Updates

Reopening For In-Person Therapy Appointments

June 12, 2020

ABC Family,

We are pleased to announce that we will be reopening our doors for in-person therapy visits starting June 2, 2020 for physical therapy and June 9, 2020 for speech therapy. Speech therapy and physical therapy are considered an essential service in Illinois. We will continue to offer virtual therapy with the addition of in-clinic therapy, so you have options in how you would like to receive care.

We will begin with limited in-clinic hours to help manage the number of people transitioning in and out of the clinic as well as the number of people within the clinic. In-person therapy appointments will be agreed upon between you and your therapist based on the best plan of care and your needs. Hours will be extended as time goes on. Virtual therapy will be available throughout the week and is encouraged for those who benefit from this type of care.

We have put a lot of consideration into how to create a safe experience for our patients, their caregivers, our therapists, and employees and have instituted safety, screening and cleaning procedures in line with the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines. Click here for a link to our "COVID-19 Safety Guidelines", including our new "Clinic Policies, Cleaning Procedures and Patient Protocols".

While our approach may be different, the dedicated, personalized and expert care will be the same.

We look forward to reconnecting with our families and community.

If you have any questions, please contact the office at 618-632-4222.

The staff at ABC Pediatric Therapy, LLC

Announcing Teletherapy with ABC

March 24, 2020

ABC Family,

We have decided to close the door to in clinic therapy in order to play our part with keeping the community and staff safe and healthy. HOWEVER, we are excited to share that we are launching Teletherapy with ABC beginning this week! The idea of teletherapy may sound bit overwhelming at first. Be assured, your trusted clinicians have been hard at work learning and planning the best ways to make sure teletherapy is effective for your child and simple for parents and caregivers, too.

I know you’ll have questions. Click here to view our Teletherapy FAQ. You can also expect to receive a phone call directly from our clinicians to discuss your child’s individual plan and you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions then, as well.

Teletherapy is effective. Research shows it is indeed as effective as in-person therapy. Luckily, the ABC staff is comprised of therapists who are exceptional, dedicated and ready for this challenge. I am confident Teletherapy with ABC is going to bring our vital services into your homes in a way that prevents regression, protects the time and resources you and your child have already invested, keeps your child moving toward their goals, and keeps us all as safe as possible. As soon as we are able, we will return to in-person therapy.

We look forward to chatting with each of you soon. We are grateful to be working toward our shared goals with such incredible families. Soon, our waiting area will return to its energetic, noisy normal and we look forward to that day. Until then, onward.

Sincerely,
Amy Bruce, MS. CCC-SLP
Owner, ABC Pediatric Therapy

Covid-19 Update

March 14, 2020

As of right now, ABC is planning to stay open as we do not have highly crowded places and are sanitizing and cleaning on a regular basis. Our staff is well educated in the proper procedures for hand washing and the extra precautions put into place, listed in the previous post. Also, we are instructing the staff to take all precautions outside of the work environment and notify us if they travel.

Again, we would like to encourage a decreased amount of people in the waiting by offering you the option to make arrangements with your therapist to retrieve your child from the car and return them to the car at the end of therapy. Should you decide to leave the parking lot, please leave your contact information with your therapist or Donna, and please remember to arrive back at least 5 minutes prior to the end of therapy.

We want to continue to be here to serve our families that want to continue with their therapy progress and continue with their child’s routine.

We are asking you to help us by taking the following actions:

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer after coughing or sneezing or using the restroom.
• PLEASE, stay home when you or your child is sick.
• Do not return to therapy until you or your child has been fever free for 24 hours without the aid of medication, Tylenol or Motrin.
• Please continue to communicate with us by calling prior to your child’s appointment if you are going to cancel.

We continue to monitor the situation and stay updated on recommendations from the CDC and Illinois Department of Health and will call and post any changes that might occur.

Covid-19 Information

March 12, 2020

As the Coronavirus concerns continue to grow, we have been keeping a watch on the situation to ensure that we are taking the best precautions possible and following recommendations to ensure the health and well-being of each person who walks through our doors.

We always pride ourselves on cleaning the clinic thoroughly. This has always included the following: having hand sanitizer in all therapy areas and in the waiting room, staff and children washing their hands before and after preparing/eating food, after using the restroom, and after any incident that would require hand washing such as sneezing into one’s hands versus elbow, cleaning toys/therapy items after use especially if mouthed by kids, and disinfecting areas more often during flu season. We also encourage parents/guardians not to bring in kids that are running a fever or have been physically sick until free from symptoms for 24 hours.

Extra precautions put into practice include: having all children and staff wash hands or use hand sanitizer at the beginning and end of each session, sending children home who are running a fever of 100 degrees or more, disinfecting toys/therapy materials, tables, light switch plates, and door knobs after each session, and changing the waiting room environment to be as hands free as possible. Including the removal of the check in system and candy basket. Instructing the staff to take all precautions outside of the work environment and notify us if they travel.

In addition, we are asking you to help us by taking the following actions:

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer after coughing or sneezing or using the restroom.
• PLEASE, stay home when you or your child is sick.
• Do not return to therapy until you or your child has been fever free for 24 hours without the aid of medication, Tylenol or Motrin.

We understand that sickness will not always occur 24 hours in advance therefore we will not charge a fee for canceling a therapy session due to sickness if you call prior to your scheduled appointment.

Finally, if you are concerned about waiting around groups of people in the waiting room at our clinic, please make arrangements with your therapist and we can retrieve your child from the car and return them to the car at the end of therapy.

We love to see your children and want to continue to provided the best therapy we can during this time.

More information from the Center for Disease Control:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf

From the Illinois Department of Public Health:
Illinois Department of Health Information for Illinois K-12 Schools Regarding 2019 Novel Coronavirus