COVID-19 Policy/Procedures Update

Dear VEC Family,

We miss you all and hope you are staying safe and healthy!

We are beginning our tentative plan to gradually increase our hours to be able to serve you better as an essential business.

Next week (April 27- May 1), we will continue to have a doctor and an optician available at the office from 9am-12pm M-F, but will be available via phone each day from 9am-2pm.

We encourage you to continue to seek us for your acute medical ocular needs- for example: red eye, eye pain or discomfort, injury to the eye, sudden vision changes, new floaters or flashes of light, etc.

We will also begin scheduling comprehensive exams! These should be for patients who need something or are concerned about an issue- for example: blurry vision, change in vision, running out of contact lenses, needs new glasses, Diabetic and Glaucoma patients who are due for exams, etc.

High-risk patients (elderly, immunocompromised, etc) should continue to use caution- we can always help you determine if it makes sense for you to come in based on your issue!

During the week of May 4- May 8^th, we will begin extending doctor and optician hours. There will still be only one doctor per day seeing patients to limit the number of people in the office, but the doctor will be seeing patients at least from 9am until 2pm, and possibly longer if needed.

We will continue to reassess as we go!

We are continuing to do everything we possibly can to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. We are continuing rigorous disinfection and are in the process of adding sneeze barriers throughout the office. We have installed a very top of the line air scrubber within our HVAC system that kills viruses, bacteria and mold. All of our staff will be wearing masks, and we will be requiring that all patients come in wearing a mask as well. We will require that all patients sanitize their hands upon entering our office with our Pure and Clean hand prep, which has been listed as a disinfectant for use against Coronavirus by the EPA. It is completely natural non-irritating hypochlorous acid, which is what is secreted by the white blood cells to kill pathogens. We will be taking the temperature of all patients and staff upon arrival with a non-contact thermometer, and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or above will be sent home. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/reporting-deaths-illness/definitions-symptoms-reportable-illnesses.html

We appreciate your support during this difficult time and please know that you have our support as well! We miss you all and look forward to seeing you again soon!

Sincerely,

Virginia Eyecare Center