Updated - October, 2020
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, we made the difficult decision to close our office on March 17. At that time it was simply not safe to treat our patients. After weeks of preparation and reorganization we re-opened for routine patient care on May 11.
While we were closed our team worked together behind the scenes
to prepare a safe environment for our patients and ourselves. We had regular virtual office meetings,
developed strategies to ensure everyone’s safety and adapted our office space appropriately. Our doctors participated in numerous
continuing education courses dealing with the effects of the coronavirus. As president of the Rhode Island Association
of Orthodontists, Dr. Greg collaborated with his colleagues on the local and national
level to develop a unified approach and determine what is best for our patients
and our profession.
By following the guidelines of the Rhode Island Department of
Health, Centers for Disease Control, American Association of Orthodontists and
the American Dental Association, we have created an atmosphere of health and
well-being in our office.
To that end, we have made the following updates to our office
space:
-
Performing temperature
checks and a health screening for anyone entering the office
-
Increased daily attention to
disinfection of commonly touched surfaces
-
Removed items that are
difficult to keep clean, such as magazines and brochures
-
Removed our electronic
sign-in and developed a contact-free check-in system
-
Added multiple air
purification units with HEPA-13 air filters to maintain clean air
-
UV lighting to reduce virus and bacteria levels in the air
-
Maintaining
social distancing in our treatment area by separating patients
-
Using a private room with air purification for aerosol-generating procedures
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Use of additional
personal protective equipment (PPE), such as N95 masks, face shields and
protective clinical jackets
-
Added a protective barrier
at our reception desk
-
Increased frequency of our existing professional commercial cleaning services
Before your next appointment, we are requiring all new and existing patients to complete a COVID-19 supplemental informed consent and health questionnaire. The informed consent only needs to be completed one time but the health questionnaire is required before every visit. Please click here to access these forms.
What you can do to help us to keep everyone safe:
-
Please stay home if
the patient or anyone in their immediate family is sick or has a temperature
over 100.4.
-
Per the governor's executive order, please wear a mask or face covering in our office
-
Use our provided hand
sanitizer as you enter the office
At your next appointment, you will notice that we instituted a
new process of welcoming patients into the office. This change will allow us to reduce the
number of people in the office, minimize the possibility of
cross-contamination, follow social distancing guidelines and allow time for us
to thoroughly clean and disinfect the treatment areas.
-
The safety of your
vehicle will be our waiting room now. When
you arrive in our parking lot, please stay in your car and call the
office. We’ll let you know when we are
ready for your appointment.
-
We kindly ask that
only the patient enters the office. If
you have a young child or this is your first visit to our office, please let us
know and we’ll be happy to make the accommodation. If your child needs to be accompanied, we
will welcome only one parent or guardian.
-
Upon your arrival to
the office, a team member will take your temperature with a touch-free
thermometer and ask a few simple wellness questions.
-
Our greeter will
escort you directly to the appropriate treatment area.
-
Please social distance
while in the office whenever possible.
-
Our brushing station
and restroom will not be available, so please brush your teeth before your
appointment.
-
Once the appointment
is over, we will send the patient back outside and ask that a parent call us to
review the treatment that was performed and schedule the next appointment.
This is an unprecedented time which requires careful consideration to keep everyone safe. Our team believes that we have created an environment that protects everyone and we are confident that our stringent safety measures are the most comprehensive possible and you can rest assured that your safety is truly our number one priority. If you have any concerns about any of our policies and procedures, please feel free to call us at any time.
We know you have other
options for providers, so please accept our most sincere appreciation and gratitude for your
confidence in us and being part of the Pezza Ortho family.