UPDATED MARCH 16, 2020 SHUT IT DOWN: Please read the advice from Ruth Werner in this Facebook post.

M-m-m-my Corona…

Well, we are diving in because everyone else is talking about it. Corona. Not the beer. The envelope virus that is shutting down the world.

But, maybe you don’t want to shut down your practice. So, what to do?

Be Proactive

Practitioners should be proactive in this environment of heightened sensitivity.  Communicate right away with your clients about the precautions you take: put an announcement on your website; send out an email blast; and hang a poster on your office wall. Tell them the steps you are taking to ensure their safety while in your treatment space. Here are some examples:

• How you handle laundry:
  • “I wash and dry all my linens in hot water with a 10% bleach detergent mixture.”
  • “We use a professional laundry service and change linens for each client. A disposable headrest cover is replaced for each client.”
• General precautions that you take:
  • “In between sessions, I use a medical-grade disinfectant cleaner on all surfaces touched by myself and clients.”
  • “I use disinfectant wipes on pens, the credit card machine, clipboards, and any other item after each use.”
  • “I use Clorox™ wipes on the door handles in between every session and on the chairs after anyone sits in them.”
• How you practice your own personal hygiene and hand-washing:
  • “I sing Happy Birthday to myself 3 times while scrubbing my hands and arms to well above my elbows with disinfectant soap. And, by the way, I have been doing this all along.”
• Where they can find alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your office
  • “When you come in, please locate the hand sanitizer on the front desk. You will also find one inside the treatment room on the small table by the door and in the bathroom.”
• Where your office literature has gone
  • “We have removed all the magazines from our office. Please bring your own reading materials. Our brochures are now kept behind the front desk, please ask for them and we will be happy to share a fresh new one.”

Consider adding a sentence about them not coming in: “If you are ill with an upper respiratory infection, please reschedule your appointment for two weeks following the cessation of symptoms.”

You can be sure clients are thinking about these things. When you are transparent and proactive with your communications, your clients will feel more at ease with continuing their regular schedules.

Massage Is Proactive Too

Most importantly, remind your clients that a potential public health crisis is causing stress for us all. Remember, getting a massage is actually a proactive step they can take right now to boost their immune systems.

[Disclaimer: Follow the laws of your state or jurisdiction. If authorities mandate quarantine or other actions, obviously you need to follow their instructions.]

[Disclaimer #2: We are not trying to be insensitive here by joking about the beer, we were just trying to get your attention.]

Additional Resources

• A Facebook post from Ruth Werner.
• An article on Julie Onofrio’s page, Massage Practice Builder.
• The CDC FAQs page.

And if our blog title has caused you to sing My Sharona in your head, here’s a link to that Youtube video! (Sorry, not sorry…)