Wow, has it really been around 2 months since I have been here. I feel a little like an old Rip Van Winkle coming out of a really serious deep nap and blinking away the cobwebs of just staying low while the lords of lockdown decided whether we should pop our heads out and resume life again. Which, by the looks of things, probably means that it's about time to be able to start doing WORK again!
Just as of yesterday, a Directive #2 (it sounds like some really wacky Star Wars order but it actually is a thing) was amended by our public health authorities to allow regulated healthcare practitioners like myself and several others in the alternative and complimentary healthcare fields to GRADUALLY PREPARE to start work again - obviously provided that safety precautions and protocols have been thought about, communicated to patients and actually enacted and placed onto the clinic premises.
So what that actually means in everyday normal person-speak is this: we are ok to start making preparations for a safe return to work and when we have our systems in place, we are free to communicate to our patients (that's YOU wonderful folk out there that have been so fully supportive of me and my grand adventures in acu-land) to "come on over" and start booking appointments again.
Now, I decided to write up here partially to communicate to you all that procedures have already been in the works even prior to this week (I actually have been emailing and zoom-ing my work colleagues two weeks before) to figure our when to start up and decide what kinds of equipment to get and where. Its not as easy as it looks when I say it though. Procuring stuff like "just your average plexiglass barrier", hunting down medical gloves that don't cost you an organ, and even trying to book a few boxes of face masks that don't take until next year to get delivered to you - these are all things that I think ALL of us have encountered problems with to some degree.
So this is where I have to tell you all that there may be a slight lag in time of anywhere from at least one to, at most, two weeks at least BEFORE we can say that we have all our protocols, equipment, medical gear and sanitizing sprays all ready for deployment. Which loosely translated back into everyday-talk, means that you may not be able to start booking as soon as today (it is May 28 on a Thursday afternoon in Toronto as I write this) but, it is feasible and realistic for me to say that we may be able to start taking bookings at Darou Wellness (darouwellness.com) and Simple Cures (simplecures.ca) as early as June 8, 2020 (which is roughly in around 1.5 weeks time).
I try always to be as transparent (explains why sliding doors sometimes fail to register that I'm even there and I walk right into them when they don't expectedly slide open) as I can with my patients and I certainly want to manage expectations early when I can so avoid any disappointment - mostly for myself because I personally am going to be a master climber of walls if I don't get myself back to some form of work soon.
So this is just a short communication piece to let y'all know that yes, the calvary is coming.....just maybe not quite as soon as you'd expect so I just need to ask you nicely for your patience as we put this ship together and decide how to best chart unknown new galaxies and brave new worlds with a barely spit and shoe-stringed together starmap. I assure you all that you will certainly all be notified when its safe to start booking. And when I can finally drop the garden shears and the baking apron and start doing some real swashbuckling moves with my needles again!
In closing, and just FYI, I'm posting here two safety charts for one of my workplaces - Darou Wellness - so that you can get a glimpse of some of the safety protocols that we are enacting here for the maximum safety of both you guys (our patients) and ourselves (the practitioner and administrative team). Some of these will also outline some of the ways that we are changing things like ensuring that everyone comes in with a mask, doing online intake forms (by by paper forms), doing active telephone screening before you come in for appointments, and payment set up (making the option for going contactless and even tap-free if you have an online payment system set up with your credit card with us).
We ourselves will also be doing a WHOLE LOT MORE sanitizing between patients and staggering our patient appointments out a little bit more to ensure that there is ample space in the waiting room and to make sure that your treatment space is sanitized and safe before you even step in to see a practitioner (like your favourite and friendly neighbourhood acupunk). Now just so you all at the Beaches don't feel too left out, we are in talks on how to set up the space too and once I get word of how all that is going and when it will all be ready for you to return to at Simple Cures, you guys at the east side of town will also be notified.
For the time being I can only leave you guys with some parting words of perhaps, not so much wisdom but more opinion than anything else. YOU guys always come first. I know some of my goofball articles and perhaps some of my "less serious looking" instagram posts may give one the impression of a cruise through life acupuncture-coaster but in truth, I have always valued being part of each of your individual health journeys and I take each of them more seriously than anything I've ever committed to in my own life. You guys are the reason I wake up and come into work for! And your safety comes above all else so all this talk about getting the clinics where I see you ready, I am serious as anything about this which is why I'd rather re-open later because I took the time to get things right the first time rather than open up earlier, rushing blindly ahead, and getting someone I care about sick or exposed to risks that they shouldn't need to be exposed to.
In short, I really love and value each and every one of you. I hope to see you all soon. Keep your eye on this site and on my instagram account (check: https://www.instagram.com/daryl.fang/) for updates in real time. BTW I did post a whole lot of videos on instagram for self applied acupressure during this COVID19 lockdown if you are interested. Just follow that link above and it'll land you on the instagram platform - which I use much much much more than I do my FB and TW accounts.
(I couldn't resist this Daryl gif - simply because he's got my name!!!!!)
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong! (And stay tuned right here or on my @daryl.fang instagram account for more updates!)