As we all begin to think about re-emerging more fully into our lives, we want to express our gratitude to all our patients. Thank you for your patience and loyalty during the COVID-19 crisis. Throughout this life-altering experience, we have seen so many examples of humanity, grace and community. At AONE, we have worked hard to create a “new normal” orthopedic care experience that meets high quality care and safety office standards.  

During this crisis, we limited care to telemedicine visits, restricting office visits for urgent problems. Beginning June 1st, we have added additional hours in our office locations for in-person visits, keeping in mind we must always adhere to social distancing guidelines. We will continue to offer telemedicine visits; however, we recognize that providing the best orthopedic care may require an in-office visit.  

There is nothing more important to us than the health of our patients and staff. Over the past few months, we developed practice policies that mirror the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), State Department of Public Health (DPH) and our local hospital and ambulatory surgical center affiliates.  Below are some key examples of the practice policy enhancements we have made to provide an environment that supports the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.  We are confident our ongoing efforts provide a responsible COVID-19 environment for all those that come to our office. We have been certified by the state for COVID-19 prevention.   

• Daily symptom screening for all employees
• A commitment to ensure any staff member that exhibits any symptoms of COVID-19, or has experienced a high-risk exposure, is asked to remain at home until testing and return to work protocols are met
• All patients and visitors must complete a COVID-19 symptom and risk exposure questionnaire
• A commitment to an environment that supports social distancing and limited prolonged contact
  • Reduced number of patient visits daily
  • Limited visitor policy 
  • Curbside Check-In for our patients at many of our locations—text from your car to reduce the number of patients in our waiting room  
• Enhanced access to PPE (personal protective equipment) and a commitment to enforcing our policies
  • Face masks must be worn throughout the building by all physicians, physician assistants, staff, patients and visitors when social distancing requirements cannot always be met
• Reinforced proper handwashing techniques and access to hand sanitizer 
• Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces and equipment with COVID-19 EPA approved products
• Management safety rounds to ensure proper oversight, ongoing education and insights into our daily practice. These rounds will allow our practice to further develop policy enhancements.  AONE is committed to continually improve on our efforts to provide an environment that supports the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.

 

We continue to provide quality care for your urgent injuries or chronic orthopedic conditions. We are actively scheduling urgent and elective surgeries for our patients. We are following strict COVID-19 testing protocols for all our patients prior to having surgery.

Please know we are committed to our patients and all those who enter our practice. If you have any questions or concerns about our policies, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are happy to offer additional information and answers to questions that may help you. 

 

Thank you for your trust.  

 

Best wishes for health and safety,

All Physicians, Physician Assistants and Staff

Advanced Orthopedics New England

In keeping with our fight against the coronavirus, all our offices are now certified by the state for COVID-19 prevention.

Click here to see the graphic.

 

Dr. Berkowitz recently had the pleasure of talking with Kara Sundlun on WFSB Channel 3’s Facebook Live about our introduction of telemedicine appointments. It’s an excellent interview that you can see in full when you click on the video.  Kara went through the process of becoming a telemedicine patient through our new AxS Health app and subsequently having a telemedicine appointment with Dr Berkowitz. They discussed how the diagnosis and treatment works very efficiently in these COVID-19 affected times.

Click here to see the video.

Coronavirus Statement. 

Please know that there is nothing more important to us than the health of our patients and staff. The recent global outbreak of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has now spread to New England, and we would like to advise everyone to observe all fundamental precautions to limit the contagion as much as possible.

The key first step is to remember the basics in your everyday activities: 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds 
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue away
• Stay home from work if you’re sick 
• Avoid touching surfaces in public 
• Try not to touch your face 
• Avoid people who seem visibly sick

If you have any of the following symptoms, please call and reschedule your appointment; we thank you for your compliance in keeping everyone healthy and safe: 

• Fever
• Runny nose
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Flu-like symptoms

Our office locations (Bloomfield, Enfield, Springfield Ma) remain open so we can continue to care for you. We proactively increased our sanitization protocol beyond our already high standards of safety. 

If you, or anyone who accompanies you, arrive for your scheduled appointment and are visibly symptomatic, Advanced Orthopedics New England reserves the right to refuse treatment and reschedule you for a later date in order to protect other patients and our staff. 

While some visits, such as post-op appointments, need to be done in person, we are now offering telemedicine appointments – a scheduled video chat with your physician. Contact us for more information – to schedule an appointment call 860.728.6740 or via email info@ctortho.com

Thank you in advance for your compliance. Please stay safe and be healthy through the upcoming weeks.

Dr. Scott Bissell was on Better CT recently talking about rotator cuff tear treatments, as well as other services we provide, including orthopedic urgent care. He and his PA Taylor Kelley did a wonderful job explaining everything, and many thanks to his super patient Lynda.

Click here to see the video.

Coinciding with the launch of our new Orthopedic Urgent Care facility in Enfield, Channel 3’s Scot Haney and Better CT aired their excellent interview with our Dr. Berkowitz. See video here. 

We have now opened our new Urgent Care facility in Enfield at 113 Elm Street. For all sprains, strains and fractures just walk in, no appointment necessary. We are open Monday to Friday 9:00-5:00. For more information visit our Urgent Care page.

Dr. Wasserlauf and Dr. Bissell enhanced their surgical expertise last weekend, becoming certified to perform robotic surgery for knee and hip replacements. Advanced Orthopedics New England is now the place to  come to see if robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery is right for you.