Dear Parents: 

Therapy Playground, Inc has successfully transitioned the majority of our patients back to face to face services.  We continue to fine tune our policies and procedures as we learn more about COVID and transmission in health care settings such as Therapy Playground.   The COVID-19 virus is a serious and highly contagious disease.  Our goal is to provide a safe environment for our patients and employees. While we hope the ongoing changes we make are keeping our employees and patients as safe as possible, there is still risk of transmission.    Our practice wants to make you aware of the additional risks of contracting COVID-19 by attending face to face services. If you receive face to face services at one of our clinics, this is what you can expect: 

  1. Your child will have their temperature taken prior to entering the building.  Please wait in the appropriately marked places in the parking lot for your turn.   If someone is not at our front door to greet you, please call us at 910-423-5622 to let us know of your arrival.   
  2. You will be asked questions about your family’s potential COVID exposure.  If you answer yes to any of these questions, we respectfully ask you to remain on a 2 week hold from last known exposure or a 24 – 72 hour hold from last known symptom for face to face services.  Teletherapy services may continue during that time.
    • Is anyone in your household experiencing the following within the last 24 – 72 hours?
      • Fever? (72 hours)
      • Runny nose? (24 hours)
      • Dry cough? (24 hours)
      • Sore throat? (24 hours)
      • Loss of taste or smell? (24 hours)
    • Has anyone in your household tested positive for COVID-19? This includes people waiting for their tests to come back. 
    • Has anyone in your household come in contact with anyone that is known or suspected to have COVID-19?
    • Has anyone in your household participated in any activities that would deem them high risk?
      • Being in public unmasked when social distancing could not be maintained?
      • Traveled outside of the country by air or cruise ship in the last 14 days?
      • Traveled within the country by air, train or bus in the last 14 days?
      • Frequenting a business or public space where mask use and social distancing are not enforced (beaches, bars, entertainment venues)?
      • Attended a private social gathering of more than 10 people where mask use and social distancing are not enforced?
  3. As a company we have followed CDC guidelines and have established rules for suspected exposure as well as positive exposure. We are requiring our therapists to follow the following guidelines and ask that you also follow these guidelines before returning to in person therapy.
    • If a patient has prolonged exposure (15 minutes or longer as defined by the CDC) to someone who is COVID positive:
      • The patient cannot participate in face to face services for 14 days from the initial date of exposure.
      • Teletherapy services can be provided if insurance companies are still paying for services.
      • An MD note or negative COVID test is not required to return to face to face services.
    • If a patient has prolonged exposure (15 minutes or longer as defined by the CDC) to someone who is COVID suspected positive:
      • The therapist or office staff that speak with the family will let them know we will cancel their next scheduled treatment session or provide teletherapy as requested.
      • The family should be told to call back before their next treatment session to give Therapy Playground an update on the situation and whether or not the suspected positive tested.
      • If the suspected positive is now positive, see above policy.
      • If the suspected positive is now negative, the patient can resume services.
  4. A parent may accompany the child to the treatment room if the parent’s presence is required in therapy.  Parents must wear a mask.  Siblings will not be allowed inside our building, unless they are under 1 year of age and confined to a baby car seat with a blanket over them in common areas. 
  5. Our therapists will remain masked for the entire session, unless performing a therapeutic intervention that requires their mask be removed.  In the event their mask is removed, the therapist will don a face shield.  If a parent is in the treatment session, the therapist must remain masked for the entire session and will use alternative therapeutic interventions.
  6. Children (and parents if they enter our building) will be required to wash their hands before entering the treatment room.
  7. Children over the age of 5 must wear a mask in public per North Carolina executive order.  We ask that you work with your therapist to determine if your child over 5 needs to wear a face mask to enter our building.  We understand that there may be cognitive, safety or behavioral reasons why your child may not be able to wear a mask.  Your therapist will be in contact with you to discuss this policy.
  8. Therapists may use a plexiglass partition with children as appropriate.
  9. Therapists will return your child to your car at the end of the treatment sessions.   If you would like the therapist to discuss your child’s progress with you, you must wear a mask, even if you are in the parking lot.  We can provide you a mask if you do not have one.
  10. Our waiting rooms and bathrooms will be closed indefinitely.  Patients in treatment can use our bathrooms.  If a parent or sibling waiting in the car needs to use the bathroom, we will allow you into the building when the bathroom is clear of patients who are handwashing and office staff have the time to clean the room once you are done.  Our patient bathrooms are being used as handwashing stations and need to be available for that purpose.
  11. Materials and treatment rooms will be sanitized between patients.  We will not use materials that cannot be sanitized.
  12. Please do not bring toys from home to your therapy session.  If your therapist asks you to bring something specific to therapy, please make sure it is in a sealed Ziploc bag.
  13. Therapy Playground will use a variety of EPA approved cleaners to sanitize treatment areas and common spaces.  If you would like detailed information about our daily cleaning schedules, please ask an office staff and they can provide you with that information.
  14. If at any point, your child’s therapist is diagnosed with COVID, we will contact you by phone to tell you the specifics of the situation.  If your therapist is asymptomatic, they may decide to continue to work at home and see your child through teletherapy.  When a therapist at our facility has a COVID positive test, this is the procedure we will follow per the CDC recommendations:
    • The treatment room the therapist is assigned to will be closed for 24 hours after their positive test.  After 24 hours, the contents of the room (furniture, mats, toys, etc) will be cleaned with Cavicide which is a medical multipurpose cleaner.  Once the room is cleaned with Cavicide, other therapists may use the room.
    • Any therapist that shares a treatment space with a therapist that tests positive for COVID will be excluded from work for 10 – 14 days after last day of exposure.  Therapists who have cotreated with the therapist who have tested positive will be evaluated on a case by case basis for direct exposure.  Depending on the situation, Therapy Playground will determine whether the cotreating therapist should or should not be excluded from work.
    • As per the CDC guidelines, Therapy Playground will not require a negative COVID test to return to work after the 10 – 14 day quarantine period.  Therapy Playground will also not require other employees to test for COVID unless they meet the CDC’s definition of exposure and their doctor feels it is necessary.
    • We will discuss with you whether your child should be considered exposed based on type of therapy, mask use and interventions provided.  If we feel your child has been exposed while in treatment with the therapist that has a positive test, we will ask you receive teletherapy or cancel your sessions with your other therapists for the remainder of the 14 day quarantine period.

If you decide to continue with telehealth or therapy hold, please let the office person who contacts you know of your decision. If you would like to remain on a therapy hold, we will keep your child active in our system, but will not hold their treatment day and time for longer than 2 weeks.  When you are ready to resume services, please contact Therapy Playground.  At that time, we will determine if your child still has an authorization for services or if they need a reevaluation.  We also welcome requests to transition to teletherapy, if you feel that is in the best interests of your family at this time.   At this time, the following insurance companies have extended telehealth flexibilities.  Please contact the office if you have questions regarding your child’s insurance. 

  • Tricare Teletherapy – no end date
  • Medicaid Teletherapy – no end date
  • BC/BS Teletherapy – 12/31/2020

I confirm that I have read the notice above and understand and accept that there is an increased risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus through face to face services.  I also acknowledge that I could contract the COVID-19 virus from outside this office and unrelated to my visit here.