605.723.0185 or 605.702.8206 or 605.593.4471
Home 9 Latest News 9 COVID-19 UPDATE

COVID-19 UPDATE

Apr 8, 2020

**Due to new CDC recommendations and our governor’s newest executive orders, we have made changes in our treatment policies to keep our patients, staff and families safer. 

At Pain & Movement Solutions, the health and safety of our patients and our employees is always our top priority. Considered an essential critical workforce in managing musculoskeletal conditions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, our facility will remain open to serve our patients and medical community. If you are suffering aches, acute or chronic pains, sprains, strains or have had to postpone a scheduled surgery, we can see you without a physician prescription. This reduces the burden on primary care physicians and orthopedic surgeons, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, frees them up to provide needed services to more acute or critical conditions. We also have various telehealth options for both existing and new patients.

The following quote was published in a recent article by the PPS-APTA (Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association) in reaction to a memorandum from the US Department of Homeland Security on the list of essential infrastructure workers:

“According to Dr. Matos, an expert in biologic surety and the management of select agent programs at federal facilities: Physical therapists are essential in flattening the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. They play a key role in keeping people they can help, out of the doctor offices and ER’s. This will not only free up the medical teams to treat those impacted by COVID-19, but also limit the exposure of those seeking the care of the physical therapist.”

Pain & Movement Solutions has and will continue to stay educated and up to date by continually monitoring all CDC, state and local recommendations and guidelines. We want you to know that we are here for you and will remain to be here for you while doing everything we can to help stop the spread. If you have concerns about whether you should be attending your therapy sessions, please call the clinic at 605-723-0185 to address your concerns.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Successful completion of your plan of care is important to becoming a healthier and stronger you. Pain & Movement Solutions is open during normal business hours and continues to serve our patients and community with the following requests:

We ask that our patients please stay home and CALL us to reschedule to a later date if you:

  • Have any symptoms of respiratory illness, including fever, cough or difficulty breathing
  • Have a loved one who is ill in your home, particularly with a fever, cough, or cold/flu like
    symptoms.
  • Have been in contact with someone with known or suspected Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Have visited or been in close contact with anyone who has visited in the last 14 days
    countries/regions that the CDC declares high risk of infection spread.

Treatment Protocol

  • Please refrain from bringing additional visitors with to your appointment unless it is necessary for your care.
  • You will immediately be directed to a private room to maintain appropriate social distancing while at the clinic.
  • We request that you bring exercise bands have been previously issued to you to your appointments to decrease use of shared exercise equipment.
  • According to CDC recommendations, all our staff will be wearing face masks during operation hours. We are also asking that our patients weak face masks. If you do not have one, we will provide you with on to wear during your therapy session. This guidance is based on evidence that people with apparent COVID-19 symptoms can transmit the virus, and the mask will prevent that person from spreading it to others.
  • We have also staggered our Doctor’s treatment schedules to ensure that we have a healthy, non-exposed doctor who is able to provide treatment to our patients. Our doctor who is working remotely will still be providing care for all our telehealth clients.

OUR PRIORITY IS A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY CARE
Pain & Movement Solutions has instituted elevated protocols and procedures to ensure preventative measures are taken to provide a safe environment for our patients and community members to access physical therapy. The following measures are in place:

  • Screening of all patients prior to each visit
  • Continuous disinfection of all commonly touched surfaces, all equipment, treatment rooms, gym
    spaces, bathrooms, door handles, counter-tops and electronic devices
  • Diligent hand washing and/or use of alcohol-based sanitizer
  • Alcohol-based sanitizer is readily available to all patients throughout the clinic
  • We encourage our patients to feel free to utilize our restroom facilities to wash your hands
    before and after each treatment.
  • Care will be provided in private rooms and/or with appropriate social distancing.
  • All clinic team members are practicing appropriate social distancing at home and between
    coworkers and other patients while in the clinic. However, providers are within close contact
    (less than 6 feet) to patients that have passed all screening measures.

If you are high risk due to age or underlying medical condition or are diligently practicing social distancing, we support your decision to remain home. You are encouraged to take advantage of the telehealth/e-visit opportunities to continue your current plan of care to avoid setbacks.

Telehealth opportunities are also available to individuals who are interested in initiating care while continuing to practice social distancing. Call our office at 605-723-0185 to learn more.

Pain & Movement Solutions wants to reinforce that we take the health and safety of our patients, employees and communities seriously. We are using an overabundance of extra precautions in our location and follow CDC, state and local health authority guidelines to protect the health and safety of our patients, staff and community.

CDC Recommendations

Take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick
If you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 because of your age or because you have a serious long-term health problem, it is extra important for you to take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick with the disease.

  • Stock up on supplies.
  • Take everyday precautions to keep space between yourself and others.
  • When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact and wash your hands often.
  • Avoid crowds as much as possible.
  • Avoid cruise travel and non-essential air travel.
  • During a COVID-19 outbreak in your community, stay home as much as possible to further reduce your risk of being exposed.

Take everyday precautions

  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Clean your hands often
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
  • If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
  • To the extent possible, avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places – elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something.
  • Wash your hands after touching surfaces in public places.
  • Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, etc.
  • Clean and disinfect your home to remove germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example: tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks & cell phones)
  • Avoid crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if there are people in the crowd who are sick.
  • Avoid all non-essential travel including plane trips, and especially avoid embarking on cruise ships.

If COVID-19 is spreading in your community

  • Take extra measures to put distance between yourself and other people to further reduce your risk of being exposed to this new virus.
  • Stay home as much as possible.
  • Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

If a COVID-19 outbreak happens in your community, it could last for a long time. (An outbreak is when a large number of people suddenly get sick.) Depending on how severe the outbreak is, public health officials may recommend community actions to reduce people’s risk of being exposed to COVID-19. These actions can slow the spread and reduce the impact of disease.

How COVID-19 Spreads

There is much to learn about the newly emerged COVID-19, including how easily it spreads. Based on what is currently known about COVID-19 and what is known about other corona-viruses, spread is thought to occur mostly from person-to-person via respiratory droplets among close contacts.
Close contact can occur while:

  • Being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a patient with COVID-19 for a prolonged periods of time.
  • Having direct contact with infectious secretions from a patient with COVID-19. Infectious secretions may include sputum, serum, blood, and respiratory droplets.
  • If close contact occurs while not wearing all recommended PPE, healthcare personnel may be at risk of infection.

If you have concerns about whether you should be attending your therapy sessions, please call the clinic at 605-723-0185 to address your concerns.