What Tandem Is Doing About Coronavirus (COVID-19)

In our direct-service therapeutic field, our staff are in close daily contact with the children and families receiving our services, as well as each other. As we follow the news and learn more, we rely on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization, the federal government and its health agencies, as well as state and local agencies, to prescribe the everyday preventative actions we all should be taking locally.

We want to do our best to stay educated and educate those around us to the best of our ability, while continuing to place a strong emphasis on preventative measures to keep your children and our staff safe and healthy. The health and safety of your children, as well as our staff, is our top priority.

We direct all staff to continue to implement great hygiene practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and any other communicable illnesses. We urge your family to help us take every possible precaution to maintain the health of our mutual community by following the below list of preventative measures:

• Stay home if you are sick and advise others to do the same.
• Check your child and family’s temperatures daily to ensure wellness when staff are coming out to provide home-based services. If there are any signs of fever, cancel treatment session(s) until your child is fever-free for 24 hours.
• Cancel therapy sessions if your child is showing any signs of illness (i.e., coughing, sneezing, fever, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea).
• Always cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue or sleeve. Wash hands immediately after.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and avoid touching others.
• Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
  • Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and warm water are not available.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces (computers, keyboards, desks, toys, devices, tables, doorknobs, light switches, steering wheels, etc.).

• Wear a mask at all times during treatment and interactions with one another and families. Patients are encouraged to wear masks whenever possible, and staff are able to help facilitate this training during treatment sessions when possible and BCBA-recommended. All adult individuals entering our facilities must wear a mask to enter.
• Temperature Checks are performed daily by each staff member before heading to work. Temperatures are taken for each child entering our treatment facility each day (and a healthy temperature reading must occur in order to enter).
• Wash hands with soap and water (using proper CDC-advised handwashing procedures) upon entering the treatment center or a patient’s home BEFORE working with a patient. Wash hands intermittently throughout the day (at least once per hour).
• Practice hand washing procedures with patients upon arrival to our treatment center whenever possible.
• If there are patients that have maladaptive behaviors such as spitting or licking, therapeutic staff should wear a face shield as needed.
• Complete toy cleaning protocols with child-safe bleach wipes or bleach spray at the end of each day.
• Continually sanitize by wiping down all tables, chairs, light switches, door handles, toys used, therapy materials used, and workstations with disinfectant wipes throughout the course of the day, and between patient transitions.
• Clean and wipe workspaces at the end of the day including computers and keyboards.
• Use hand sanitizer throughout the day including transitions between patients.
• Patients should be prompted to also sanitize hands as they transition between therapists.
• Staff should stay home from work if they are showing any signs of illness.
• Staff should contact the Tandem office and parents to coordinate sending their patient home if the patient is showing any signs of illness.
• Tandem will continue to abide by all CDC guidelines for safety and proactive measures during COVID-19.

We welcome discussion of additional proactive measures with families. If you have questions, additional thoughts, or concerns, please contact our office at 702-396-0101, or 725-251-2059.

Sincerely,

Chris Holcomb, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA
CEO
Tandem Therapy Services, LLC