COVID 19 Return to Practice Protocols and Equity for All

Dear Clients,
I hope this finds you and your family in good health.  While many things have changed, one thing that has remained the same:  my commitment to your safety and health.
 
The recent loss of George Floyd and the impact on our community has deeply affected me as I am sure it has many of you.  As a mother to a brown skin son, I worry about him and the future perceptions people may have of him.  Right now, he is cute and funny and smart and so enjoyable to be around.  I know that this perception of him will change as he grows older.  Due to the systemic racism that I now see is so very apparent in many aspects of our lives, I worry for him and I worry for all black and brown people that experience our community differently than I do as a white person.  I did not know how deep this was.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes that I see now.  I am searching for ways to do and be better in this world to create an equal and just society for all.  
 
We have all just experienced a double shock and trauma from the coronavirus pandemic and now with our community experiencing another unjust loss of life and the fallout from that loss.  This trauma and these experiences are in our bodies, our minds and our spirits.  I am here, to hold space, to hear you, to hold my hands over your areas of pain and tension and to hopefully give relief to what you are carrying, without judgement, wherever you are in your journey.  If I have harmed you in anyway, please know that I am sorry and I am listening if you want to share.  I am here and I support this very critical movement.  At the end of this message, I have a list of educational resources to continue learning about how to be anti-racist and also about trauma and race.
 
COVID-19 information and protocols.
 
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 me to support all of my clients, some with high risk factors, by cooperating with some new requirements.
 
My practice has always followed the highest level of training and practice guidelines available in the USA.  In regards to Covid 19, I am following recommendations by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSTMB), along with the MN Government Industry Guidance for Safely Reopening Personal Care Services, infection control recommendations made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
 
During this time, it is incredibly important to be mutually transparent regarding our potential risks to each other.  As such, I share with you that my son is in a summer camp program in which social distancing practices are followed as much as can be with 7 year old’s.  I attended 2 community events relating to the protests and memorial of George Floyd.  These were smaller events in comparison to many and we did not stay for long nor near anyone for longer than a couple seconds passing through.  Other than those scenarios, I have been taking the most conservative approach to health safety related to Covid-19.
 
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment.  I made these changes to help protect my clients and myself.  For example:
 

• At Clear Holistic Therapies, both practitioners and clients are required to wear a mask.  If your service requires that you remove your mask, I am required to also wear a face shield.  I have an alternative mask for when lying face down to allow for greater comfort.  I may also wear gloves if working specifically near your face, neck, etc.
• Please bring your own water bottle.  We are not allowed to offer drinking water to clients at this time.
• I 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, I’ll ask that you wait in your vehicle or outside until I text you or call you to come in.  This ensures that we don’t have too many people in the reception area at one time.
• I will greet you at the door and I may use a no touch thermal temperature screening to confirm that you don’t have a fever.  I will also present a screening checklist at the time of your appointment.  I will also be taking my own temperature before each shift.  We reserve the right to refuse high risk situations for the benefit of all.
• Please cancel your appointment if you have a fever, chills, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, travelled within the last 14 days by plane or if you have had a known exposure to someone with Covid-19 and have not yet tested negative.  You will NOT be charged cancellation fees.
• Each practitioner at Clear Holistic Therapies sanitizes all surfaces, knobs, tables, etc. regularly and between each client.  Clients will be asked to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after being escorted into the treatment room before touching anything.
• Each room at Clear Holistic Therapies is equipped with a new air purifier with HEPA filters rated for the removal of viruses (CADR smoke rating of 300) with an exchange rate of 5x per hour.  The office HVAC system is also equipped with a U/V light at the coil for additional air disinfection.
• All high-touch surfaces which were previously porous have been removed or replace with non-porous, wipeable surfaces.
• Please bring a face mask to use while you are in the building and during your massage.  
• I will ask you to sign an informed consent from that states, “I understand that close contact with people increases the risk of infection from COVID-19.  By signing this form, I acknowledge that I am aware of the risks involved and give consent to receive massage from this practitioner.”
• There is a hand hygiene station that I will ask you to use when you enter the office (wash your hands).  You will also find hand sanitizer in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.

 
I will also be taking additional measures during your session to reduce the potential of transmission including:
 

• Using disposable individual containers of coconut oil or body cream.
• Using only 1 or 2 essential oil options and sanitizing the bottle between each session.
• Wearing an apron that is changed out between each session.
• Showering and washing my hair on days when practicing massage therapy.
• Wearing shoes that are only worn for massage therapy, not on the street otherwise.
• Washing hands during a session if I have touched a surface.
• Wearing gloves when both setting up and taking down linens.
• Storing linens in a sanitized tub that is re sanitized at the end of each session.

 
I look forward to seeing you again and am happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps I take to keep you, and every client, safe in my practice.  To make an appointment, please call me at 651-560-0891 or book online at www.hibiscushealingarts.com.  My practice is tentatively scheduled to open mid-July at Clear and for home visits in June, 2020.
 
Thank you for being my client.  I value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming you back to a safe, therapeutic touch environment.
 
Hibiscus Healing Arts
At Clear Holistic Therapies
Jennifer Ingvoldstad, BCTMB
www.hibiscushealingarts.com
[email protected]
651-560-0891
 
 
 
COVID 19 Resources:
Find a free testing location here:  
https://mn.gov/covid19/for-minnesotans/if-sick/testing-locations/index.jsp
 
Racism Resources:
“How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi
“White Fragility” by Robin Diangelo
“Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth” by Dana-Ain Davis
“My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts” by Resmaa Menakem
And many more…
 
Local black healing practitioners:
Black Moon Bodywork with Ihotu Jennifer Ali, www.ihotuali.com
Clara Sharp, Doula at Ahava Birthworks
Doula Kaytee, Doula  www.doulakaytee.com
Healing Illuminated LLC with Rebeka Ndosi, www.alifeinpractice.com
Metro Midwifery, Britt Jackson  www.metrohomebirth.com
Oily Doula LLC, Rhonda Fellows www.oilydoulamn.com
Omaur Bliss Fit  www.OmaurBlissFit.com
Roots Community Birth Center www.rootsbirthcenter.com
Radiant Life Yoga with Jaina Portwood  www.radiantlifeyoga.com
Red Cricket Healing Center  www.redcricket.com
Tiyumba Dance  www.tiyumba.com
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