Covid Reopening Office Policies
Updated 5/23/2020
After almost 3 months of quarantine order in NYC, we are partially reopening. Please read through the below as we resume office hours in the time of covid-19.
We currently do not have a medication that works for covid-19, and a coronavirus vaccine is still about 12-18 months away.
The best way to manage this pandemic is to prevent its spread as much as we can. If we all work together, we can help stop the spread of this disease.
We know coronavirus spreads very easily when there are:
• Lots of people, in a
• Crowded indoor space, for a
• Duration > 10-15 minutes
Therefore, in order to make sure you don’t get sick (or if you happen to be an asymptomatic carrier, make sure other people don’t get sick), we are asking you to please follow the below new policies.
1. BY APPOINTMENT ONLY - NO WALK-IN'S
Please make an appointment before you come to the office. If you come upstairs without an appointment, we will ask you to call our office and make an appointment, then return at the time of your appointment.
You can:
• Call us at 212-925-4993 during normal business hours, or
• Text us at 646-580-8689, or
• Click here to send a request for an appointment (we will call or email you to confirm the date and time)
2. IF YOU HAVE A FORM, PLEASE TAKE A PHOTO AND SEND IT TO US BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT
You can email the form to us at amhealth@amarthpeds.com.
Our receptionists are working from home, so they can fill in the necessary information, and we can see whether you need shots, PPD, blood draw, etc before the appointment.
3. COMPLETE ANY QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT
We will call or text you a few days ahead to send you the necessary forms or questionnaires. Please complete them before your appointment, so we can make sure your time spent in the office is limited.
4. GUARDIANS OR COMPANIONS
Only one family member is allowed for all patients 2-18 years. For those under 2, please check with us first to see how many are allowed in the office.
For those who are old enough to come by themselves and are under 18, we encourage you to do so. This way we limit exposure and cross-contamination.
5. TEXT (OR CALL) CHECK-IN; ONLY ENTER WHEN OK'd
We want you to go straight to the exam room to see Dr Wu for your appointment, and not have to wait in the waiting room.
So CALL US at 212-925-4993 or TEXT US at 646-580-8689 FIVE MINUTES BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AT OUR BUILDING, and go upstairs AFTER the receptionist says it is ok.
6. PATIENT HISTORY AHEAD OF TIME
Our secretary may ask to set up a time for Dr Wu to call you before your appointment to get a history, so as to limit your time spent in the office. We want to make sure you are safe.
7. EVERYONE, PLEASE WEAR A MASK
If you do not have a mask, please wear a face covering (like a scarf or a bandana). Tell our secretary on the phone BEFORE your arrival, so we can give you a surgical mask when you arrive.
8. WELL CHECK-UPS
• If you develop abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, conjunctivitis (pink eye), poor appetite, red, cracked lips, cough, fever, sore throat, headache, body aches in the 14 days prior to your appointment, please let us know before your appt
• Complete any forms prior to your appointment
• If you have a form, please scan the form to us first - either email to us amhealth@amaranthpeds.com or text 646-580-8689
• When you are in the exam room, the secretary will be on the computer to write down the information; Dr Wu will inform you
• The secretary will call or text you to book a follow-up appt
9. WE WILL EMAIL YOU THE FORMS WHEN COMPLETED
• Please send all forms to secretary the day before your appointment (you may take a photo and email it us amhealth@amaranthpeds.com, or text it to us 646-580-8689)
• We will email you all the completed forms at the end of the day of your appointment - to avoid passing germs back and forth
• Please sign the email consent here
MEASURES WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN
These are the measures Amaranth Pediatrics has undertaken to ensure the safety of our patients, our patients’ family, our staff, and our physician.
1. Well check up ONLY in the morning (10am-12:30pm), all sick visits will be after 1pm. All well infants will be given first appointments or will be grouped together.
2. If the patient has any of the following symptoms FOR 14 DAYS PRIOR TO THE WELL VISIT APPOINTMENT, we ask that patients or parents tell us and reschedule the well visit appointment; if the parent has any of the below in the 14 days prior, we ask that they do not accompany the patient to his or her appointment:
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Rash
• Cough
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Headache, body aches
3. Empty waiting room - we will ask all patients to call us before they arrive at the building to be sure the exam room is free from the previous patient, and has been cleaned (and aired out in the afternoon after sick visits) BEFORE they come in.
4. We will disinfect all exam room surfaces after every patient, and will air out and run an industrial strength HEPA air filter after every sick patient for 5-10 minutes. We will also disinfect all equipment that touches any patients between each visit, which includes but are not limited to: otoscope, thermometer, audiometer, pulse oximeter, stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, etc.
5. We will NOT use a nebulizer (asthma treatment machine) in the office, because a nebulzer will cause viruses to be aerosolized. Instead, we will ask you to pick up a pump (or you can bring your own), along with an aerochamber if needed, from the pharmacy. You will return with the medication if Dr Wu feels it is necessary to examine your child after asthma pump treatment.
6. BATHROOMS: coronavirus transmits by stool, so we have closed the bathroom except for urine specimen collection. You may only use it if we need to collect a urine sample from you. In which case, please:
• Ensure bathroom has already been cleaned and disinfected
• Use the toilet seat liner provided to you
• Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly after you use the toilet
• Use the spray bottle in the bathroom, and spray down ALL SURFACES WHEN YOU ARE DONE:
• Toilet seat
• Toilet Flush
• Faucet Handles
• Faucet
• Soap Container
• Door knob
• Bathroom key
• Any other surfaces you might have touched
• Leave the urine sample in the lab inside the sink, and inform staff that you have left your urine there