Stephanie N. Tallerico, LMT
Dear Client,
I hope this finds you and your family in good health. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: my commitment to your safety and health.
By its very nature, massage and bodywork requires skin-to-skin contact and you should be familiar with the fact that infection control has always been a top priority for my practice. As we navigate life with additional requirements and modify existing measures due to the coronavirus, please help me to support all my clients by cooperating with some new requirements.
My practice follows Practice Guidelines recommended by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) and the Maryland State Board of Massage Therapy Examiners, along with infection control recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Maryland Department of Health, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. I made these changes to help protect clients and myself. For example:
- I will communicate with you beforehand with a Wellness Screening to obtain updates to your health information and ask you specifically about your potential exposure to COVID-19.
- When you arrive at the office, I’ll ask that you wait in your vehicle until I text you or call you to come in. Friends and family of the client are not allowed to wait in the reception area while the client receives massage, unless they are that client’s legal guardian.
- I will greet you at the door and use a no touch thermal temperature screening to confirm that you don’t have a fever.
- I’ll ask you if you have developed any symptoms of illness since we last communicated. If you feel ill on the day of your session, there is no penalty for canceling your appointment. Massage is not advised if you have any symptoms of illness.
- Please bring a face mask to use while you are in the building, and during your massage.
- I will ask you to sign an informed consent form.
- There is a hand-hygiene station that I will ask you to use when you enter the office.
- In alignment with CDC guidance and Governor Hogan’s Executive Order, masks are required at health care establishments and for personal services including massage therapy regardless of vaccination status (see section III, 2).
Unless otherwise directed by the client’s primary healthcare provider, clients at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 should forgo massage while the virus is present in their communities. If you have any of the following high risk indicators, please obtain a doctor’s note indicating that Massage Therapy is safe for you to receive, noting if there are any contraindications:
- People 65 years or older
- Chronic lung disease
- Moderate to severe asthma
- Heart conditions
- Compromised or suppressed immunity
- Severe obesity (body mass index of 40 or higher)
- Diabetes
- Chronic kidney disease
- Liver disease
I look forward to seeing you again and am happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps I take to keep you, and every client, safe in my practice. Thank you for being my client. I value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming you back to a safe, therapeutic environment.
Your Licensed Massage Therapist and healthcare provider,
Stephanie, LMT
(301) 547-9900 office