Please note Vega Vitality’s COVID-19 Practice Protocols including a mandatory VERBAL PRESCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE. Immediately upon arrival at the practice, please provide a verbal response to our Office Manager, Christina, who is at the front desk. The questions are listed below for your reference. You MUST provide verbal answers prior to being treated.

1) Have you or anyone in your household tested positive for COVID-19? 

2) Are you currently experiencing any of the following symptoms that are not related to seasonal allergies? Fever, sore throat, cough, nasal congestion, muscle aches, recent loss of taste or smell, and/ or shortness of breath.

3) Please inform us if you have traveled outside of Massachusetts in the past two weeks.

Vega Vitality staff MUST disclose if they are planning to travel outside of the State of Massachusetts. Staff are required to produce a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of returning to Massachusetts to return to work. Test results will be added to their employee file.

All Vega Vitality staff will be screened at the beginning of each shift for signs / symptoms of COVID-19 including chemosensory dysfunction as manifested by alterations in taste and / or smell and / or fever.

CDC’s “Self-Checker” has been sent to Vega Vitality staff, via e-mail, as a tool that can be used if they have questions regarding potential symptoms.

If a staff member feels ill, has a fever, or presents with any COVID-19 symptoms, the staff member should immediately inform the Officers of the Practice and not enter Vega Vitality until their symptoms have improved and / or a negative COVID-19 test result has been achieved.

If a staff member appears to present with COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival at work or becomes ill during the day, they will be sent home immediately. The owner of the practice will make the final decision as to when the staff member can resume work related activities.

Employees who are ill should follow the steps listed below recommended by the CDC:

• Stay at home, get rest, stay hydrated
• Communicate with your healthcare provider
• Be sure to get care if you have trouble breathing or if you think it is an emergency.
• Employees should not return to work until meeting the criteria to discontinue isolation in accordance with healthcare providers, state and local health departments, and practice policy.
• Employees who are not symptomatic, but who have a person in their household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 should notify the Officers of the Practice and produce a negative COVID-19 test prior to returning to work.

Vega Vitality staff MUST wear, and correctly use masks during their time at the practice.

Vega Vitality staff MUST wear clean scrubs and/or professional clothing.

Vega Vitality staff MUST perform hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand sanitizer or soap and water before and after all patient contact and before putting on and removal of PPE.

If a staff member is safely behind a plexiglass partition, at the front desk, the staff member may drop down their mask. At NO time must that staff member physically interact with a patient or fellow staff without putting their mask back on. 

Vega Vitality staff MUST disclose, to the owner of the practice, if they have socialized in a group of 9 or more people.

Vega Vitality MUST maintain a skeleton crew while the practice is open. If there are staff members who are non-essential to patient treatment or POS / check-out, they should work from home. Staff who can perform their roles remotely should not work from the practice location. It is essential for the safety of the patients and staff that numbers are kept low at the practice.

All Vega Vitality staff meetings should be taken via virtual platforms (Zoom, call, etc.)

Staggered shifts are encouraged. There should be no more than 5 Vega Vitality practitioners seeing patients concurrently.

Follow CDC recommendations in the event of suspected unintentional exposure (i.e. unprotected direct contact with secretions or excretions from the patient). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/hcp/guidancerisk-assesment-hcp.html

Vega Vitality staff may remove masks to eat and drink, but they must adhere to social distancing mandates while their mask is removed. Staff should not share food, and food should not be left out on the counter for any length of time. Single-use food utensils should be used. Staff should eat as efficiently and resume wearing their masks as soon as possible. (Per the CDC, it appears unlikely that COVID-19 can be transmitted through food, though additional research is needed.)

Vega Vitality practitioners must maintain awareness and vigilance of the potential reactions in the host tissue of immune-reactive individuals (including individuals who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus) post administration of neurotoxin or dermal filler products.

Vega Vitality staff have been education on the following employee health considerations:

• Federal OSHA – Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
• Federal OSHA – Personal Protective Equipment
• CDC – Use of face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19
• CDC – How COVID Spreads
• CDC – Proper Hand Washing suggestions
• MMA (Sourced by the WHO and San Francisco Department of Health) – Face Mask Wearing Guide
• EPA – List of disinfectants for use against COVID-19

All patients MUST wear, and correctly use, a personal mask while in Vega Vitality. Vega Vitality is not responsible for providing patients with masks. (CDC guidelines as to how to correctly wear a mask can be provided upon request.)

Patients must wear, and correctly use, masks until a practitioner informs them that they are able to remove the mask for treatment.

Patients agree to the “No Handshake / Hug” Policy to ensure the safety of themselves and the Vega Vitality staff. Verbal greetings are encouraged.

Patient companions / visitors (i.e. children, friends) are restricted from joining the patient at their appointment at this time. If a patient does not follow the rules and brings a visitor to their appointment, the visitor will be asked to leave the premises. Under no circumstance should a visitor join the patient in a treatment room. This is prohibited as the patient may need to remove their mask at any point during their treatment.

Patients will only be treated for the service that is booked. Vega Vitality asks that patients do not request additional treatments while in the treatment room. It is paramount that the schedule is adhered to in order to allow for social distancing. 

