I am excited to inform everyone that Youthful Reflections will be re-opening for business starting on Friday, 5/1/2020. As you may know, we have been closed since Monday, 3/23/2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a stay-at-home order executed by the Governor for the State of Tennessee. Although the threat of COVID-19 has diminished through the social distancing measures that have been implemented throughout our country over the past few weeks, we realize that the threat of this virus has not been eliminated. I want to reassure all our patients that we are taking measures to protect everyone that enters Youthful Reflections from potential transmission of the illness. The health and safety of our patients is always our highest priority. To minimize traffic in our facility and optimize social distancing efforts, I have made the decision to initially open only the surgical part of Youthful Reflections, which has always been the primary focus of my practice. Therefore, we will not be resuming routine non-surgical treatments, such as Botox and filler injections, for now. We will continue to see any necessary follow-ups for patients with any concerns related to previously performed injectables.
Youthful Reflections is an office-based surgery center that is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Those credentials assure that we follow the nationally recognized standards for office-based surgery and care for patients throughout the perioperative period. We will continue to provide this high level of care to our patients throughout the healthcare crisis which we are currently facing. As always, we continue to utilize standard practices of sterility throughout all surgical procedures. Even outside of the procedure rooms, we incorporate standard medical practices of routine cleaning and disinfection throughout the entire facility.
For the safety of our patients and staff and to minimize potential exposure risk to respiratory pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19, we have implemented additional policies and procedures for screening and protection for all who enter the Youthful Reflections facility, based on guidelines from the State of Tennessee, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
We first ask that if you are experiencing any symptoms of potential illness at the time of your visit, including fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, new loss of smell or taste, nausea or vomiting, that you avoid coming to our facility and call to reschedule your appointment for a later date when symptoms have resolved.
We also ask that you come alone for your appointment, so that we can minimize the number of people in our facility at any given time to allow for adequate social distancing and minimize potential exposures. If a spouse, or significant other, is considered necessary for your support and comfort during your visit, then we will allow one additional visitor to accompany you. No children will be allowed in the facility at any time.
We are requiring everyone, including patients, family members and staff, to wear a cloth facial covering or mask when entering our facility, as recommended by the CDC and the State of Tennessee. In addition, a COVID-19 health screening, which includes a symptom and exposure questionnaire and temperature check, will be done for everyone who enters the facility. If anyone has symptoms suggestive of potential respiratory illness and/or fever, they will be asked to seek medical attention to address these issues and reschedule their appointment for a later date when symptoms have resolved.
We apologize for any inconvenience that these new policies and procedures may create. However, we are implementing them for the safety of all our patients and staff and to maintain the highest standards of care that have be recommended by the CDC, the State of Tennessee, and the American College of Surgeons. Thank you for your understanding and compliance with these measures. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Boggess, M.D.
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