Although some things are thankfully returning to normal, the increase in local COVID-19 cases means that wearing a face-covering in a healthcare setting is still a requirement by the CDC, regardless of your vaccination status.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that its new masking recommendations for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not apply to healthcare settings.
The CDC said, “This means that staff, patients, residents, and visitors should continue to wear masks as recommended in all healthcare facilities.”
As Florida’s most trusted hearing experts, all rules are being closely followed to keep you, other patients, and the rest of our community safe.
We hope that things can return to normal as soon as possible, but with the rising cases in the Omicron variant and following CDC guidelines, heightened safety protocols are being followed.
This includes:
- Face coverings being worn by all patients, visitors, and our team
- Hand sanitizer is available upon arrival for all visitors
- Thorough cleanings between appointments (something that never stopped)
- Minimized waiting times with more spaced-out scheduling
- Spread out waiting rooms, so there’s never more than two people in a waiting room at any one time
Before Your Appointment
Upon Arrival
We will be asking patients and their guests to use hand sanitizer, which is available upon arrival. Our staff will also use the hand sanitizer on their hands after EVERY patient interaction and wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as often as possible.
Further Cleanliness Procedures
Our staff will be cleaning the bathroom after every use, including –
- the toilet seat,
- the toilet handle,
- the sink
- and the faucet.
At noon, staff will go in and wipe all these areas down again with a Clorox wipe and be sure to wipe the door handles in and out.
We have advised all of our staff that if anyone has a fever, sore throat, or dry cough, please stay home and follow up with COVID testing if symptoms continue.
Preferred Hearing Centers are still continuing to see patients for testing, hearing aid fittings, service needs, and regularly scheduled visits.
IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TO YOUR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT, HAVE SYMPTOMS THAT WOULD PREVENT YOU FROM COMING TO YOUR APPOINTMENT AT OUR OFFICE, OR IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE GETTING OUT TO APPOINTMENTS AT THIS TIME: PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AND NOTIFY US. NO-SHOW APPOINTMENTS WILL PREVENT OTHERS FROM BEING SEEN IN OUR OFFICE.
We appreciate your understanding and patience during these continuously challenging times and join you in hoping that these measures will be returned to normal one day soon.