To all Patients, Families and Friends of Fit Core Physical Therapy
We are dedicated to your health and safety as we prepare ourselves for the local impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been closely monitoring the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and the Georgia Department of Public Health, as well as professional guidelines as set forth by our American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Taking the current status of our healthcare system into consideration, the Private Practice Section of the APTA issued this statement:
“If your clinic is able to practice within the recommended CDC guidelines and follow your local government mandates, consider that community-based physical therapists assist in keeping people healthy. According to Dr. Matos, an expert in biologic surety and the management of select agent programs at federal facilities: Physical therapists are essential in flattening the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. They play a key role in keeping people they can help out of the doctor offices and ER’s. This will not only free up the medical teams to treat those impacted by COVID-19, but also limit the exposure of those seeking the care of the physical therapist. Dr. Matos is an advisory group in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, And Nuclear Defense. Dr. Matos has experience working with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, and the CDC. He has served as a public health emergency officer for 14 Department of Defense installations and has participated in multiple disease and epidemiologic investigations. Dr. Matos has received extensive training in risk communication in a public health emergency and in exposure investigations.”
https://ppsapta.org/sl_files/BFC419ED-9B9A-A69F-DDCCAA8F5688CF5C.pdf
We at Fit Core PT are in full recognition of our duty as part of our community to do all that we can to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 and thereby flatten the curve of the rate of community infection.
We believe it is our duty at this time to remain open. In doing so, we acknowledge the Memorandum of Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response, which states:
“If you work in a critical infrastructure industry, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, such as healthcare services and pharmaceutical and food supply, you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule.” These healthcare services are further defined by DOHS as “Caregivers (e.g., physicians, dentists, psychologists, mid-level practitioners, nurses and assistants, infection control and quality assurance personnel, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists and assistants, social workers, speech pathologists and diagnostic and therapeutic technicians and technologists)”
Medical offices, clinics, and hospitals throughout the state are getting increasingly inundated with phone calls and visits, and they are urging non-urgent cases to stay home. We believe as physical therapists we can be an effective support and partner to the medical community by being available to assist patients with non-medical issues that are appropriate for Physical Therapy assessment and treatment.
Our clinic operates well within the CDC regulation of no more than 10 people in a given setting. We have 2 separate clinics, with only 2 therapists per clinic, and we now have staggered schedules to eliminate the need for patients waiting in the lobby.
We will ensure that we do all that we can to minimize the possibility of exposure for our patients and staff. Over the next week, we will closely monitor federal and state recommendations and keep you updated as the situation evolves.