LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Another type of healthcare office the governor has eased restrictions on this week is physical therapy clinics.
At Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy in Lexington, they are taking precautions as they start to bring more patients through the doors.
“Everyone was learning at the same time and we took the approach of ‘look we’re just going to give it our best effort’,” Physical Therapist Jim Rothbauer said about adapting to telehealth and other COVID-19 restrictions.
While the Coronavirus brought the clinic’s foot traffic nearly to a halt, this week they’re starting to bring in more patients as allowed by the governor. However, there are safeguards in place like limiting the number of appointments.
“We keep appropriate social distancing between patients and keep everyone spread out, also obviously the use of masks and gloves in the clinic and just extra cleaning,” said Rothbauer.
Normally the clinic would be busy with the staff seeing about 60 patients in a day, but right now they’re operating at about 25%.
“They follow the guidelines A-Z. So when you come in you get your temperature taken, they call you the day before and ask you if you’ve been near anybody in the last 2 weeks, how are you feeling. So I feel very safe coming in here - they’re gloved up, masked up,” said patient Bob Klier who’s recovering from rotator cuff surgery.
Every patient like Bob Klier has their temperature taken upon arrival. No one is allowed to wait inside and they receive their own resistance bands to take home instead of sharing.
Rothbauer says PTs will also continue to rely heavily on teletherapy, as they work to keep people pain-free in the twilight of the pandemic.
“Not just our facility but across the board for all medical facilities; as providers we have the best interest of our patients at heart. We want to do the right thing for them,” said Rothbauer.
Rothbauer encourages anyone who has been dealing with pain or an injury during the pandemic but has been too nervous be seen to give them a call, or call your physician’s office to figure out the next best steps.
