Island Chiropractic & Family Wellness opted to close their doors before the directive came down from the health authority, “we realized that we served a compromised population and the health and wellbeing of our patients has always been our priority” explains Dr. Shaun Maher. Because of the high number of seniors, pregnant and immunocompromised patients, the clinic closed their doors to the general public a full week ahead of other clinics.
“When we closed, we were a bit naïve” says Maher, “we thought we’d be closed for a couple of weeks”. Like many, their doors were closed to the general public for 80 days. Over that time, patients were seen via telehealth services, emergency in-person appointments and Dr. Jen Maher taught online fitness classes to some of her exercise class regulars. One pair of seniors figured out how to install an online app to their device and exercised online for 13 consecutive weeks with Dr. Jen.
As of June 5th, the clinic reopened with adjustments to help keep everyone safe. Increased sanitization measures, screening at the time of booking and upon entry, longer appointment times and the wearing of face masks are just but some of the new “normal” around the office.
“We were bracing ourselves for a huge increase in costs, friends of ours in Halifax spent over $1,000 for a plexiglass shield” says Maher. Plexiglass was sourced locally, and the pair was able to construct their own plexi shield for a fraction of the cost. The Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors sourced 200 masks for the office to use for opening and the clinic was also able to source additional masks from Harding medical supply. “For us the cost is well worth it, we want our patients to feel safe and secure in the clinic” says Maher.
So far, the office has been booked at a steady pace, as many people had unaddressed aches and pains over the past two and a half months. Because office appointments have been spread out, Dr. Maher has been enjoying the extra time this affords to give to patients, “it’s actually quite nice, we get to spend a considerable amount of time with each patient, instead of always feeling rushed, the new normal could actually be a blessing in disguise”.
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