Coronavirus Health and Safety Updates
Scroll down to see the latest updates on all the things we’re doing to keep you and your family safe at our seven offices.
UPDATE: APRIL 29, 2020
All 7 Offices to Reopen on Monday, May 4!
We know this news might create mixed feelings within some of you, as we all seek the best ways to navigate in our new reality. But we do want to assure you that — just as it’s always been — your health and safety remains our first priority.
New Office Enhancements
To that end, we worked hard during our temporary office closure to look for ways to create an even safer environment. And, while the majority of our previous requirements already reached current CDC, ADA, and IDA guidelines, we wanted to do more for you.
Here are just some of the new enhancements that we’ve made to our office design and staff procedures:
- Clinical staff to wear surgical shoes, lab coats, and scrubs — laundered and left in the office each night
- Ionic air purifiers installed in each of our offices — (watch this to find out more)
- Upgraded suction devices added — reducing splatter during aerosol procedures
- All staff to wear masks and clinical staff to wear goggles and/or face shields — extra precaution above CDC requirements
- EPA-approved disinfectant added to all offices — reaches CDC’s interim recommendations for use against the virus that causes COVID-19
- Use of daily log in sanitizing commonly touches surfaces (countertops, door handles, etc.)
- Seating patients every other chair in the clinic.
New Office Visit Procedures
While we’re excited to open our doors again, we’re also taking steps to limit the number of patients in our offices at any one time. And so, we will continue conducting virtual appointments for many of our patients. And for those who require in-office treatments, we will be spacing patients out by adding extra time between appointments.
Additionally, we will be following the process below for office visits:
- Prior to an appointment, we will call to confirm whether or not an in-person visit is required for treatment.
- If we need to see you or the patient in our office, we will also confirm on the phone that the patient and/or anyone in the household has not been sick with a cold or fever in the past 14 days.
- Before arriving, patients should brush their teeth at home, as our toothbrushing stations will be closed for the time being.
- Upon arrival, parents or patients should remain in their car and call or text our offices.
- We will confirm your health status again and call/text you when we are ready to welcome you inside our office.
- Parents should send their child in alone and wait in the car. (PLEASE NOTE: If a child needs to be accompanied into the office, guardians must wait in the reception area and follow social distancing guidelines while waiting.)
- Upon entry, we will take everyone’s temperature and ask each visitor to use hand sanitizer.
Following the appointment, we will escort children to their cars and share updates with parents/guardians. - Finally, our staff will call parents or patients that same day to schedule the next appointment.
Please let us know if you have any questions, and don’t miss our quick-tip videos on ways to handle orthodontic issues at home. We’re excited to see you again!
— Your Gorman & Bunch Family
UPDATE: MARCH 30, 2020
How to Handle Orthodontic Issues at Home
We hope you’ll find the following resource helpful to you and your family.
UPDATE: MARCH 18, 2020
Our Offices to Temporarily Close
We can’t thank you enough for staying strong and continuing to show up for your orthodontic appointments during this challenging time.
Our Latest Changes
With that said, we wanted to share with you that we have temporarily closed our seven offices to in-office visits for the next few weeks. None of our staff have been confirmed or exposed to COVID-19. We simply feel it’s our social responsibility to keep our community safe and do our part to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Our Availability
During this time, our doctors and staff will still be available to take your calls and even hold FaceTime calls with you, if needed. And of course, if you have an orthodontic emergency, please still call our office immediately.
Our Preparations
While we await the opportunity to reopen our doors for in-office visits, our entire team will continue to meet at each of our locations to best prepare our spaces and equip ourselves for our reopening.
Again, we thank you so much for your love and support. We look forward to putting smiles on the community again!
— Your Gorman & Bunch Family
UPDATE: MARCH 13, 2020
We're In This Together
Like so many of you, we have spent the last several days and weeks learning about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it is impacting our world — and specifically our Central Indiana communities.
What We Are Doing
Our primary objective has always been to keep you and our employees safe. That is why we have always followed the “Universal Precautions” protocol — an approach to infection control that treats materials as if it were known to be infectious for HIV, hepatitis, staph, or other bloodborne pathogens. In our seven Gorman & Bunch Orthodontics offices that means all:
- Surfaces we or our patients come in contact with are disinfected
- Instruments are heat and steam sterilized in an autoclave device
- Non-sterilizable items are discarded after a single use.
In fact, our sterilization procedures are designed to eliminate cross-contamination of infectious agents must stronger than the Coronavirus – such as spores, Aids, and Tuberculosis. We will continue to be vigilant in these areas.
Additionally, while our doctors and staff have always maintained the highest sanitation standards, we will continue to reinforce handwashing before and after treatments. We have also reminded staff members of our policy to say home if they feel sick.
For your use, we have also added hand sanitizer at the front desks for your use.
What You Can Do
If you or family members feel ill, or exhibit any symptoms related to the cold or flu, we ask that you stay home and reschedule your appointments no sooner than 14 days after developing these symptoms.
Also, if you feel well but would still like to reschedule your appointment until more information on COVID-19 becomes available, we would be happy to help. Please understand, of course, that your treatment time may be impacted.
Above all, please try to remain calm and look to sources, like the Center for Disease Control, for updated information on COVID-19, such as symptoms, how it spreads, and steps for prevention.
If you have any questions, please contact your local office.
— Your Gorman & Bunch Family