Patients should respect social distancing mandates and avoid encountering various patients and staff where possible.

Patients are asked to call ahead of their scheduled appointment with the credit card information. Credit card information will be entered into Vega Vitality’s SecurePay system. After the treatment, the patient’s card will be run for the service. This will limit time spent at the front desk and help adhere to social distancing mandates. 

Patients are encouraged to claim Allē, Aspire, and Prollenium points and/or login to their vendor accounts PRIOR to appointment. Vega Vitality’s practitioners and front desk staff will not be able to spend extra time assisting with the apps during this transitional period. Patients can still claim / receive points, but they will have to have redeem the points from their personal account without the assistance of the Vega Vitality team. Vega Vitality staff will not handle patient’s phones. 

Vega Vitality has properly informed all patients who could be “at risk” (those who are immunosuppressed, have respiratory diseases, or the elderly) of contracting COVID-19 should schedule their treatment to a later date. Vega Vitality will only treat healthy and low risk patients.

Vega Vitality’s door handles, elevator buttons, Clover (POS) device, the front desk area, the water container, the bathroom – sink, faucet, toilet, toilet handle, etc. and any other high traffic objects MUST be disinfected daily. If disinfectant wipes are not available, 70% alcohol can also be used.

The breakroom will be sanitized daily including disinfecting refrigerator and microwave doors, etc. 

Aesthetic treatment rooms MUST be fully sanitized daily. In between patients, practitioners will disinfect tablets, aesthetic chairs, hand mirrors, devices used for treatment, and door areas (handles, pulls.) It is vital that the object patients have encountered are disinfected prior to treating the next patient.

Practitioners will wash their hands before and after wearing gloves or other PPE. 

Vega Vitality will be professionally cleaned nightly.

CDC related signage has been displayed in the practice to instruct patients on standard recommendations for respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette and social distancing.

Front desk staff or Office Manager should conduct a daily inventory of available disinfectant and personal protective equipment (PPE) i.e. surgical masks, surgical gowns, surgical gloves, face shields.

Vega Vitality’s door handles, elevator buttons, Clover (POS) device, the front desk area, the water container, the bathroom – sink, faucet, toilet, toilet handle, etc. and any other high traffic objects MUST be disinfected every hour. If disinfectant wipes are not available, 70% alcohol can also be used.

The breakroom will be sanitized daily including disinfecting refrigerator and microwave doors, etc.

Aesthetic treatment rooms MUST be fully sanitized daily. In between patients, practitioners will disinfect tablets, aesthetic chairs, hand mirrors, devices used for treatment, and door areas (handles, pulls.) It is vital that the object patients have encountered are disinfected prior to treating the next patient.

 Practitioners will wash their hands before and after wearing gloves or other PPE.  

Vega Vitality will be professionally cleaned nightly.

All magazines, skincare product testers, or anything that could be easily touched should be removed from the lobby area.

 Print and place CDC related signage in the practice to instructing patients on standard recommendations for respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette and social distancing.

 Front desk staff or Office Manager should conduct a daily inventory of available disinfectant and personal protective equipment (PPE) i.e. surgical masks, surgical gowns, surgical gloves, face shields.

Vega Vitality will inform patients of their responsibilities during their time at the practice. (See above under Patient Responsibilities.)

Vega Vitality commits to scheduling patients to promote a low volume of patients in the facility at any given time.

If patients are late for their appointment, Vega Vitality reserves the right to not see the patient.

Patients will only be seen and treated by Vega Vitality practitioners for the service that they booked. It is paramount that practitioners stay on schedule while seeing patients to ensure social distancing.

Treatment will be completed while the patient maintains mask use for as long as possible. Masks will be worn by patient and practitioner for the entire appointment unless indicated by the practitioner. Neurotoxin injections in the forehead, glabella, and crow’s feet can be performed while the patient wears a mask. 

Patients will wait, with their practitioner, in the treatment rooms until the front desk has no one waiting to proceed with check out. As discussed above in the Patient Responsibilities section above, patients can call ahead with their credit card information and have the in-house check-out process circumvented.

Patients should leave the practice as soon as they have checked out. Patients inquiring about booking a follow-up appointment should been directed to contact Linda at info@vegavitaility.com

Patients should receive normal post-care instructions as well as an enhanced emphasis on keeping the treated area clean, washing their hands and / or using a hand sanitizer frequently.

Patients should be instructed to avoid potential exposure as much as possible and wear a mask when in public to minimize risk of contracting the virus.

 Patients should be reminded to re-don their face covering and continue to utilize social distancing procedures throughout the practice and at check out.

 Practitioners will inform patients that, should begin to experience symptoms of COVID-19 (i.e. fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of taste or smell), that they should contact Vega Vitality and their primary care physician immediately. 

A Post-Treatment Mask Considerations document will be provided to any patients who have had laser or microneedling treatments. Patients are required to sign a consent prior to treatment that relinquishes Vega Vitality of all responsibility for infections and / or acne.

Vega Vitality will provide a copy of the consent in advance if requested.

Patients must sign the consent prior to treatment.

Practitioners should witness the consent execution. 

If the patient refuses to sign, the treatment will not be performed.