We hope that you, your family and those dear to you have stayed in good health during these past few months. We want to thank our clients for showing so much support and patience during this difficult time. Due to the government shut down of non-essential businesses, our clinics have been closed since March 16th. At this time, our return back to massage is targeted for August 1, 2020.
With the new information provided by Governor Baker, massage therapy has been placed into the Phase 2 category with a potential start date of June 8, 2020. This pandemic has brought on several changes and Compassion Massage is navigating through them with an open, yet cautious countenance. We have chosen to delay reopening beyond this tentative date as we want to ensure our staff' feels safe providing massage and that proper training has been implemented and executed before we welcome our clients back.
Going forward, we will prepare to reopen and train our staff on the New Safety Guidelines given to us by the Commonwealth, as well as our top industry leaders. We will implement new disinfecting procedures, new scheduling policies and updated client intake procedures.
To help answer any questions you might have, we have provided an outline of what you can expect during your next visit. We will do our best to keep you informed of any additional changes as we learn more.
- Personal Protective Equipment: Our staff will be required to wear face masks and aprons to prevent the risk of cross contamination between clients and staff. We ask that our clients wear a clean face mask while in the clinic. Our therapists will guide you on how to use your mask during your massage treatment. Your comfort is still our primary focus.
- Employee Temperature Screening: Our staff will be screened for temperature checks before every shift and will be sent home if an elevated temperature is detected.
- Client Entrance Screening: All clients will be screened using a touch-free thermometer. A reading of 99 degrees or higher will result in rescheduling the appointment. We recognize that some underlying conditions elevate temperature readings which will be taken into consideration. Please notify our staff prior to arrival if you have a history of a higher or lower temperature reading.
- Scheduling times: Additional time has been added between appointments to ensure we do not have clients overlapping in our clinics. The additional time will provide ample time to disinfect the treatment rooms, restrooms and common areas in the clinic. Online appointment booking is currently disabled to allow our receptionists to reschedule cancelled appointments due to COVID-19 before scheduling new client appointments. We will not begin re-booking appointments for August until sometime in July.
- Reduced Service Duration: Our reopening phase will include limited session lengths of 30, 45 and 60 minutes to reduce time spent working directly with clients and reduce overall capacity in our clinics. Longer treatment sessions would place additional stress on our massage therapists. It would also increase the amount of time spent in direct contact with clients and would increase the amount of time the client/therapist share the same enclosed space in the treatment room.
- Reduced Service Offering: We regret to inform our clients that we will not offer Cold Stone therapy or Cupping massage upon reopening to reduce the amount of equipment used for client care.
- Travel Light: To reduce the traffic in the clinics we ask that you Please Come Alone. We will no longer accept walk-in appointments. Clients will be allowed into the clinic only if they have an appointment or if they are accompanying a minor. We also ask that you limit the amount of items you bring into the clinic like coats and bags. If at all possible, it is best to keep them in your car and bring what's absolute necessary inside the clinic.
- Upon Arrival: We will be so excited to see you and we know you will be thrilled as well, but we ask that you refrain from any close contact greetings such as hugs and handshakes. We ask that you call our clinic to let us know that you have arrived for your appointment. Your therapist will then greet you at the door, ensure you have a mask, take your temperature and escort you to our restroom to wash your hands or offer hand sanitizer. You will then be directed to your treatment room.
- Massage and Treatment room Changes: We will reduce the items used in the treatment rooms like blankets and pillows. This will cut down on the amount of items to clean/disinfect and will allow us to spend more time with our clients. We understand that during your treatment there will be close one on one contact. Your massage therapist will be very mindful of keeping a safe distance from any "Droplet Spread Zones" and will avoid massage to the face and scalp regions. Your therapist will also take a different approach on treating the neck region by providing massage when in the face down position or in the side-lying position.
- New Client Intake form: We will ask that all new and existing clients fill out a new Intake form. This will allow Compassion Massage to have an updated record of any health changes to include COVID-19 related questions. Our team will be trained to follow our new office protocols given by the government and industry leaders. We want to ensure our client's and staff's health is protected by taking every measure possible to comply with new sanitation and safety guidelines.
- Contactless Payment: We will be offering Contactless Payment using credit and debit cards as much as possible. If you wish to purchase any retail products, please ask your therapist. We will also be removing bottled waters from the rooms but they will still be available to you upon request.
- Our Cancellation Policy: Compassion is foremost in our name. We will continue to be compassionate and waive any cancellation fees if you need to reschedule your appointment due to illness, emergencies, or inclement weather. We will not provide services if you are experiencing any sneezing, cough, cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms.
New Pre-Treatment Screening Questions
- Have you had a fever in the last 24 hours of 100 degrees or higher?
- Have you been in contact with anyone in the last 14 days who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has Coronavirus-type symptoms?
- Do you currently have, or have you recently had:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
It is important to recognize that our clients often seek our services because of muscle pain. Due to the complexity of COVID related symptoms, it will be important to screen for other symptoms that might accompany muscle pain to determine if receiving massage is contraindicated.
