This plan was developed to keep our clients and staff members as safe as possible in our office setting. As such, everyone who enters our offices for services must commit to some recommended and safe practices to minimize the risk and transmission of COVID-19.
The overall goal of this protocol is to reduce potential COVID-19 transmission by:
- Ensuring the recommended distances are being followed (2 meters/6 feet), and if not possible;
- In offices, appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) when required
- Each client must complete the standard COVID-19 survey that will be emailed to you 2 hours before EACH in-person appointment.
- Hand washing and or sanitizing once you enter our space
- Avoiding face touching
- Enhanced cleaning protocols conducted on both a daily and weekly basis with Health Canada approved cleaning products
- Meeting all professional recommendations according to our own individual licencing bodies as well as per the WorkSafeBC recommendations for providing treatment.
Before your appointment:
Each client will complete the COVID-19 survey prior to their appointment that they will be sent electronically via email. Should a client not answer the questions in a way that determines there is no known risk, then they will need to shift their session to online/telehealth. Should clients choose to cancel at late notice due to possible risk, the full fee of the session may be charged.
All therapists and practitioners will also complete the BC COVID-19 Screening Tool: https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en and will not attend the office and will commit to staying home if even mild symptoms appear.
Symptoms of COVID-19 (Government of Canada)
COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization. In early stages, COVID-19 may feel like allergies or common cold.
Most common symptoms:
fever
dry cough
tiredness
Less common symptoms:
aches and pains
sore throat
diarrhoea
conjunctivitis
headache
loss of taste or smell
a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes
Serious symptoms:
difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
chest pain or pressure
loss of speech or movement
Cancelling or changing your appointment:
Parallel Wellness does still require adequate notice (minimum 24 hours) to change and/or cancel scheduled appointments. This is requested by contacting your therapist directly if you know how, or you can email our office at: info@parallelwellness.ca.
Christine Skwarok – christine@parallelwellness.ca
Sarah Boyle – sarah@parallelwellness.ca
Ashley Greensmyth – ashley@parallelwellness.ca
Alejandra Botia – alejandra@parallelwellness.ca
Peggy Harowitz – peggy@parallelwellness.ca
You can call our office should you need to do so 778-990-5491 and leave a voicemail. Please note that due to reduced staffing, there are delays in checking general voicemail, thus, emailing your therapist (or our office) or calling your therapist directly is the best policy during this pandemic period.
What you can expect when you attend your appointment:
- Parallel Wellness has added sanitizing tools in each office and appropriate related signage.
- When you arrive, we ask that you arrive exactly on time, and not early for your appointment. If you arrive early, please wait outside and enter at the time of your appointment.
- You will notice signs that request that you wait at the door at the top of the stairs. There are single chairs outside of our office door (top of the stairs). Please maintain your distance should you notice anyone else waiting for an appointment.
- There is no sitting area inside of our office during the pandemic period.
- We can no longer offer you tea or water (but please still bring one!).
- You will be invited into the space and then directly into your session/treatment room. Your therapist will guide you and direct you where to go so that you feel comfortable and informed.
- You will only be invited in when your therapist or practitioner is ready to see you – meaning that there will be very minimal chance that you cross paths with other people while in the space. We are doing all we can to ensure this.
What you can expect when you attend your appointment:
- Parallel Wellness has added sanitizing tools in each office and appropriate related signage.
- When you arrive, we ask that you arrive exactly on time, and not early for your appointment. If you arrive early, please wait outside and enter at the time of your appointment.
- You will notice signs that request that you wait at the door at the top of the stairs. There are single chairs outside of our office door (top of the stairs). Please maintain your distance should you notice anyone else waiting for an appointment.
- There is no sitting area inside of our office during the pandemic period.
- We can no longer offer you tea or water (but please still bring one!).
- You will only be invited in when your therapist or practitioner is ready to see you – meaning that there will be very minimal chance that you cross paths with other people while in the space. We are doing all we can to ensure this.
Other considerations when attending an appointment:
- Only the person who has the appointment can attend (i.e., no children, friends, or family accompaniment allowed). Some consideration can be determined before your appointment if you have a disability or require accompaniment (e.g., a parent or guardian).
- Use the hand sanitizer as soon as you enter our space (we also have sanitizer in our lobby at the top of the stairs) for clients. You may also use the restroom to wash your hands; be mindful of any contact with touch points in our washroom. We encourage you to use the tissue to towels to make contact with surfaces as is recommended by WorkSafeBC.
- Use alternative forms of greetings and avoid hand shaking or close contact.
- For couples or family counselling, we are ensuring that clients who attend are from the same household or “social pod.”
What you need to know that we are doing to ensure a safe environment at Parallel Wellness:
Our team is working incredibly hard to ensure that you can follow the recommended distance while in our centre, and that very limited contact (touch points) are required. This is maintained as best as we possibly can by:
- Staggering appointment times for clients.
- Plexiglass has been added to the front desk to act as a barrier.
- Opening all doors for you and allowing you to pass rooms without touching any surfaces.
- Providing both tissues and clean towels for you to use should you need to make contact with a surface (i.e. use our washroom). We ask that if you use tissues that you take these with you at the end of your appointment.
- Sanitizing and cleaning our treatment/counselling rooms between sessions.
- Having extra time between sessions to allow for cleaning and to minimize the interaction of clients coming and going at the same time for sessions.
Changes to our accepted methods of payment:
You can pay for your session via e-transfer: info@parallellwellness.ca (password: parallelwellness) or via secure credit transaction.
Credit card payment can be done via our Jane booking platform. With secure encrypted technology, your credit info can be held safely and secretly (we cannot see it) and your card can be processed after your session without contact.
Until further notice, we will not be accepting cash as a method of payment.
Professional Obligations:
Therapists are following all suggestions and recommendations that were shared with us on May 15, 2020 by WorkSafeBC.
No guarantees have been made or can be made that you will not contract COVID-19 while seeking treatment at our office. By attending in-person counselling, you waive your right to pursue litigation should you contract COVID-19 while receiving counselling services from Parallel Wellness.
Regular Zoom staff meetings will continue and are ongoing to check in around office procedures and any concerns and or observations that arise.
If you have any concerns and or questions, please ask. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please share! Like all other businesses, we are learning, shifting, and constantly adapting.
Thank you for your patience during this difficult time, we are honoured to be able to assist you.
The Team at Parallel Wellness
*All above information was created based on the guidelines suggested by WORKSAFEBC: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-returning-safe-operation/in-person-counselling
Hey there!!
I'm Meredith MacKenzie, the founder of Parallel Wellness and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. Simply put, I love to talk about psychology, emotions and all the things that make us human. My goal for this blog is to share information, resources and a fresh perspective on what brings clients to our practice.
So you want to know more??
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