Memorandum on VIPCare’s COVID-19 In Person Procedures

to: All VIPCare Clients

from: Doug Thorpe, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

subject: COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS

date: February 3, 2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, and as vaccines begin to be distributed, VIPCare continues to fine-tune its efforts to serve you faithfully and safely.

For the health and safety of all VIPCare clients and staff:

· If you are feeling sick, have a cough, fever, loss of taste, or shortness of breath, please do not come to VIPCare for your appointment. We will gladly reschedule your appointment for a later date and will waive any late-cancellation fees.

· If you have an in-person appointment at a VIPCare office, please wear a face mask or cloth covering over your mouth and nose while you are in the waiting room. Alternatively, you may wait in your car or on the sidewalk outside the building until your counselor is ready for you, but you must cover your mouth and nose while walking through our office suite. Wearing a mask or cloth covering is an act of kindness that protects you, your fellow clients, and VIPCare’s staff from the spread of the virus. It is also a legal requirement.

· In your counseling session, wearing masks and sitting at least 6 feet apart is strongly recommended. The science is clear: masks work.

· If you can meet with your counselor by videoconference or telephone rather than face-to-face in a VIPCare office, please consider switching to telehealth.

· If you begin to feel sick in the middle of an appointment, please end the session and return home. We will not charge you for a session interrupted by the onset of illness.

· If you need to cough or sneeze, please cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or into your elbow or shoulder if a tissue is not readily available.

· Please wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer. Please wash or sanitize your hands after coughing or sneezing.

· We are working to clean surfaces that get touched often, such as doorknobs and pens, but we cannot clean them after every touch.

Thank you for working with us to keep everyone as healthy as possible.