Practice Update: April 24

Dear patients,

After many weeks of social distancing, we have an important update to share. This week, Governor DeWine announced that certain procedures, including cataract and glaucoma surgeries, will be permitted during the first wave of healthcare system reopenings—beginning on May 4.

These have been deemed “essential” to improving patients’ quality of life. And, indeed, we are anxious to help restore the vision of hundreds of patients who were originally scheduled for surgery in March and April. We will also begin to see patients who have been referred to us or who have a history of cataracts to determine the next steps in their care.

We will begin this transition slowly, but in a thoughtful, deliberate manner to minimize additional schedule changes. We do plan to resume more “routine” eye care soon—including the reopening of our optical department. Please know that we are taking every safety precaution possible as we move forward to protect you, our doctors, and our staff.

As of this morning, here are the changes that will begin on May 4 at Columbus Ophthalmology Associates:

Our phone and surgery schedulers will begin to call all patients who were “on the books” for surgery. It is important to us that we can reschedule your surgery in a timely, orderly, and convenient fashion and that you have someone to take you to surgery. Please wait for our team to call you rather than trying to reschedule yourself as we do not want to overwhelm the scheduling team with calls. We greatly appreciate your cooperation with this matter.

We are also making accommodations for those who need to visit their eye doctor prior to surgery. To adhere to Governor DeWine’s social distancing orders, we ask that only the patient enters into our building. One of our staff members will greet you in the lobby area with a protective mask on (and we assume all patients will be wearing masks as the governor has suggested). We will screen you to ensure that you do not have a fever or a cough before bringing you into the exam area. After your exam, our doctors will go over your treatment options. If you need surgery, we will arrange to discuss this in more detail with whoever will be bringing you to your surgery. After every patient, we will be disinfecting each exam area. And, we will have hand sanitizer available in all public areas for your convenience.

At Columbus Ophthalmology Associates, we have always strived to provide you with the highest level of surgical techniques and the fastest recovery processes. Your safety and health have always been our top priorities. In these regards, truly nothing has changed.

As we work to comply with official CDC guidelines, recommendations from other governing health organizations, and Governor DeWine’s mandates, we ask for your patience and understanding. We thank you in advance and are truly honored to be your doctors. Be safe—we look forward to seeing you soon.

Warmly,
The COA team