanas will no longer be permitted in the clinic. Unfortunately, these masks have been shown to fail to properly protect others from COVID droplets.  
   • If you don’t have the right kind of mask, we can provide you with a disposable surgical mask for $1. You can reuse this mask for your following Flourish appointments.
2. We will increase our commitment to conducting the majority of the intake/conversation portion of the appointment via phone while you remain outside the clinic – so please wait outside the clinic until your practitioner calls you. 
   • This is intended to minimize your exposure time inside the clinic. Don’t worry; it does NOT mean that you have to be silent in the clinic, of course 🙂 
3. Please ensure that you complete the emailed COVID screening questionnaire prior to each appointment. You will now receive it 12 hours in advance of your appointment. Some of the questions may prompt you to contact your practitioner with more details. 

Changes to our COVID protocols in the clinic

• We are now calling patients 24 hours before their appointment time to go through the Covid questionnaire as well as having them fill out the Covid screening survey.
• Practitioners will all wear face shields whenever close to a patient’s face. 
• Practitioners will all wear N95 or N95-comparable masks when in the clinic, whether or not patients are present.
• We will aim to keep our close interaction with patients to less than 15 minutes in an effort to minimize the likelihood of a CDC-defined “exposure.” 
• All practitioners will be getting regular COVID tests. 
• We remain committed to all prior COVID safety protocols. 

We are doing our best to be able to keep our doors open in the face of this pandemic while also keeping our patients and practitioners’ safety at the top of our minds. If you have any questions about these requirements and regulations, please be in touch anytime. 

Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping Flourish a safe space for all who enter.