We have been through trying times in recent months, as all aspects of our lives and our relationships have been affected.
It is a natural tendency for us to turn our attention away from our own care when we may be providing for others. Some of us are caring for loved ones at home. Some are cooking meals for our families, our neighbors, and others in need. Some are making masks at home for dozens or hundreds of strangers who need them. In crisis, sometimes the last person you think about is yourself.
At Northeast Medical Group, we want you to know that we are here for you and we have relied heavily on creativity from our clinicians and teams to provide care—often virtually—throughout this crisis. Many of you, in turn, have showed amazing flexibility in adopting technology that was previously foreign—by video visit—to make sure you kept connected to your physician.
As I write this, we have reopened every one of our sites, including all walk-ins, from Rhode Island, across Connecticut, and into New York for face-to-face visits. If you have not been in to see us recently, you will immediately notice some changes when you do. As your safety is our top priority, we have put in place a number of safeguards to protect patients, our clinicians and our staff.
Before you even arrive, we will be reaching out to you to confirm that you do not have symptoms concerning for infection. We’ll do the same check upon your arrival. If present, we’ll be happy to offer you a virtual visit, by video.
We are limiting the number of people patients as well as clinical staff in offices by reducing the frequency of appointments to two per hour and by extending hours of the day we are open. This facilitates “physical distancing” as do the reorganization of our waiting room procedures and use of plexiglass shields. Additional infection prevention methods include cleansing of exam rooms between patients as well as the requirement that patients, clinicians and staff all wear masks during any contact.
We will continue to offer visits by video as this continues to be an appropriate way to provide care to some of our patients for some conditions. We look forward to seeing you soon. Please reach out to your physician’s office to schedule an appointment or for information on anything.
Yours in good health,
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Prathibha Varkey, MBBS, MPH, MHPE, MBA President and Chief Executive Officer Northeast Medical Group |
