Dr. Joseph C. Gretzula – Boynton Beach Dermatology – COVID-19

Dear Patients,

We will be calling each of you to confirm your appointment as we normally do; however, we will also need to check with you to make sure you have not developed any symptoms of a respiratory tract infection including a cough, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath, runny eyes, or pink eye. If you have any of these symptoms, you will need to reschedule your appointment at a later date. Additionally, you will be asked if you have recently flown from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut within the last 14 days or have been in close contact with any individual who has recently flown from these areas. If so, you will need to self-quarantine for 14 days and we will need to reschedule your appointment at a later time per an executive order recently mandated by Governor Ron DeSantis of the State of Florida.

When confirming your appointment, we will also ask that you arrive at the office alone unless a companion is required. If you are unable to arrive alone, we suggest that the individual accompanying you should wait in their car in the parking lot for the duration of your appointment. We will then be more than happy to contact them to come up and escort you back to your car once your appointment has been completed. To keep the number of patients to a minimum in our waiting room, we suggest that upon your arrival, you notify us via your cellphone that you have arrived. We will then notify you when it is time for you to come upstairs, rather than you having to spend time in the waiting room area. Another option is that patients can come up with their companion, and that companion can wait in the hallway outside our office, as there are chairs available for their comfort. When your appointment is completed, we will come out and inform that individual that you are ready to leave.

At the time of your arrival and check-in we will again ask each individual about the presence of any flu-like symptoms including cough, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath, runny eyes, and/or pink eye. We will also again ask you regarding any recent contact you have had with a COVID-19-positive individual or exposure to anyone who has flown from the New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut region within the last 14 days. If so, we will ask you to reschedule your appointment for a later time period.

Your temperature will also be taken prior to your escort into the examination room. The front desk staff will be wearing masks and gloves as a precautionary measure. We will also provide appropriate safety measures in the examination room with myself and our medical assistants.

As you sign in, you will be given hand sanitizer and a handout is available on the proper use of hand sanitizers to maintain a sterile environment.

We hope that these measures will be of little inconvenience, as the safety of both you and our staff is of utmost concern to all of us here at the office. We look forward to seeing you and thank you for your cooperation during this very difficult time period.

Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph C. Gretzula