ArtMed’s Response to COVID-19: Clinic Closure
ArtMed’s Response to COVID-19 – Clinic Closure
As many of you know, I worked in Public Health for about 20 yrs. Communicable disease prevention and treatment has always been a concern and interest to me. As you know, the World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic which means that we are seeing worldwide community-based spread of this severe respiratory illness. In the world of Public Health protecting the health and well-being of the entire community is paramount and this means that in unusual times we must take unusual measures.
Thus far Canada has been relatively unaffected by the severity of this epidemic. But it is becoming clear from what we are seeing around the world and especially in Italy that an abundance of caution and preventive measures are necessary to prevent spread. South Korea, for example, has taken a very strong pre-emptive stand against COVID-19 and they have managed to severely curtail the spread of this illness in their country despite an early outbreak. We should all learn from their example.
Consequently, ArtMed has chosen to close starting Monday March 16th. We will be closing for two weeks but will reassess the length of closure as events unfold. We are shutting down the clinic at 381 Woolwich in a bid to protect our clients and staff from possible unnecessary exposure. Procedures at ArtMed are elective, and it is my position at this time that elective medical appointments, like elective surgeries, conferences, public sporting matches etc. should be avoided in a bid to limit the community wide spread of this illness.
Like influenza, COVID-19 is particularly severe in the elderly. Mortality rates in those aged 70-80 are around 8% and in those 80 years and older closer to 15%. By comparison younger people often have mild symptoms and the mortality rate is much lower. Newly infected individuals can be incubating the virus for a week or more before developing symptoms. We have observed around the world that the unchecked spread among the young and healthy eventually leads to severe illness in the elderly and in those with pre-existing medical conditions.
It is impossible for us to know whether we have asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic COVID-19 cases in our community already. From a public health prevention perspective, and based on what we’ve learned worldwide, the best approach is to limit COVID-19 spread among the entire population before we see an outbreak in our own community in order to protect the most vulnerable. Therefore, closing now will be most effective.
In summary, it’s ArtMed’s position that preventing spread in the first place is the best way to limit the pandemic. Because we are an elective medical facility, we feel it is responsible to shut down before illness starts spreading in our region. As a physician well versed in public health, I strongly endorse that old adage – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
ArtMed staff will be working remotely to answer emails and phone calls and will be available through our social media channels. We will update our website and social media regularly to keep you appraised of when we will reopen. If you have scheduled appointments in the coming weeks, we will be available to reschedule your appointments. At this time, we are recommending booking at least 1 month from your previous appointment.
We understand and recognize this may be inconvenient for some. We hope to be open again in the very near future. For updates regarding COVID-19 please find below links to two reliable sources of information.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html
