COVID-19 and CRG
COVID has presented many challenges for our entire society, and indeed the world. We have all been presented with dilemmas that we never contemplated or had any preparation to address. Your team at CRG has wrestled with many of the same challenges that everyone else has. How do we continue to provide the care to our patients in a seamless manner? How do we remain connected to our patients and each other? How do we remain safe and healthy for ourselves, our families and those we serve? When should we go out? When should we stay in? When and how do we re-open our office for patients? These are only a few of the questions we have asked our collective selves throughout the past 18 months.
During times of uncertainty, it makes sense to proceed cautiously.
As health care professionals, we were able to receive the vaccine in early 2021. We made a decision that being fully vaccinated would be a requirement of employment. Thus, all members of our staff are fully vaccinated, and we are encouraging our staff to receive boosters for the vaccine as they become available to our staff. We made this decision so that we could safely see our patients, many of whom were not eligible for the vaccine due to their age.
We rely on medical research, professional experience, and our devotion to you and your family members when offering you information, reassurance, and support.
We are currently limiting the number of patients that we see in the office so that our waiting room is not full and there is room for social distancing. Each provider has a limited number of days on which they are able to see patients in person in the office. All other appointments are done via videoconferencing. We encourage providers and office staff to remain home and work remotely if they have been exposed to COVID and to return to work only after they have a negative COVID test or have quarantined and appropriate amount of time.
Your providers at CRG want to help you turn your concerns into confidence.
We understand that each person has their own questions and concerns about COVID, the vaccine, and the impact the stresses over the past year. Please feel comfortable with sharing your health status, asking questions about the vaccine, letting us know if you have had COVID and any long-term effects of the virus. All these issues will help us understand your needs and guide your treatment.
The providers at CRG are here for you –
because your concerns are our concerns
when it comes to your health and wellbeing.
Here are some helpful websites:
- Needle Fear, the Forgotten Concern:
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- “Reminders of coping strategies can be posted at vaccination sites, and clinicians can put people being vaccinated at ease by answering their questions and supporting their coping plans.” Fear of needles: 5 simple ways to ease vaccination pain for your child (and yourself) (theconversation.com)
- Helpful Strategies for Fear of Needles:
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- CARD (Comfort, Ask, Relax, Distract) is an evidence-based approach to reducing needle phobia: June28_CARD_Handout (immunize.ca)
- Follow up with Reward: No matter the outcome, praise the child/individual for accomplishing any of the steps towards trying to get vaccinated so that the effort can be built upon.
- Always Progress, NEVER Failure: Praise the fact that the child/individual was willing to try, set up the next appointment with no big deal about it. Establish a dialogue and conversation with your child/family member to practice between appointments. The next appointment will go better!
