Kim Bell Physical Therapy Inc. has been actively monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our patient care services through office-based care and house calls. Our highest priority is to continue providing excellent care in a safe environment for our patients.

We have implemented a strategic plan using the best available practices to minimize the risk of person-to-person COVID-19 exposure in our practice. We continue to monitor and adhere to the public health guidance on the federal, state, and local levels as we provide an essential healthcare service.

We will remain open and fully-operational providing the full range of services in our office and our patients’ homes or hotel rooms as long as it is safe to do so. Our intent is to keep our patients out of the hospital, by reducing falls and fall-related injuries sustained due to dizziness, vertigo, and balance problems.

We are assessing the urgency of each of our patients on a case-by-case basis. Our team is prioritizing new patients who are experiencing significant disability, who are at risk of falling, and who are at risk of requiring urgent care due to dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, and unsteady walking.

As per our usual and customary services, we continue to thoroughly screen to all new patients who contact us, in order to triage the severity of new cases and prioritize new patients with a higher fall risk and higher risk of hospitalization.

We continue to provide all of our current patients with clinical support via phone, text message, and/ or email per the electronic communication permission form that is completed and signed by all of our patients during the initial visit.

The medical conditions that we treat certainly are best suited to an in-person visit with a physical examination and hands on care. Please call our office with any questions you might have at 760-652-9993 or use our contact form.

Per the San Diego County Ordinance, the following is our statement of our efforts to maintain social distance and sanitary practices protocol.

Staff precautions:

1. We are conducting symptoms/ temperature checks for all clinical employees to ensure no one is working with a fever or a cough. Anyone identified with elevated temperature or illness will be sent home.
2. All employees have been told not to come to work if they are sick.
3. Everyone who can carry out their work duties at home has been directed to do so.
4. Our clinical employees are all washing their hands at the start and end of every patient visit. Hand sanitizer is available to our staff during the visit, to use as needed.
5. Due to the nature of our work, we are unable to maintain social distance during patient care, so patients are welcome to wear face masks. Although masking is no longer required in our private physical therapy practice setting per updated public health guidelines, patients may request that their physical therapist wear a face mask.
6. Our clinical staff is disinfecting all payment portals before and after each use. Contactless payment is available via an email invoice for credit card payments that can be completed through PayPal’s email invoice option. We also continue to accept check or cash forms of payment.
7. We have transitioned our community presentations and other community outreach via the San Diego Fall Prevention Task Force monthly meetings to an online format, in order to minimize community exposure. Direct patient care visits are the only in-person appointments our clinical staff is keeping at this time.
8. Continued use of disinfectant for all frequently used items has already been implemented in our routine care. All of our equipment is cleaned after each use and stored as “clean” ready for the next patient.

Patient precautions:

1. All patients will be screened and examined for symptoms of illness.
2. We ask that you postpone your scheduled appointment if you or anyone in your household may have been exposed to COVID-19 through travel or attendance at large gatherings less than two weeks ago.
3. If any patient has symptoms of illness including fever, body aches, sore throat, or cough, they will be asked to go cancel their appointment and inform their primary care doctor.
4. For patients receiving house calls, we request that you notify us and reschedule your appointment if symptoms of active illness develop for anyone in your household, including fever, body aches, sore throat, or cough.
5. We do not charge cancellation fees associated with rescheduling the appointment.
6. For patients who receive a COVID booster shot, we request that you delay your next in-person visit with us for a minimum of two weeks. This request for a minimum two-week waiting period after a COVID booster also applies to any family member who may choose to attend the appointment with the patient.

We look forward to seeing you soon and are committed to continuing our excellent care during this challenging time.

You may contact our business owner Dr. Kim Bell, DPT with any questions or concerns at 760-652-9993.

Sincerely Yours,

Your Dedicated Team at Kim Bell Physical Therapy Inc.