Covid 19 Update

Update 9/28/2020

We are continuing to offer in person visits at our Wheat Ridge and Denver locations. We are also offering house calls. In the last 2 weeks, we have had clients that have tested positive for coronavirus and we have also had clients open up to us letting us know they are either severely immunocompromised and/or caring for immunocompromised family members at home. This information as well as the fact that there is a more contagious strain of coronavirus making its rounds that is not as well controlled by masks and social distancing has led us to move back to being fully curbside. Patients will be allowed into the treatment areas and clients will be asked to wait outside.

The only exceptions to this policy will be if there is a safety concern or if our team may need help when working at our Wheat Ridge facility. Hand sanitizing and face masks covering your nose and mouth are required if you are asked to help. If you are not comfortable entering the facility if asked for the following situations, we will come up with another plan:

• Appointments where we are molding the pet’s leg

• Patients that are a bite risk

• Highly anxious patients (not human)

• Large paralyzed patients where 3 people are needed to perform exercises

Based on the latest data regarding coronavirus transmission, we are still comfortable offering to do as much as possible (and 100% of the visit if needed) outside for clients that really want to be present for all of their pet's therapy. We have brought a couple of gymnastics mats to have a padded area where we can sit and do laser, manual therapy, etc. We realize this is not ideal. It would be awesome (though not possible at this time) to have an outdoor gazebo-like area away from the road and in a park as the parking lot of Cultivate is not the most aesthetic. Hand sanitizing and face masks covering both your mouth and nose are required.

As is likely the case for most of the world, we really just wish everything was normal. We are doing our best to make sure you see the full value in the high quality care we provide. We will be continuing to offer to zoom and will be trialing some pet monitors so you can see what is going on and we can also talk to you through the camera. Feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions. Thank you for your support and understanding as we work through this together.

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Update 4/24/2020 KF

1. Given that the governor executive order banning elective procedures expires on 4/26, we will resume in person treatments starting in May. The stay at home order is still in place for Jefferson County and Denver through May 8th, so we will primarily just be be taking emergency cases in person during this time, using telemedicine for non-urgent cases.

2. Dr. Sarah Leavell, a veterinarian that is certified in rehabilitation and acupuncture, will be helping us out in May. She will be working closely with the rest of our team in order to provide continued care for our patients. She currently works at Aspen Meadow Veterinary Specialists running their rehab department in the Longmont/Boulder area and has been generous enough to give us several hours each week as needed to make sure we can meet ALL of our patients needs. To start, she will be working on Thursdays with our patients. I (Dr. Fein) can video in as needed for these appointments as well because your pets are my family and I want to be there for you. She will train with me on 5/2 and will be seeing patients starting 5/7.

3. Sheri and I are still available for telemedicine appts and I will have very limited hours on Saturdays at Cultivate Veterinary Wellbeing in Wheat Ridge.

4. All hands on appointments will be conducted out of our Wheat Ridge location- Cultivate Veterinary Wellbeing: 10474 W 38th Ave. To keep our staff and clients safe, we are only allowing patients into the building. We are setup to video with you via zoom so you can see everything safely from your car. You are also welcome to just use voice call instead of video, or drop off your pet and then pick up. If you are unable to travel to Cultivate and need a house call instead, please let us know.

5. We are continuing to reach out 2-7 days in advance of appointments currently scheduled on a case by case basis with updates.

Please call or email us to schedule. You are also welcome to schedule on our website. I am having trouble getting Dr. Leavell's availability to sync at the moment, so please call or email if you don't see what you are looking for.

Coming this summer: videos with therapeutic exercises for our clients, an online store for medication refills and assistive devices

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Updated 4/7/2020

We are excited to offer virtual appointments to all of our patients. We are currently accepting new and returning clients. You can schedule with Dr. Karyn Fein, our veterinarian and rehabilitation therapist or Sheri Mounteer, our physical therapist.

Details and legalities below:

Both Dr. Fein and Sheri are able to do initial evaluations for new clients and follow-up appointments for existing clients. We are also working on putting together some videos online for you. There will be some exercise videos that you will be able to access online for free. We are also putting together some affordable webinars for various conditions (ie. arthritis, post-operative care for patients that have had disk surgery).

Need in person treatments? We have teamed up with other veterinary rehabilitation therapists and acupuncturists that are still able to offer in person treatments for your pets.

What can you expect from a virtual appointment? We work through your hands to treat your pet. We can still go over history, adjust medications (if meeting with our doctor), go through therapeutic exercises, and stimulate acupuncture points using tui-na, acupressure, or home laser therapy.

Why the remote visits only?

Governor Jared Polis passed an executive order on March 19th suspending medical procedures and surgeries in order to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE). We had been using masks and gloves to help ensure the safety of our clients and staff. Those masks and gloves are going to hospitals. The executive order allows for use of PPE in the following circumstances:

• " There is a threat to the patient’s life if the surgery or procedure is not performed;

• There is a threat of permanent dysfunction of an extremity or organ system if the surgery or procedure is not performed;

• There is a risk of metastasis or progression of staging of a disease or condition if the surgery or procedure is not performed; or

• There is a risk that the patient’s condition will rapidly deteriorate if the surgery or procedure is not performed and there is a threat to life, or to an extremity or organ system, or of permanent dysfunction or disability."

As a team, for the safety of our staff, and for the safety of our clients, we were not comfortable continuing care without the use of PPE unless one of our patients meets these requirements. So we have made the decision to exclusively offer virtual appointments until the executive order has been lifted. We appreciate your understanding. It really is a tough time and we feel guilty not coming into your homes and to our office regularly. We know how much rehab can help our patients. We are confident that through our referral network and virtual appointments, we can make sure everyone gets the treatment they need.