Reopening Soon – a Balancing Act

Based on the good work that you and other Oregonians have done in “flattening the curve”, Governor Kate Brown has eased existing restrictions on non-emergent and elective medical care. As Oregon enters this new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we at You & Eye are working hard to determine how best to serve our community while limiting the risk of further viral spread.

While we remain open for urgent and emergent needs, we are determining when to re-open to more routine care. We will likely not be the first clinic to open in West Linn, so we ask for your patience as we strive to balance public health, the safety of our staff, patients, and society at large, and the availability of personal protective equipment. If you have an urgent need (and you determine urgency) please call and talk to us.

We want to be clear that from a public health and medical standpoint we will continue to take great care of you, but that the way things are done across all segments of society cannot return to the way they were pre-COVID-19.

As I am sure you are aware, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is still here. The goal of social distancing was, and is, to reduce the rate of spread so as not to overwhelm our healthcare system, not to eliminate the virus. As the economy reopens, we need to continue to take care to physically distance ourselves as well as take other steps to reduce the risk of viral spread.

In order to do our part, You & Eye will be reopening with a variety of new policies and procedures. The highlights are summarized here:

1. We have created a zone-based clinical experience. This will be made clear when you come into the clinic, but briefly, the clinic has been divided into four zones. Only one patient will be allowed in each zone at a time. Each of the four zones corresponds to a different activity (check-in, examination, optical, dispensing) and you will be led through the zones so as not to overlap with another patient.

2. All patients are required to wear a mask when entering the clinic. If you do not have a mask, we will provide one for you. Masks are still in limited supply globally so it would be helpful if you wore your own (a bandanna or scarf is sufficient).

3. All employees of You & Eye will be wearing masks.

4. All employees of You & Eye will continue to practice frequent hand washing.

5. All patients are required to wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds upon entering the clinic.

6. We will limit access to the clinic to patients only (minors can have one guardian accompany them). If you are purchasing eyeglasses and you want a friend or family member’s opinion on the style, we are happy to take a picture for you to send to them for feedback. (Marie, Amber, and Dr. Pearce also all have a great eye for style and won’t lead you astray!).

7. We are requesting that you complete the paperwork at home and bring it in with you.

8. We are limiting the number of patients we see each day to avoid congestion in the clinic. We ask that you call (503) 723-3000 before entering so that we can ensure that there is room enough for you to be physically distant from other patients. We will run on schedule so you don’t need to worry about being delayed, but you may be asked to wait in your car for a few minutes.

9. We will continue a routine of regular surface disinfection. For example, all exam rooms will be disinfected before and after each patient encounter, communal areas (including door handles) will be disinfected every hour, and all frames will be disinfected after being tried on (we ask that you place any frame that you touch in the provided basket).

10. We have temporarily changed office furniture to allow for easier disinfecting and we will be adding an outdoor waiting area if you walk to the clinic or are unable to wait in your car if needed.
     

We look forward to seeing all of you again soon. We will continue to evaluate and adapt our policies so as to provide the highest quality of care that is focused on your needs and protects the public’s health.