2020-2021 Unravel Massage COVID-19 Risk Reduction Practices

Unravel Massage is dedicated to transparently reducing risk to their clients.

*Last Updated March 2021:

Our Licensed Massage Therapist McKenna received Pfiezer Covid Vaccines on 3/12/21 and 4/2/21, and a Moderna Booster on 11/10/21.

2020-2021 Unravel Massage’s Covid Risk Reduction Policies

Above compliance with DeWine’s Responsible Restart Ohio Guidelines.

The short version: no walk-in clients; sessions by appointment only. All payment and paperwork is contactless thru the SimplePractice Client Portal. Clients will have their temperature taken with a forehead thermometer and their oxygen levels with a finger oximeter before entering the space. Due to local ordinances and mandates all clients must wear a mask over their nose and mouth unless they have a doctor’s note with a medical exemption.

If you are concerned about prone (face-down) positioning while wearing a mask, we can easily use side-lying positioning instead or create a pillow tunnel.

Do not come in for a session if you are symptomatic (whether you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or not).

Resources:

Most updated list of symptoms at the CDC’s website.
State Medical Board of Ohio COVID-19 updates .
Board of Pharmacy: COVID-19 response efforts.
State of Ohio’s website: Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov.
Department of Health hotline: 1-833-4-ASK-ODH

Click to access State-Med-Board-Massage-Acupuncture-Cosmetic-Therapy.pdf

What you can expect from your session during pandemic:

Have all paperwork filled out virtually at least 24 hours before your scheduled session. If it’s a client’s first time, this includes a COVID-19 survey, and a Health History, HIPPA Policy, Cupping Consent, and (optional) Client-Doctor Information Release forms. If you are a returning client, you still have to sign a COVID-19 Liability release form for your first time back.

Adhere to social distancing rules, keeping at least six feet of distance with anyone you see at the Arlington Suites building/parking lot besides their Licensed Massage Therapist. Clients may be less than six feet away from their LMT, or it would make giving a massage quite difficult. 🙂

Drink plenty of water before and after your appointment to reduce chances of flu-like symptoms post-session (common for 24-48 hours after a massage). Take your weight, divide it by two, and that’s a good target number for how many ounces of water to drink throughout the day. (All self-service refreshments must be discontinued for the RestartOhio guidelines).

Unravel Massage’s cancellation policy is changing slightly to account for the times. If you cancel because you’re presenting symptoms or have reason to believe you’ve been exposed to someone with COVID there is no cancellation fee. No-call no-shows are still a full charge.

Upon Arrival:

notify your massage therapist (LMT) McKenna via text or call (your preference) that you’re on-site and ready to meet her outside the suite’s front door. Your LMT will meet you outside for screening proceedures. This ensures reduction of client overlap in the reception area or hallways to ensure 6+ feet of separation.
Your LMT will use a forehead thermometer and oximeter to check your temperature and oxygen levels before letting you into the suite.
When entering the space please immediately wash your hands and forearms up to the elbow for at least 20 seconds. Avoid touching your face and practice good respiratory etiquette when coughing or sneezing.
Once your screening and hand washing is done you and the practitioner will head into the massage room to consult/discuss your session. Once agreeing upon a treatment plan your Massage Therapist will momentarily leave the room so you may undress to your comfort level (keep your mask on). Get under the sheets on the massage table either face-up, face-down, or side-lying depending on what is negotiated.
Nitrite gloves are available for the massage therapist to wear during your session if you would feel more comfortable with an extra barrier.
Massage techniques over the mask will be avoided unless specifically addressed during intake (which gloves would then be used for).

Mask Instructions

Wear a face mask firmly over both the nose and mouth for the entire duration of their visit. Masks are required unless you have a medical exemption with a doctor’s note uploaded to the SimplePractice Client Portal. If your mask needs to be removed during the session then a new mask must be used due to the RestartOhio guidelines. When putting on a mask (before the session), hands should be cleaned first before handling the mask. Make sure the stiff edge over the nose bridge is molded or pinched flush to the face so breath doesn’t escape. Avoid touching the mask while applying and wearing it.

Disposable face masks should only be used once and then thrown in the trash.
For ear loop masks, hold the mask by the ear strings only.
Masks with ties should be brought over the nose with minimal touching to the mask itself, and then ties placed over the crown of the head (if elastic, pull the top strap on the crown, then the bottom strap over the head to the nape of the neck).

Potential COVID-19 Exposure Process

Practitioners and clients will cancel sessions if they feel symptoms or have come into contact with a positively identified case of COVID-19 within 14 days, or if they are potentially symptomatic whether they have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or not. All clients sign a COVID-19 waiver committing to this policy.
If any of our clients or people in our practitioner’s air-bonded circle present symptoms or a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 within fourteen days of contact, we will temporarily close. We will notify all relevant clients of the situation and temporarily cancel upcoming appointments, as well as seek out testing for all staff while quarantining. Once we have received negative testing results, we will alert our client base with any updated information and give first priority to rescheduling any cancelled sessions. Once the space has been deeply sanitized we will resume seeing clients.
Additionally, Unravel Massage will contact the local health district about suspected cases or exposures. We will work with local health department to identify potentially infected or exposed individuals to help facilitate effective contact tracing.

COVID-19 and Cleaning Procedures

We will maintain accurate appointment and walk-in records including date and time of service, name of client, and client contact information to assist in contact tracing. We will also notify all relevant clients if a risk vector has been identified.
We have transitioned to using individual PET 2oz plastic dispensing bottles for our massage oil (primarily fractionated coconut oil) to reduce chances of particulate contamination between clients. If all of the oil isn’t used during the session the remaining oil will be disposed of and the vessel washed and disinfected before refilled.
Employees of Unravel Massage will wear masks, head coverings, work-specific shoes, and an outer layer of clothing that is easy to change between clients (such as scrubs). They’ll also perform a daily symptom self assessment of temperature and oxygen levels as well as being up to date and mindful of current symptoms associated with COVID-19.
As always, our employees will frequently wash their hands between each client using CDC guidelines for best practices. Hand washing will occur immediately after the session while the client dresses.
We have a HEPA Air Filter that will be running in the massage treatment room throughout the day, as well as air filters in the rest of the suite.
Once the client is no longer in the massage room our practitioner will don gloves and strip the table of all of its bedding, and use a 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water solution to spray all interacted with surfaces, knobs, switches, hampers, thermometers, oximeters, etc. and/or use a previously readied cloth, paper towel or disinfectant wipe for materials that cannot be sprayed. While the vinyl table and other surfaces aerate for fifteen minutes, other equipment is disinfected (such as washing cups with dawn dish soap), and then resetting the room with fresh linens for the next client. All laundry is washed using a sanitized setting.