TBH Families
As you’ve seen in previous communications, our Trumpet team is taking numerous steps to continue to provide important medical services to our families while mitigating the potential spread of the Coronavirus. Based on the information we have today, the current guidance of the CDC and health authorities within our service area we are still able to continue providing services in homes and our center at this time. This may change as we receive new information, the guidance changes, or the situation in our county evolves.
In an abundance of caution, we will be taking additional steps to promote the health and safety of the families and team members in our center by implementing social distancing whenever possible. Please review updated practices to be aware of, effective 3/16/20.
Proximity:
- As much as possible, we will be limiting time spent in group instruction and peer play, adopting schedules that will allow for staggered times in common areas and cleaning in between patient use. If this poses a barrier to your child’s programming, your clinician will reach out to you to discuss.
- Where clinically appropriate, we will have children engage in their instruction and break/social activities in smaller workrooms and/or spaced as recommended by guidance from local health authorities. Though the nature of our service does often require close proximity and contact, we will be implementing short term measures to minimize unnecessary closeness. Please do your part to uphold the following recommendations during home and center sessions:
- Refrain from offering handshakes, high fives, or hugs, opting instead for contact-free hellos and thank yous! Please know that if a TBH team member politely declines a physical contact, it is out of care for the safety and wellbeing of our team and families.
- Consider identifying and supplying reinforcers that can be consistently provided at your child’s workspace so as to minimize use of the play structure, trampoline, and other sensory areas.
- Limit time in waiting rooms or common areas to only that which is necessary, including before, during, and after your child’s session.
- If you are a member of a group that has been identified as having a higher risk of severe symptoms such as older adults or those with chronic medical conditions, please consider temporarily refraining from coming to our centers as doing so could increase the risk of transmission.
- If you have reason to request a move to home based services, your child’s goals can effectively be targeted in this location and your family is able to provide a responsible adult, we will work to coordinate a temporary transition of your center-or community-based sessions to the home setting. If this may be appropriate for your family, your clinician or local leadership will be available to collaborate with you and your therapy team. If you need immediate assistance with schedule updates or have questions about your planned sessions, please reach out to our local office.
Health Screenings and Sanitation:
- As previously communicated, all families and team members must complete a health screening prior to all sessions and before entering our center or service locations (Please see the current health screen included at the bottom of this communication).
- If a person answers “yes” to any of the questions asked, they will be required to leave the location and cancel the session Depending on the circumstance, sessions may be cancelled for an extended period of time following a “yes” on the health screening.
- Please also require all individuals present to wash their hands with warm water and soap for a minimum of 20 seconds immediately upon entering the center or the residence before starting the session and in between sessions. If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol may be used.
- We are continuing to provide the materials necessary for good hygiene practice and have implemented increasingly stringent cleaning procedures throughout the center. We request that home sessions also maintain an environment in line with local guidance from health authorities. If you do not have materials necessary to allow for your child’s work area and “high touch surfaces” to be cleaned before, during, and after their home-based session, please let us know so that we can decide the best way to support your family and our team.
- High touch surfaces can include but are not limited to: counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, and tablets
Particularly, with schools closed for the next several weeks, we recognize that our families may be navigating barriers with childcare and in ensuring that their children receive the needed educational and behavioral support. We would like to support you as much as we can. If it is appropriate to provide additional sessions or modify your scheduled hours, please reach out to your clinician to discuss what this may look like. Your clinician will then coordinate with our local team and scheduling to make these changes as quickly as possible.
We are continuing to support all of our families and team members in making the decisions that are right for them during this challenging time. If you feel that it is best to cancel your child’s sessions, you may do so without penalty. We also appreciate your patience and flexibility if your team members cancel sessions or are unavailable for a period of time; we will be doing our best to restaff these sessions as quickly as possible.
We know how challenging and emotional this situation is for you, for our teams, and for all of us in this country and around the world. We remain dedicated to providing your family with the medical care your family member needs whenever possible to do so safely. We continue to review additional safety measures and will continue updating are policies and procedures as indicated.
Please also continue to follow guidance on what we can all do to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus and other illnesses.
As a reminder:
What does Trumpet do?
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- Has arrangements in place with professional cleaning services that routinely clean all our locations
- Provides tissues and hand sanitizers throughout the workplace Follows workplace sanitation guidelines including providing appropriate supplies (soap, disinfectant wipes etc.) for recommended hand and materials hygiene practices
- Follows existing policies regarding sick clients or sick team members
- Requires any team member or client who has symptoms, a diagnosis or is being treated for a contagious disease that may pose a threat to the safety of our team members, clients or client families to immediately remove themselves from services and inform Trumpet HR as soon as possible
- Trumpet will also continue to follow federal and state guidelines regarding maintaining a safe workplace
What can you and our Team Members do?
Use the following precautions to reduce the potential spread of disease:
- Clean hands often by washing them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Cover hands and nose with a tissue or a sleeve – not hands – when coughing or sneezing.
- Avoid contact with sick individuals and practice proper hygiene
- Avoid touching your mouth, eyes and face
- Follow current guidelines for cleaning materials and surfaces regularly with disinfectant wipes
- When showing symptoms of illness, stay home and care for yourself, and notify TBH of any important updates with your illness.
We will continue to monitor the situation and other health related news and update you on further precautionary steps as directed by state and regional public health organizations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness and partnership as we navigate the current situation together.
Your TBH Team
New Health Screening Policy
Team TBH, as we continue to take steps to protect our Team Member’s and Clients’ health, we are instituting a new health screening policy.
When a team member or client enters a TBH center for the first time or prior to entering a home for a home-based session the following questions should be asked of all present:
- Do you now or have you in the last 24 hours had a fever or reasons to believe you may have a fever?
- Have you been in direct contact with any individual with a confirmed case of the Coronavirus?
- Have you in the last 14 days traveled to a country or region on the Centers for Diseases Control’s advisory list https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
- Do you have or have you had any of the following symptoms in the last 24 hours – cough or shortness of breath?
If any of the above questions are answered in the affirmative, please immediately ask the individual/s to leave the location and cancel the session. If it occurs prior to starting a home-based session please cancel the session before entering the residence. Please report this occurrence to HR and your supervisor.
If an individual refuses to answer any of the questions or is not able to, please ask them to leave until they can do so. If needed, please cancel the session. If all the questions are answered negatively (meaning with a NO answer) please proceed with the scheduled session.