Practice Updates for Opening June 9, 2020

It’s time to re-open, and boy have I missed you all. There are going to be significant and ongoing changes to my practice. Some of these changes are due to the CDC guidelines and Kentucky’s Healthy and Work programs. Others are to keep myself and you safe. Massage as we once knew it is going to have to change and I hope you’ll have patience with me as I work to keep you all and myself and my family safe.

Massage Is Not Low Risk
Please know that at this time, massage is not considered a low risk activity, either for me giving it or you receiving it. Because it involves both extensive skin on skin contact and because you are in a closed room with one person sharing air with them for 60-90 minutes, it is not without risk. For that reason, I highly encourage anyone with any of the CDC risk factors to wait on receiving massage for the time being. This includes anyone 65 years of age and older, people with asthma, chronic lung disease, serious heart conditions, immunocompromised individuals, severe obesity (BMI 40 or above), diabetes, chronic kidney or liver disease.

Feeling Unwell - Reschedule!
In addition, if you have any respiratory symptoms, fever, or flu-like symptoms, please do not come into my office and cancel your massage (if you wake up sick, call to let me know, I will not charge a cancellation fee if you not feeling well). If you’re not sure if it’s allergies or a regular cold or COVID-19, please cancel, get yourself tested, then we can reschedule.

If you’ve been around someone within the last 14 days who has COVID-19 or is suspected of having COVID-19, we will reschedule. If you’ve been out of the country  or traveled in the last 14 days, we will reschedule.

I hope this will alleviate any stress and hesitation you have about an upcoming appointment. If you need to reschedule for whatever reason, and especially if you are not feeling well, I understand and request for you to please contact me as soon as possible to reschedule.

Practice Changes
I am limiting the number of people I see each day, and implementing a rigorous cleaning and disinfection regiment between sessions, which means I’ll be able to do fewer clients each day. Because of the cost of the supplies and additional time per appointment, I am going to raise the fees on sessions. I hope you understand. I know it’s a difficult time for everyone, but with 3 months of no income and many additional costs, it is a necessary change.

Rate Increase with Covid-19 Expenses
My fees are increasing by $10 a session. The new rates are as follows:

• 60 minute General Relaxation Massage $90
• 60 minute Deep Tissue Massage $95
• 90 minute Therapeutic Massage $115

What's My Session Going to Look Like?
Here’s what to expect:

• All scheduling will be via email or text for the first few weeks. I will only be doing 2 to 3 sessions a day.
• The day before your massage I will call to confirm and will need to ask you several questions to make sure we are both still safe for you to receive a massage and for me to give you one. This will include questions about recent health, travel, etc.
• Upon arrival for your massage, stay in the car and call or text me to leave me a message. I’m closing off my waiting room so I don’t have clients sharing rooms together, so for now, the car will be your best bet. If you are not well, we will reschedule. I’ll go over what you want to focus on to reduce the amount of time we’re talking and in the same room.
• Come up once I’m ready for you. You must wear a mask. I’ll have a form for you to fill out and sign (unless I can work out a way to do it electronically), and I’ll take your temperature. I’ll have a disinfected bin for you to place your clothes in while I step out to wash my hands. You’ll wear your mask for the session, so keep that on.
• During the session we will both remain masked and I’ll stay in my PPE as required. Once I finish I will leave the room to wash my hands. Please get dressed and wait in the treatment room until I return.
• I’ll have hand sanitizer for you to use before leaving the office. I’ll ask you to pay online in advance or after to reduce your time in the office, and will ask for you to email or text me to book your next appointment.
• Once you leave I'll be disinfecting all the surfaces in the treatment room, and any area you might have touched

 
The way going forward isn’t 100% clear, and this is a first pass at what the CDC and health officials are saying now are the best practices to resume massage therapy. Note that unlike PT and chiropractors, we are spending a lot more time in the same room, hands on, one on one with our clients, so I am counting on you to help keep me and my family safe.

I’m practicing social distancing to the letter at home to keep myself and by extension my family safe. Please do the same for me.

I will be updating my website as policies change and new information comes out. Please reference this page for the most up to date information.

Thank you all and I look forward to resuming work with you!