COVID-19 Update: ArtMed Is Reopening!

We’re opening!!!   

On February 22 ArtMed will reopen for injectables (and laser will be returning soon as well).  This is great news but remember we’re still living through the 2nd wave of the pandemic.  We are by no means out of the woods and ArtMed, as always, is principally concerned with the health and welfare of our clients.    

As you may recall from my previous blog, we consulted with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph public health prior to the December 26th lockdown and we were advised that individuals should not attend regulated health professional appointments unless it was medically necessary. Because most of medical aesthetics is elective and optional we chose to close ArtMed during the lockdown and stay-at-home order to support Ontario’s goal of reducing COVID-19 cases in our community.  Many of the clinics and plastic surgeons we respect in Ontario did the same. 

The government of Ontario has not renewed the Emergency Order which expired on February 9th, and the stay-at-home order for our region will end on Tuesday February 16th (February 22 for Toronto, Peel and York).  In order to be maximally safe and prepared ArtMed has chosen to reopen on February 22nd. 

Retail businesses, gyms and personal service establishments will return to the Government of Ontario’s Framework for re-opening and it is likely Guelph will return to the red-zone.  ArtMed, however, is a medical clinic and not a personal service establishment and thus our directives are not related entirely to the framework.  We follow Regulation 2 which governs medical clinics operated by regulated health professionals PLUS the recommendations of our local public health unit. 

In the grey zone and red-zone we can provide injectable services with our regulated health professionals (doctors, nurses).  Our laser services follow the Framework, however, which means that we can only provide laser services off the face and we will be bringing back our laser services a week or two after we reopen.  This is because medical laser is not regulated in Ontario (please refer to my blog on this if you’d like further information – “It’s Time To Regulate Laser Treatment for Safety’s Sake”).  If our region fairs well and we enter the orange zone we will be able to return to full service offerings including all facial laser. 

There is a caveat to all of this.  The government of Ontario has given individual Public Health Units more power to determine if the Framework level is safe in their own region.  For example, if our Public Health Region (Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph) which is due to move to re-opening next week were to have an outbreak of COVID-19, our medical officer of health will be able to request an immediate return to lockdown with virtually no notice.  The government is referring to this as an ‘emergency brake’.  Also, unlike in the past, during grey-level lockdown retail businesses may still be able to be open but with severe restrictions on occupancy in their establishment (maximum 25% capacity).  

The other important piece to this process is that everyone in Ontario is strongly advised to continue to stay at home, avoid social gatherings, minimize travel between areas with different rules, and limit close contacts to their household. Employers in all industries should continue to make every effort to allow employees to work from home.  

The Government of Ontario is trying to strike a very fine balance.  They want everyone to stay home but they also want Ontarians to attend and support local businesses. While this seems contradictory, the key to this conundrum is the word local.  Everyone should stay home as much as possible.  But if you do need to shop or attend appointments try to keep it very local. 

Practice good COVID prevention – always wear a triple protection mask, keep socially distanced 6 feet apart when outside your bubble, use hand sanitizer liberally and frequently and stay at home and within your household bubble.  Do not socialize with individuals or families outside your bubble indoors. 

For our part, ArtMed will continue to practice diligent COVID-19 safety protocols including rigorous Covid-19 screening, traffic control, high level cleaning protocols, hospital level PPE for all staff, air purification/sterilization and more.  Your health and safety and that of our staff are our top priority during the pandemic. 

The team here at ArtMed is looking forward to seeing you again soon!  We will begin booking our wait list shortly.  If you are not on our waitlist but wish to be, please email the clinic and we will add you to the waitlist and to our e-blast list if you are not already subscribed (if requested).  Details about rebooking will be provided by e-blast to patients. 

Please note: We will be booking only Botox/Xeomin, PRP for hair loss and Emsella clients in the first few weeks. The purpose of this staged rebooking is to prioritize rebooking: 

1) clients who are on a fixed schedule of treatment who are falling behind (Botox/Xeomin, Emsella, PRP for hair) 

2) treatments that can be done with the mask on  

3) shorter appointments to minimize time in clinic and contact indoors with others 

The circulating cases of Covid-19 are still running moderately high in southern Ontario and with schools reopening, businesses reopening and variants growing we will be adopting a very cautious approach in the first few weeks to maximize safety for clients and staff. 

After a couple of weeks we will have a much better idea about how COVID-19 is behaving in the community with re-opening measures and will proceed accordingly.   

We currently offer curbside pick-up for products and will continue to do so.   

Some exciting new things are coming to ArtMed.  In addition to our expanded facilities we call “ArtMed Upstairs” we will have some new faces at ArtMed, new products and some exciting news to share.  Stay tuned!  We look forward to seeing you again soon.