A Note to Our Patients About Coronavirus from CEO, Elizabeth Barnett
As you may be aware, the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) that is impacting communities worldwide, was declared a global pandemic yesterday. At the same time, the first presumptive case was confirmed in the State of Arkansas.
Over the past few days, many of you have expressed your concern about keeping your families healthy and safe. So many of our patients are in vulnerable states of health and are at particular risk of suffering serious complications should they become infected with coronavirus. I want you to know that we share your concerns. Your health and safety, and that of our employees, is our first priority.
We’ve always taken great pride in our clean and well-run store, and this is more important now than ever before. You may feel reassured to know that our very own in-house physician/epidemiologist has been monitoring the situation closely and providing up-to-the-moment guidance and information for weeks now. As a result, we have implemented new protocols aimed at getting our patients the medicine they need, for as long as we possibly can:
Cleaning
On top of our routine cleaning procedures, we’ve added hospital-grade disinfectants to make our routines even more rigorous. More time will be spent cleaning our store, including disinfecting surfaces like counters, door handles, card readers, and keyboards regularly. Like many others, we’re also taking guidance from the CDC, which recommends regular cleaning as one of the most important preventive measures we can take.
Hand Washing
We are installing hospital-grade hand sanitizers at every door, on every workstation, and throughout our building. We’ve replaced our regular bathroom soap with a sanitizer that keeps working for several hours after use. We are stocking up on gloves, and our team members will be replacing them between every patient encounter.
Limiting Contact and Exposure
We are currently looking into methods for improving patient flow and limiting your wait time, thereby reducing the potential for exposure. As an example, we’re staffing up our team to expedite our on-demand services like Online Order Pickup.
Temporarily, out of an abundance of caution, we will no longer allow our patients to touch dispensary jars, or any other products, except the ones they’ve purchased. Smell-testing our products will have to be done from a bit of a distance and for only a brief moment. We recognize this may be a big disappointment for some of you, but this is for the health and safety of ALL our patients. Please bear with us during these unusual times.
Employee Health
Lastly, we’re committed to taking care of our team. We’re providing them with up-to-the-moment guidance and information so they can keep themselves and their families safe. We’re asking sick team members to stay home and encouraging them to avoid large gatherings. And, to help support our team in real-time, we’ve set up a forum where we’re sharing information and taking questions 24/7.
To support our efforts in keeping all of our patients, their loved ones, and our employees healthy and safe during this outbreak, we ask that you do your part as well:
- Please stay home if you, or someone in your house, is sick with symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath, or if you generally feel unwell. Remain home except to see your doctor. If you absolutely must come see us, we will do everything we can to get you your medicine, but please do not enter our lobby. The risk to our patients and employees is too great. Instead, we ask that you please call ahead to our front desk at (501) 504-6065 and we’ll assist you from there.
- If at all possible, please leave your children at home with another responsible adult when you come for a visit. This is for their own health and safety.
- Please use our hand sanitizer liberally when you enter, throughout your visit, and before you leave. You’ll find it everywhere.
- Please wash your hands if you use the restroom.
- Please cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and immediately discard in a trash can.
- Please avoid touching all surfaces, including jars and countertops, to the extent possible, throughout your visit.
- Finally, please have patience with us during these trying times!
At the center of our company’s purpose is a commitment to help all of our patients get the medicine they need, and it’s something we take to heart in good times and bad. This is why we’ll be working hard to keep our store open so we can be there to support you and your families. Our thoughts are with you all.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Barnett
CEO, Harvest Cannabis Dispensary
