Important COVID-19. An update on our Patient Care Information
At Excelsior Orthopaedics the safety and well-being of our patients & staff is our highest priority.
Our internal taskforce, made up of physicians and managers, continue to meet daily to monitor this critical situation, develop proactive protocols and ensure that we are following all CDC and Erie County Department of Health guidelines.
For your safety, as well as that of other patients and staff, we ask that you please read and adhere to the following guidelines. Please note these have been revised since the update issued on 3/18/2020.
I. Remain at Home: If you are sick, experiencing fever, cough, shortness of breath or you believe you may have been exposed to COVID – 19. Please do not come to your scheduled appointment. Contact your Primary Care Physician immediately and then contact our office by phone: 716-250-9999 or utilize our Patient Portal to send a secure message. If you don’t have access to your Patient Portal, please contact our office by phone. We are waiving all fees for cancellations until further notice.
II. Higher Risk Patients: According to the CDC, some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID – 19. This includes:
1. Older Adults (60 and older)
2. People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Lung disease
• Immune compromised
We strongly encourage these higher risk patients to reschedule their appointments until the spread of COVID – 19 is suppressed.
III. Proactive Screening: All staff, physicians, patients and visitors who enter our medical office buildings will be screened. Screening will include questioning about recent travel, symptoms and a temperature check.
IV. Non-critical appointments: Our individual physician teams are reviewing their schedules to identify any critical care needs. For example, if you recently had a knee replacement and you are scheduled to have your sutures removed. All critical visits will be seen. This new protocol is also being followed within or physical therapy department. For less urgent appointments, we will be contacting you to either I.) reschedule your appointment for a future date or II.) offer you the option to utilize telemedicine for your scheduled appointment. Your individual needs will dictate which alternative appointment option is best for you. By rescheduling non-urgent patient appointments, we will be able to greatly reduce the number of patients coming to our offices. This will help to ensure the safety of our patients, staff and our physicians.
V. For Patients Without Symptoms Keeping Appointments: Many patients have a loved one or friend accompany them. Please be sure they are not experiencing fever, cough, or breathing difficulties. And we are asking that you come to your appointment alone (if possible) or limit those in attendance with you to one (1).
VI. Orthopaedic Urgent Care: Our orthopaedic urgent care clinics will continue to service the WNY community. We feel that it is imperative that individuals who are otherwise healthy, but have suffered an acute orthopaedic injury, such as a broken wrist or sprained ankle, avoid the hospitals and general urgent care centers. This will allow the great physicians and nurses at those facilities to remain focused on providing care for those who have the COVID – 19 virus or other serious health conditions. PLEASE NOTE: We have updated our hours & locations for our urgent care clinics. This information can be found on our website. All urgent care needs must have a scheduled appointment. This will allow us to screen patients and stagger visits. This new “call ahead” requirement will not pertain to any first responders or other essential workers who suffer an orthopaedic injury.
In addition to these guidelines we will continue to practice meticulous hygiene. Staff members are continuously disinfecting and wiping down all door handles, surfaces, chairs, and other areas where patients and staff may come into contact. We will continue to aggressively enforce these new guidelines to keep our patients and staff safe while continuing to provide care for your musculoskeletal needs.
We thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time.
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For a the most up-to-date information and a full list of symptoms and guidelines please review the following websites:
