COVID-19 Update: Welcome Back!
artSEE and Optimed Optometry reopening: Health and Safety Protocols
1) What are our new health and safety protocols?
- If you are unwell, have a fever or are exhibiting any signs of a cold, please call us to reschedule your appointment (eye exam or eyewear consult etc.). We want everyone to be safe and healthy!
- All staff will be wearing a face mask when they are working with you.
- A sanitizing station will be at the entrance of the store for you to clean your hands. This is mandatory when you enter the office.
- Everyone coming in is required to wear a face mask. You can wear a hand-made one or a surgical one. In the event that you do not have your own face mask, we can supply one for you for a small charge of $2.00. As a small business we can no longer provide a face mask, free of charge. Thank you for your understanding!
- ALL eyewear services are now done by appointment: Book Online
2) What changes have we made to our office layout?
- There will be a reduced number of people in the office at one time.
- Our office space has been reconfigured to ensure physical distancing between you, other clients and our staff.
- Throughout the day, surfaces and furniture will routinely be sanitized and disinfected.
- All exam rooms and equipment will be cleaned between each patient.
- Frames and sunglasses will be cleaned and sanitized after a client touches or tries them on.
3) What will our eyewear services look like once we resume operations?
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More of a scheduled/appointment approach
In order to guarantee your safety and maintain physical distancing, we will be offering a more scheduled approach to seeing you. Whether it be to choose new eyewear (no obligation to purchase), picking up your new eyewear or an adjustment, we will be asking you to book a time to see the Opticians. While you’re still welcome to drop by, we may or may not be able to assist you at that time, in order to limit the number of people in at one time and to ensure proper cleaning between people, booking an appointment ensures your time is well spent.
You can book online here or call 250-881-8252 for Broadmead and 250-595-2773 for Oak Bay.
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Frame browsing/selections will be one on one with your Optician
To ensure your safety, our Opticians will be bringing frames and sunglasses to you to try on, rather than self-directed browsing. This allows us to ensure our frames are clean and safe for you to try on. Our Opticians will be asking you a lot of questions before we start the process of selecting eyewear for you to try. Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to know exactly what you want! We can take the guesswork out and help you figure out what you need. Our specialty is finding the best eyewear for you, while making it easy, fun and more efficient. We have been offering this approach of curating a personalized selection for many years and the feedback has been terrific. During the eyewear selection, our Opticians will be maintaining our distance and/or wearing a face mask.
We will be employing new technology to allow us to maintain our distance for personalized fitting measurements. For adjustments and fitting, you will need
to wear your mask.
4) What will your eye exam experience look like?
Dr. Buckley and Dr. Hildebrand will continue to provide the same thorough and detailed examination of your eye health and vision, while including additional protective measures. Everyone’s safety is our top priority. Eye exams will start on May 19th.
Here are some new measures you can expect to see when you visit us for an eye exam:
- We will be wearing face masks and the necessary protective equipment during your eye exam.
- You are required to wear a face mask during your eye exam.
- Prior to your appointment we will be contacting you over the phone to conduct some of the initial examination. We will be asking you about your eye health concerns, details of any medications you may take, family and personal medical history and how your current eyewear is working for you. It would also be helpful to have details of any insurance coverage you may have at this time (Blue Cross, Canada Life, Veteran Affairs, First Nations Health Authority etc). These are questions we would have normally asked in office. Doing it over the phone, reduces the amount of in-person talking, while continuing to provide you with the highest level of eyecare. It can be difficult to hear each other when we are wearing a mask and our objective is to maintain clear communication.
- Your eyeglasses and sunglasses will be cleaned and sanitized when we handle them and before they are returned to you.
- Between each patient the examination rooms, including optical instruments, surfaces, and chairs, will be disinfected and sanitized.
- If you require dilation and have a driver with you, we kindly ask the driver to stay in their car and not enter the clinic. However, if the patient requires a family member’s assistance during their eye exam, we will happily accommodate this providing that they wear a face mask and sanitize their hands.
- If you are immune compromised or have other concerns, please advise our team when booking. We will do our best to meet your needs!
Trina
