The Safest Way to Get Acupuncture

By Michael Kowalski A.P., Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM), Acupuncture Physician @ Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center, Jacksonville, Florida

On behalf of all of us at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center, I hope you are staying well and taking care of yourself during this challenging time. Please know that the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center is ready to support you in any way we can.

While in-person acupuncture appointments were temporarily limited to medical necessity due to COVID-19 for several weeks in both March and April, rest assured that we are here for you and we are now moving forward to schedule in-person acupuncture visits for your time-sensitive treatment needs.

For many of our patients, staying healthy means not delaying your acupuncture treatment any longer than you already have done during the current shutdown. Continuing your course of acupuncture treatment, for which you have invested so much, is a time-sensitive healthcare necessity. But you need to feel safe while receiving this treatment you rely upon for your health and well-being.

The good news is that the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center is the safest place in town to get the acupuncture you need! Your safety is our #1 priority. Personally, my staff and I are practicing safe social distancing, washing our hands frequently, wearing masks and gloves in public, and monitoring our own health each workday (including taking our temperature each morning).

As an essential healthcare worker, I and my staff strictly follow all current CDC protocols for infection control prevention and responsiveness in the office. If you haven’t been in for treatment during April, you may not know about all of our new safety procedures. Here is our “new normal” for when you get an acupuncture treatment:

• If you are or have been sick with possible viral symptoms, before you come back for treatment you must quarantine for 2 weeks or receive a negative COVID-19 test result. (So far, we are proud and grateful to announce that none of our patients receiving treatment have tested positive).
• When you schedule an appointment, you will be told of the No-Wait policy in our Lobby: When you arrive in our parking lot, you call our office and stay in your car until we inform you that your treatment room is ready.
• Wearing a mask for treatment is strongly recommended.
• When you come up to the Lobby, you will be greeted by our safe and friendly staff, who will be wearing a mask and gloves. No one else will be in the lobby but you.
• You will be required to complete a short health questionnaire, and have your temperature taken by our infrared forehead thermometer. If you are virus symptom-free and your temperature is below 100.4°, before you go back for your treatment, you will be given a choice how to disinfect your hands – either with soap and water or the hand sanitizer that we provide. Once your hands are cleaned, you will be directed straight to your treatment room.
• Your treatment room, as well as all the common touch surfaces in the office (doorknobs, bathroom, etc.), will have been thoroughly disinfected before you are invited to come upstairs, and the treatment table linens will have been freshly changed and disinfected.
• Soon after you have prepared for treatment by undressing appropriately and laying on the treatment table, Dr. Michael will come into the room to treat you wearing a mask and gloves.
• After your treatment, you will have touchless checkout. We run your credit card on file, with your verbal authorization. We enter your next scheduled appointment into our system so you receive a text reminder the day prior. If you choose to use our disinfected pen to write anything, it will be disinfected immediately when you leave, as will all the surfaces you have touched on your way out.

We apologize in advance if any of these new safety procedures are inconvenient or seem unnecessary to you. However, we believe we all need to do our part to keep not only ourselves safe, but also help keep others safe – especially the most at-risk people in our community. So far, I am delighted with the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received from our patients who have continued their treatment. 

If you have taken a break from your treatment during the shutdown and want to return for treatment (provided it is safe to do so), we want you to know we are doing everything we can to make your treatment experience as safe and healthy as possible. If you have any questions about your individual safety desires or needs, we invite you to contact us at the office at (904) 296-9545.

Thank you all for your cooperation and patience during these unprecedented times. Together, we will get through this and come out stronger. Stay safe and stay positive!