HEALTHY OFFICE UPDATES:

We’ve made several permanent changes to enhance our protection against all infectious diseases (not just COVID).

We know that good indoor air quality has a significant impact on human health.  Therefore, we have made these ventilation changes:

• New building ventilation system in our Stevenson office
• Upgraded building filtration systems in both offices (HEPA or MERV 13)
• Air circulation systems are now set to run 24 hours a day
• The outdoor air exchange ratio for the ventilation system in our White Salmon office turned up to the highest setting
• Ceiling fans in White Salmon have been turned up to high to increase “mixing” in the air column
• Additional stand-alone HEPA air filters in waiting rooms, NSMG staff areas, and each individual exam room

To help keep folks from spreading any type of contagious illness, we are taking the following measures:

•  If you are coming in for a sick appointment, we’ll ask that you wait in your car now, instead of in the lobby
• In some cases, we may ask to set you up for a phone or video appointment first to determine which entrance and precautions are needed to keep both other patients and our staff safe
• We have a separate entrance for certain types of sick visits that may be contagious (suspected measles, chickenpox, and COVID being the most common)

Other Updates:

• We know that being vaccinated is our best defense for covid:  100% of our staff are vaccinated.
• For the White Salmon office, we have created an outdoor waiting room in our courtyard.

We hope that you find these protocol updates reassuring.  Your health and wellness are in our best interest.