waves

The ups and downs of these days have been a lot to manage. I have been ever-more reliant on my restorative practice of walking. Portland has a wealth of green spaces and parks in the city, and nearby. Recently, I have been thinking deeply about stress and anxiety, how these states show up for each of us, individually and collectively, and the entrenching of the semantics and pathology of Stress and Anxiety. (more on these ruminations soon.) 

 As we are well within our seventh wave of Covid19, I want to bring your attention to my Covid19 Protocol & Procedures and share a few resources I use to understand what is happening with the Covid19 pandemic, my own personal risk, and assess ways to keep my clients at the clinic safe.

Welcoming a new year

 Reflecting on a year that seemed to move at superspeed, I recall sweet moments with close friends, a trip to see the Painted Hills, a humid summer week in NYC, an Oregon coast long-weekend, a few house projects, miles and miles of walks, and meeting many delightful new clients. Though the year has been peppered with heartbreak, I am thankful for all of your kindness and encouragement.

It seems challenging to be thinking, again, of a new variant and how much more adaptable we will need to become, but I am hopeful -and grateful for vaccines, boosters, and more accessible testing.

As we look to the coming weeks of this highly transmissible Covid-19 variant (omicron), I would like to remind you to please be discerning and reschedule your appointment if you have any -however mild- of the following concerns (I will be doing the same):

• You or one of your household members have had symptoms of fever, cold or flu in the past 14 days (eg. tiredness, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, aches, pains, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, or loss of smell or taste.)
  
• You have been near someone who has potentially had, or tested positive for COVID-19 through a family or work contact in the past 14 days. 

August updates

 I can't believe August is nearly half over; this summer has just disappeared. Though I can't quite recall where all the time has gone, I have been enjoying early mornings and late evenings in the hammock, and chance encounters with friends during my walks on Mt. Tabor and Powell Butte. 

As cases rise in Portland (and everywhere else), I am finding it difficult to feel the recurrence of uncertainty. However I am grateful that the vaccine is doing its job; mitigating severe symptoms, hospitalization and more death. I hope you all are wearing your masks (now mandated in Oregon) and washing your hands frequently. As a slow adapter in this pandemic, I was just beginning to spend time with more folks, but am returning to some pre-vaccine habits: decreasing the number of people I see (especially the number of people I am around unmasked) and opting to gather outdoors.

To understand the state of Covid-19 in Oregon, I found this OPB article useful: https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/12/oregon-covid-19-cases-mask-mandate-governor-kate-brown-delta-variant-vaccines-questions/

March updates

My colleagues at Laurelhurst Family Clinic and I have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine!

However, none of my personal or in-practice protocols and procedures will change -mask wearing, and hand washing remains a vital part of our lives, and will be necessary for some time to come. The vaccine is another way to protect ourselves from experiencing a severe case and reduce the strain on hospitals. There is currently promising data about the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing community spread, but I am erring on the side of caution. Until we reach herd immunity (a currently unknown percentage), or have more information and data, we should continue being vigilant about hygiene, personal space and mask wearing.

And here are some Covid-19 vaccine resources I'd like to share:

• This great interview by Ira Flatow on Science Friday: How Did A Vaccine Get Developed In Less Than A Year (1/15/21) 
• CDC: Understanding Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines
• CDC: How Vaccines Work
• Local information on when you are eligible and how to schedule a vaccination appointment:  https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19 and https://all4oregon.org

masks are required

Easiest thing you can do to keep your community safe is wear a mask! Simple as that. 

dipping in a toe

Multnomah County has entered Phase 1, which means Personal Services can return to work with many new safety measures in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

We are working on procuring necessary PPE to follow the regulations and recommendations set forth by Multnomah County, OHA, and the Governor's office, in addition to creating our own office protocols and procedures.

See you when the time is right.

what to consider before opening

I hope this finds you all well, and staying safe. Thank you for reaching out and checking on me over the past months as we all are doing our best to keep each other healthy (and sane), it has been wonderful to hear from you.

The governor is asking we continue to:

• limit visits to higher risk populations, 
• limit gatherings,
• limit travel, 
• increase hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, 
• telework when possible, 
• stay home when sick, and 
• wear face coverings when in public.

As our governor and counties begins to lead us through "opening" the state, I wanted to share with you what that is projected to look like, following guidelines put forth by the governors office for personal service providers (like me). Personal service providers will not be able to resume work until their county is in Phase 1. As I am sure you already know, Multnomah Country has not yet open to Phase 1. I don't know when we might achieve that. And, it is important to note that the governor might reinstate closures to non-essential business if COVID-19 cases begin to increase.

This uncertainty as a business owner is very difficult. And I am asking myself the question, is going back to work worth the risk for you and your families or for me and mine? Some of you might be saying, Yes! I am in desperate need of a massage. And I hear you -I haven't seen my genius massage therapist since March and am feeling deeply the importance of regular bodywork for my physical, mental and emotional health. Though I am having a hard time negotiating the risks to do this work.

When the timing is right, and I secure a new studio location, adequate PPE and cleaning and sanitation supplies our sessions might feel very different to properly implement safety and sanitation protocol set forth by the state, and recommended by ABMP. A draft version of what you might expect is after the jump.

In addition, I want to let you know that I am feeling pretty cautious. I am in deep acknowledgement that this virus will be with us for some time, and that we will as a community and society be greatly impacted by it -but we can help to shape what that impact is by really sitting with our own expectations and our own desires.

I will continue to stay in touch periodically as we learn more, as the situation becomes more clear. Please feel free to reach out. I am here.

Take care.