Our Re-Opening Words of Wisdom: new protocols and info

We hope our reopening finds you and your family in good health. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety and health.

By its very nature, massage and bodywork requires skin-to-skin contact and you should be familiar with the fact that infection control has always been a top priority for my practice. As we navigate life with additional requirements and modify existing measures due to the coronavirus, please help us to support all of our clients by cooperating with some new requirements.

Our practice follows Practice Guidelines recommended by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), along with infection control recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health A

dministration (OSHA).

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our clients and ourselves. For example:

We will communicate with you beforehand to obtain updates to your health information and ask you specifically about your potential exposure to COVID-19.
When you arrive at the office, we’ll ask that you wait in your vehicle until we call you or motion you to come in. This ensures that we don’t have too many people in the reception area at one time.
We will greet you at the door and use a no touch thermal temperature screening to confirm that you d

on’t have a fever. We will have you sanitize your hands. We will head straight back to the room and we need to fill out the dreaded paperwork. For a while there will be an intake and waiver that you have to fill out EVERY time, but it’s only two sheets, we promise!

We’ll ask you if you have developed any symptoms of illness since we spoke on the phone. If you feel ill on the day of your session, there is NO penalty for canceling your appointment. Massage is not advised if you have any symptoms of illness.
No loitering. I know, I know we have missed you as much as you have missed us and would love to chat and catch up before/after your appointment, unfortunately for now, we ask that we spend as little time as possible in between appointments so that we can prepare for the next person.
Please bring a face mask to use while you are in the building, and during your massage.
We will ask you to sign an informed consent form that states, “I understand that close contact with people increases the risk of infection from COVID-19. By si

gning this form, I acknowledge that I am aware of the risks involved and give consent to receive massage from this practitioner.” at every appointment.

There is a hand-hygiene station that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find hand sanitizer in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
We will be disinfecting the

entire facility in between clients to ensure everyone’s safety. Because of this our scheduling time will be more spaced out, therefore fewer appointments will be available. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to fit everyone in.

We ask that ONLY you and a direct caregiver, if needed, enter the office. For right now, the lobby is closed off to friends or family. Please plan accordingly.

We look forward to seeing you again and we are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every client, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 231-489-8008. Our practice is tentatively scheduled to open on June 15th, 2020.

Thank you for being our client. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming you

back to a safe, therapeutic touch environment.

Your friendly neighborhood massage therapists,

Sarah and Liz

Up North Wellness and Massage