Updated COVID-19 MESSAGE – Please Read
Updated April 11, 2022
OPHTHALMIC CONSULTANTS OF THE CAPITAL REGION IS COMMITTED TO KEEPING OUR PATIENTS AND STAFF SAFE WHILE PROVIDING QUALITY CARE!
Dear Patients – Our policies and procedures may change from time to time depending on the CDC or State Guidance. The rate of Covid infections and incidence in our cities will also determine what guidelines may or may not be followed. Thank you for your understanding and your patience!
We are operating under normal office hours, Monday-Friday from 8 am until 5 pm.
We are providing all types of eye care appointments from routine and follow-up care to urgent and emergent care.
All patients under the age of 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult.
Telehealth appointments are available as a means of flexible, on-demand, home-based, care. You may contact our office at 518-438-5273 to schedule an appointment and for answers to any questions about what to expect during your first telehealth visit. You may call us 24/7 and one of our doctors will be available to return your call.
Eye surgery is being performed at our surgery center, the Albany Regional Eye Surgery Center (ARESC). To learn more about eye surgery safety, follow this link Surgery Safety
Optical Services are fully open at each of our offices providing all services, everything from minor repairs to contact lens orders to filling new prescriptions for eyewear. Appointments are required. Please call the front desk number for the office posted on the front door to gain access to the Optical area.
Your Appointment – What to Expect
- Masks (Surgical, K95 or KN95) must be worn at all times
(covering nose, mouth and chin). No Cloth Masks. Surgical masks will be available, if needed. Patients will be asked to reschedule their appointment if they do not wear their mask properly or continuously (even if only removed for a short time) while in our offices.
- Depending on circumstances, you may be asked to wait in your vehicle until we are ready to start your exam. In this case, please call the number on the front door upon arrival to let us know you are here. We may have you “check-in” from your car.
- Otherwise, you should plan to enter our office at your scheduled arrival time (please do not come early or late (we may not be able to see you if you are later than 15 minutes), as we work to balance our schedule with our ability to socially distance in our office). If a patient is too early for their assigned arrival time, the patient may be asked to go back out to their car to wait for the appropriate time.
Your first stop is our front desk. You will be given a form to fill out to assess your Covid-19 status. You can then either go to our waiting room or if you prefer, back to your car. We will either call you on your cell to come back in for your appointment or call you back from the waiting room.
- Only patients with appointments will be permitted to enter the office. Patients will be identified by way of a sticker, which we will provide to be placed on their clothing. This is very important as we cannot have overcrowding of patients in the office which may increase the risk to everyone’s safety. If a patient has a special need or requires a caretaker to be present during their appointment, in these cases, only ONE adult may serve as a caretaker. Please call the number on the front door and speak to our front desk if a caretaker or advocate wishes to be present. The one exception to this rule is for patients under the age of 18. An adult must accompany these patients.
- If the patient arrives by public transportation and our doors are locked, call us using the number on the door to tell us you have arrived and to indicate if you have a mask or not. A mask will be needed prior to entry.
Additional steps we are taking to keep people safe
1. We are managing the number of daily appointments to honor social distancing.
2. All the desk and counter spaces have the addition of plastic sneeze shields.
3. All employees wear face masks as do patients.
4. All slit lamps in examination rooms have medical plastic shields between the patient and the doctor/technician.
5. Each lane and patient or employee “touch area” is sanitized after each patient encounter.
6. Stand-alone HEPA air filters and HEPA Humidifiers have been placed in interior areas to enhance ventilation.
Surgery Center safety measures
- Prior to a surgical procedure, the patient is tested for Covid-19. No one with Covid-19 has ever been admitted to the building.
- Only the patient is admitted to the surgical center. Anyone accompanying the patient needs to wait outside the building.
- Everyone wears a mask.
- Equipment is cleaned according to the most current protocols.
- Appropriate social distancing is maintained.
- Temperature checking of all personnel entering the building.
After having had the privilege of providing eye care to my patients for almost 40 years, I have decided to retire. As you can imagine, it is a big decision and a big change, but it will allow me to spend more time with my family. 