On June 19th 2020, the Government of Ontario allowed health and fitness professionals to resume providing face to face treatment and services with specific rules and regulations in place. Our respective regulatory Colleges (The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario & The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario) have also released a set of guidelines for all practitioners to adhere to when providing face to face treatment with a client. The specific guidelines can be found below:
From the Ontario Government [1]:
Businesses primarily engaged in providing other personal services can open with the proper health and safety protocols in place. All services must be provided with physical distancing of at least two metres.
• Personal services should use measures to enable physical distancing, such as limiting the number of people who may be in the business at any one time.
• Businesses should also consider operating by appointment and/or record each patron’s name and contact information for the purpose of contact tracing.
From our regulatory Colleges:
- Masks or face coverings must be worn at all times.
- Signage and screening should be present whenever possible to enforce social distancing and virus spread.
- Enhanced environmental cleaning procedures should be implemented at all times.
- Self monitoring for symptoms whenever possible and self-isolation if symptoms start to appear.
Since our services are mobile, we have taken the guidelines presented and modified them to best serve and protect our clients. Here is what you can expect from all future in home appointments:
- The use of anti bacterial hand rub (hand sanitizer) must be applied prior to entering a client’s residence.
- N95 masks are required to be worn at all times when inside a client’s residence.
- Safety goggles or a face shield is to be worn at all times when inside a client’s residence.
- With client permission, hands may be washed prior to starting the session to provide added piece of mind to the client.
- Any surfaces touched by the health care provider must be wiped down with sanitizer (or equivalent) at the conclusion of each session.
We take the health and safety of all our clients very seriously. If you would like more information on the steps we are taking to reduce the spread of COVID-19, please reach out at your convenience. We would be happy to talk with you.
REFERENCES:
[1] A Framework for Reopening our Province: Stage 2 https://www.ontario.ca/page/framework-reopening-our-province-stage-2
