Effective Monday, July 6, 2020, all PHA offices are open and available for face-to-face sessions in coordination with your therapist. Remote sessions or telehealth will continue to be available to our clients for as long as desired and per coordination of scheduling and insurance coverage.
Prior to all face-to sessions, all clients are required review and sign this document.
PHA’s Informed Consent for In-person Services During COVID-19 Public Health Crisis
Monitoring and Managing Symptoms and Risk
- Employees have undergone training to assure familiarity with COVID-19 symptoms
- Clients are responsible for reviewing their health prior to an appointment and switch to telehealth when experiencing notable symptoms.
- PHA will abide with the following guidelines, as required by the PA Dept. of Health. We ask you, as our client, to follow these guidelines as well:
- If therapists believe they might be ill OR that they may have been exposed to someone who is ill, they will exclude themselves from our office and face-to-face sessions until the picture is clarified AND until cleared by the Pandemic Safety Officer.
- If therapists or staff test positive for COVID-19, they will be excluded from our offices and asked to self-quarantine for 5 days after onset of symptoms, or until symptoms are resolved, whichever is longer (if they have symptoms). If they test positive but do not have symptoms, they will be excluded from our offices for at least 5 days since testing positive.
Communication
- Employees who become aware of possible illness or exposure for themselves or a client will inform our Pandemic Safety Officer immediately.
- If PHA becomes aware that anyone in our offices has tested positive for COVID-19,we will, to the best of our ability and as soon as possible, make reasonable effort to identify and notify all individuals who may have had “close contact” with that person.
General Precautions
- Masks or face coverings may be required for all who enter our buildings. Communication and signage offer concrete direction, which may change depending upon community transmission rates. If requested, masks will be provided.
- Employees and clients are asked to refrain from any form of social contact at all times (no “fist-bumps,” “high-fives,” hugging, etc.).
- Social distancing will be observed in our offices to every extent possible.
- Magazines and books will be removed from our waiting room.
- Only clients will be allowed in the waiting room. Friends and family members who will not be involved in a session will be asked not to enter the building.
- We do not staff a support desk in Hershey or Camp Hill. Please approach our Manheim support desk/office staff with social distancing in mind.
Hygiene:
- “High-touch” areas and surfaces (doorknobs, desktops, flush handles in bathrooms, counters, etc.) in offices as well as common areas will be cleaned regularly.
- Hand sanitizer will be available in waiting areas as well as clinicians’ offices.
Dr. Heather Hostler is PHA’s owner and Pandemic Safety Officer (required by OSHA).
All questions or concerns should be directed to her at hhostler@PHAcentralPA.com.