Lori Guynes, L.Ac. and Monica Kaderali, L.Ac.

In compliance with CDC, SB County Health Department and Acupuncture professional guidelines we have implemented the following practices and procedures.

If you are planning to visit the office, the following conditions must be met:

• Patients (and staff) are asked to stay home if they are experiencing illness / having symptoms of flu or virus including: new cough, new shortness of breath, fever or chills, new fatigue, new sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, new nasal symptoms (clearly not allergy related) , new muscle aches not caused by activity such as exercise, new diarrhea.
• Shortly before each appointment, you will be asked to digitally complete a symptom checklist and COVID specific consent to treatment form (please look for this in your appointment reminder email).

• We are minimizing in - office paperwork but if you aren’t able to complete forms in advance, please bring your own pen.
• Stay home if you h ave been confirmed or presumed to have COVID - 19 in the last 14 days or have had contact with someone w ith confirmed or suspected COVID 19 in the last 14 days. (We will do the same)

• If you have travelled by airplane, please wait 14 days before coming in.
• Those with compromised or weak immune systems are encouraged to stay home and to have telehealth sessions when possible .

• In order to reduce face to face time in the treat ment room, we are doing intakes by phone for new patients and those who haven’t been seen recently. For on going visits if you have questions or updates, please call when you are on your way to your appointment or when you arrive in the parking lot so we c an chat .

• Please try to use the restroom at your home or work before you arrive at your appointment , but if you need to use the building restroom, no problem.

• Call when you arrive in the parking lot, then we will meet you at the clinic door (no need for you to handle the doorknob We’ll do a brief screening and escort you to the treatment room. If you arrive early, please wait in your car or  courtyard until your appointment time. Anyone else will need to wait for you outside of the office during your treatment . If you must be accompanied by a caretaker, they will have their temp taken and wear a mask.
  

• Patients (and staff) will have their temperature taken and will be screened upon arrival. No patient will receive a treatment if their temperature is over 99 degrees F.
  

• We will be wearing a mask and require that you do as well. Please arrive with clean mask or face covering on (cloth is fine) and keep it on for the duration of your visit.
• Upon arrival you will be asked to remove your shoes and socks. Paper booties and hand sanitizer will be available for y ou to use.

• We have a no handshake and no hug policy : (

• Please wear loose, layered clothing so you can be as comfortable as possible and to avoid having to undress and re - dress .

• Some practitioners are using no - contact payment via Venmo, Zelle or a credit c ard invoice post treatment. If you pay with check, please fill out in advance or bring your own pen. If you pay with CC in office, please know that equipment is sanitized after each use.
• Your signature indicates agreement with these new policies and proced ures. We know this is a lot to track – we’ll help you! Thank you.

As a reminder, here are some of the steps we are taking to ensure everyone’s safety:

We have modified our space to allow for social distancing and for easier disinfecting, including removing or covering cloth chairs.

We are scheduling clients in a way to avoid you crossing paths with others at the door or in the waiting room.

The bathroom key holder is now plastic vs. cloth so that we can disinfect it more easily.

You will have a clean area in the room to rest your belongings.

We are taking additional time between appointments to completely sanitize and ventilate the treatment room/office and have implemented higher level cleaning practices including the use of HEPA filter with UV light. All surfaces are disinfected between patients and all materials on chairs and treatment tables are new.

Table set up: We have switched to paper/disposable one-time use lap coverings. Pillows have vinyl/waterproof coverings and a new case for each client. Any blankets, towels or cloth and/or paper sheets are also one-time use. Sheets are laundered by Mission Linen.

We will continue to use CNT (clean needle technique) which includes pre-sterilized disposable needles, using alcohol to clean the points before needling and other important safety practices that are the cornerstone of any safe acupuncture clinic.

We have installed a sink for staff use so we can more easily wash our hands for a minimum of 20 seconds after providing treatment and in-between clients.

Thank you for trusting us with your care!