4/28/2020
It has been such a stressful month but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Beginning Monday, May 4th 2020, our office and optical will begin seeing patients again. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are implementing extra precautionary practices for our patients and staff. Help us keep everyone safe by adhering to the following protocol: -We will be texting specific instructions for filling out paperwork Online prior to your visit. -Since we are limiting the number of people in our office, please call when you arrive in our parking lot for any services, even for pick ups and optical purchase. -Everyone must wear your own mask when entering the building. -Only patients will be allowed inside. If anyone else has come with you, they will need to wait in the car. -We will take your temperature at the door and ask you to sanitize your hands. -If you want your sister or anyone else to see the frames you are trying on, we have a secured Wifi network set up for you to Facetime with that person. -We will clean each frames after every "try-ons". -All receipts and prescriptions will be available on your online Portal. We were able to catch up and update our account receivables during the past month. We are all going through this together and understand the financial strain you may have. For that reason, if you were to have a balance, your Invoice has been uploaded on your Portal for you to review. We will touch base with you next month to retrieve the balance owed. We will work with you to pay off your balance, no matter how small they are at a time. We want to thank everyone who has supported our local offices. In this time and age, it is difficult surviving when you are small. But we are doing it, with your help! It has been heart warming to receive support from you and your family. So thank you and we can't wait to see everyone again :) --------------------------------- 4/24/2020 We are awaiting more directions from the Governor on Monday 4/27/2020 and will update when we will be opening up. We miss seeing everyone and can't wait to start back our routine! --------------------------------- 4/2/2020 The questions of "What could be taken to help with COVID-19, before contracting the virus?" The answer is NOT Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, also known as Plaquenil, or any of it's derivative. I'm sure we've all heard about the case where someone did in fact ingest chloroquine phosphate to help prevent contracting the virus and end up dead. So, let's not do that. Though the situation is fluid and there are still many unknowns, I found this article to be quite helpful. The information below was extracted from the "COVID-19 Management Protocol" article that was written by Dr. Paul Marik, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, from Eastern Virginia Medical School. Prophylaxis While there is very limited data (and none specific for COVID-19), the following “cocktail” may have a role in the prevention/mitigation of COVID-19 disease, especially amongst the most vulnerable citizens in our community; i.e. those over the age of 60 years and those with medical co-morbidities. While there is no high level evidence that this cocktail is effective; it is cheap, safe and should be readily available. So what is there to lose? • Vitamin C 500 mg twice daily • Zinc 75-100 mg/day (acetate or gluconate) • Quercetin 500-1000 mg/day • Melatonin (slow release): Begin with 0.3 mg and increase as tolerated to 1-2 mg at night • Vitamin D3 5000 u/day Quercetin is a plant pigment (flavonoid). It is found in many plants and foods, such as red wine, onions, shallots, tomatoes, green tea, apples, berries, grapes, Ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, buckwheat tea, nuts, raw capers, and others. Besides those listed above, any food that is high in anti-oxidants have also shown to be beneficial. Those include dark green veggies, sweet potatoes, orange vegetables such as carrots, and beans. Keep in mind, vitamins obtained from food sources are always better then from a pill. My rule of thumb is, if nature spent of lot of time and energy to make these vibrant, deep, rich-colored fruits and vegetables, you would want to eat them too. So while we are in "Shelter in Place", have a glass of wine, refine your cooking skills using some of those aforementioned ingredients, exercise, sleep well, and you have just prepared your body to combat not only COVID-19, but any other viruses that come your way! Disclaimer: please consult with your physician before ingesting any of the vitamins mentioned above. --------------------------------- 3/25/2020 Mayor Adler enacted the Shelter in Place order for Austin, starting 11:59 PM 3/24/2020 until 04/13/2020. Since our clinic is considered an Essential workplace, we will continue to see patients for emergency eye care services. Please call/text us at 512-222-5636 and we will triage your medical emergency appropriately. We will have tele-health capabilities and in office visits on a case to case basis. ---------------------------------- 3/18/2020 Our SoLa office is open on Monday-Friday from 10-1 pm for all available urgent/medical eye care services and glasses/contact lens pick ups. We want to treat your cornea abrasion, for example, in our office instead of sending you to the emergency room. This will alleviate the influx of patients to the emergency room and urgent care centers. ---------------------------------- 3/18/2020 Per CDC recommendation, effective 3/19/2020, our offices will suspend all routine eye care services until 04/20/2020. We will be consolidating our office hours. Southpark Meadows office will be closed until further notice. We will be available for medical eye care services at our SoLa office location. Please call/text us at 512.222.5636 and we will triage you. We will do our best to take care your eye emergency cases before sending you to the emergency room. We will have tele-health options available for all new and established patients. That means you could talk to our doctor and we could treat/prescribe out medications for you without seeing you in person. We will have a "drop box" for pick up of glasses and contact lenses between 10-1 PM (Monday-Friday). Please contact us to schedule a time for you to pick up your items. All contact lens orders will still be available for purchase. We will waive all Shipping/Handling charges at this time. Prescription extensions will be available on a case to case basis. This is unprecedented times and we want to encourage all patients to take precautions and follow CDC/WHO protocols to flatten the curve. Follow us on Facebook and website to stay up to date with the latest information. Stay safe out there! Dr. Le + Dr. Ziegler + team ---------------------------------- 3/17/2020 At EyeRis Vision, the health and well-being of our patients, employees, and our community is our top priority. We understand the concern and uncertainty you may be experiencing surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and we are committed to being responsive to the needs of our patients as the situation evolves. We would like to reassure you that although we already utilize standard disease control precautions as outlined by the CDC, we are currently exceeding these precautions to further help prevent the spread of this virus and maintain a safe environment for you. At this time, our office remains open for your vision needs and emergencies as they may arise. We will be listening to the recommendations of local and state health authorities, and we will advise you of any changes to our schedule. To help protect the safety of all our patients and staff, we ask anyone that currently feels ill to please reschedule your appointment and to call your physician. This is especially true if you have a fever, cough, sneezing, or shortness of breath. The same thing applies if you have had any of these symptoms in the last 48 hours. Please also reschedule your appointment if you have traveled outside the United States in the last two weeks to an area affected by the coronavirus disease. This includes China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam. Our schedule and office hours will remain the same as usual. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. The team at EyeRis Vision is here to answer any questions that may arise about your vision care. Thank you for trusting us to be your vision providers. Sincerely, Dr. Le + Dr. Ziegler + team
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