Parents, Providers, Participants and Staff:
In light of the COVID-19 coronavirus we would like to take a moment to reassure you of our commitment to you and your family’s health by sharing details about our office protocols.
Currently, GSDC has plans to stay open with modifications to our services.
We currently use the “Universal Precautions” protocol as defined by the CDC. In the health care industry this means that we assume all blood and bodily fluids are infected. These guidelines were implemented after the AIDS virus changed the world in the mid-1980’s. They have been upgraded and perfected as time has passed with better standards, sanitization materials and techniques. We have embraced and adopted all of the latest techniques and have utilized them for many years as the standard protocols in our office.
We have implemented more frequent sanitization, disinfection and hygiene protocols on a daily or more frequent basis. We plan to continue providing the quality of care and maintain these high standards and due to the COVID-19 virus we are implementing a few new policies for everyone’s safety and protection:
- All in-person meetings will be cancelled. Meetings may be planned via phone or video conferencing.
- Participants will be visually screened for illness upon arrival and will have their temperature taken if there is reason to believe they are not feeling well. Please monitor and evaluate each participant prior to sending them to the center.
- Any staff or participant with a temperature of 100.4 or more will be sent home. We have identified rooms where these individuals may wait until their ride has arrived as to not expose others.
- Visitors will not be allowed at the centers unless they are there to drop off or pick up participants or for medical needs.
- Community outings will be modified or cancelled. We will not be going to places where there would be 50 or more people, such as large shopping businesses, bowling or the YMCA. We will not be eating at buffets and will modify lunch outings to small groups or take out only.
- These criteria will change as needed and information will be updated via email or our Facebook business page.
Again, currently we plan to stay open during our regular hours and continue to provide the high level of care and concern that our participants expect and deserve. We hope that after reviewing our existing protocols and sharing those that have been newly added, you can rest assured that your continued health is our primary concern.
For more information on the prevention and management of COVID-19, please consult the following articles by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and St. Luke’s Health System. Additionally, the Idaho state government maintains a coronavirus resource page with information targeted at our local community.
If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Thank you for your trust and confidence in the GSDC team.
Thank you,
Lori Jo Poole, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Owner & Clinical Director of Adult Services