Covid-19 Patient Update
June, 2022
To our valued patients and friends – we look forward to your visit with us!
We look forward to seeing you soon at your next scheduled appointment.
As many patients are aware, the WHO (World Health Organization) made a public announcement relating to the spread of COVID-19. Canada takes its guidance from Health Canada, who in turn works closely with provincial health officers. The WHO guidance is intended for high-risk countries that have alarming rates of COVID-19 infections and widespread community transmission, such as the United States, Brazil and Mexico. Canada does not fit this profile. The following public statements from the CDA (Canadian Dental Association) and BCDA (British Columbia Dental Association) are available below to address any questions patients may have.
What We Are Doing to Keep You and Our Team Safe.
We are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome you back! Our office has always utilized personal protective equipment (PPE) that has exceeded all the BCCDC and BCDA guidelines, however, in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic we have instituted additional guidelines and protocols to ensure your safety.
You will see many changes, as we have new ways of scheduling your appointments and managing your insurance and financial transactions. First, you will be contacted 48-72 hours prior to your appointment via phone, text or email and asked to complete a set of health-related questions. It is required that you complete this questionnaire 48 hours prior to your appointment. We will have to reschedule your appointment if we are unable to complete this step.
Below is a list of some of the enhanced precautions we have taken to protect you in addition to extensive team training on infection control and patient management procedures:
1. Maintenance of social distancing in the reception area of our office.
2. Removal of magazines and items that can harbor or transfer germs of any kind. Hand sanitizers will be positioned throughout the clinic.
3. Provision of education materials to enhance your awareness of health issues related to this pandemic.
4. Installed plexiglass droplet barriers at the reception areas.
5. Require hand washing and hand sanitizing before all appointments by our team and by our patients.
6. Enhanced operatory disinfection procedures of all surfaces between patients.
7. Ambient air management with HEPA 13 air filtration continuously in treatment rooms and common areas to remove germs from circulating air. Coming soon.
8. Enhanced operatory disinfection procedures with fogging devices to access hard to reach places that can be easily missed.
9. New personal protection equipment including visors, gowns, and masks for Dr. John and our team to provide barriers against the smallest of germs.
10. Introduce protocols to reduce or eliminate airborne aerosols during all dental procedures.
11. Enhanced nightly disinfection procedures of equipment and office fixtures like computers, keyboards, telephones, tablets, chairs, doorknobs, and buttons that may be touched unconsciously.
12. Altered appointment times for you to prepare and complete all appointment tasks and duties in the safest and most comprehensive manner.
As we have now resumed providing care to patients, we are currently prioritizing appointment requests for urgent care patients who have missed their appointments during our closure as well as patients who have had serious issues develop over the past few months.
Our team is reaching out to patients to grant appointments based on their relative urgency. A BIG – proactive – thank you, for your patience and understanding as we work to realign the schedule.
Please do call us at 250-595-3377 with any questions or reach out to us via email at reception@drbjornson.com with any inquiries.
We look forward to seeing you soon!