Update as of 10/21/2022 If you are not presenting with Covid symptoms it will be your choice to mask or not. I will be masking for the time being as a choice when close up to the client in the therapy room.
Update as of 01/18/2022 With the increase in Covid cases in our area, I am reinstituting that ALL clients wear masks. Thank you.
Update as of 6/8/2021 The CDC is recommending that masking is not required for vaccinated individuals if they are with other vaccinated people. I am now allowing vaccinated persons the option of not wearing a mask if that is their preference. While I have been vaccinated, this is still a personal choice. I may continue to wear a mask while in the treatment room out of safety concerns. I appreciate everyone's concern for others as we move forward.
Update as of 5/21/2020 As of May 8th, Governor Reeves has extended the executive order to stay at home until May 25, 2020. This could still change so please be prepared for that outcome. I have opened my schedule again to take appointments with the new guidelines in place. Currently I will take no more than 3 appointments per day that I am open in order to sanitize the area properly before seeing the next client. There is also a minimum one-hour interval between clients to ensure clients aren't in the same area at once. If you are not feeling well prior to your appointment, you need to cancel and reschedule at another time when you are better. If you have been around anyone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 you must cancel and self-isolate for 14 days. Testing for Covid-19 is encouraged if you think you have been exposed. I will do the same to ensure the workplace is as safe as possible.
Mississippi State Board of Massage has stated the following procedures: 1) Both the client and the therapist will wear a face mask, covering the nose and mouth. It is preferred that the client wear their own face mask but one can be provided if you do not have one. (I seriously suggest you procure one if you don't) The masks protect others even if you are asymptomatic (do not show symptoms but have the virus). 2) Face and hand massage will not take place until gloves can be procured without hampering medical professionals that must have gloves. Face massage would include TMJ treatment. 3) Conversation during the session will be kept to a bare minimum to diminish the transmission of the virus. ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Update as of 4/26/2020 As of April 24th, Governor Reeves has extended the executive order to stay at home until May 11, 2020. This could still change so please be prepared for that outcome. As far as my work, I have to admit my type of work does not allow for social distancing. This needs to be taken into account. I'm trying to stay as up to date as possible on any news from my state board as well as the massage industry that will not only keep me safe, but my clients and family. So stay tuned! We will get through this - together! ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Update as of 3/25/2020 Tate Reeves, the Governor of Mississippi, signed an executive order yesterday indicating that all Mississippi residents avoid non-essential gatherings of 10 or more where you are in close proximity to each other in the same space at the same time until April 17, 2020. Now the key-word is "non-essential" - so by all means you can go to the grocery store, the doctor's office, the post office, and other essential matters of business. However, massage therapists in Mississippi are not considered essential by their definition and there is absolutely no way to work with someone without getting closer than 3 feet, much less 6 feet from them. In addition to this, we have taken the oath to "do no harm".
This has been a tough month for everyone but I am encouraged as I see many obeying the laws set out by our government that are there to protect us. Stay positive and stay on course so we can get through this sooner rather than later. I'll be keeping in touch with you if you are already a client. If you are not a client, please check the CDC, WHO, and mdhs.ms.gov websites for additional information on the virus.
______________________________________________________________________________________________ March 17, 2020: Over the past week I have been monitoring the spread of the Covid-19 virus closely (as I'm sure most of us have). Among the many announcements and decisions being made, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared this a pandemic. This is not a word they use lightly. This determination is based upon irrefutable scientific data. The data confirms that this outbreak is going to increase exponentially over the next several days, weeks and months. As one infectious disease doctor stated, “People must understand that this is not the Covid-19 blizzard, but rather the Covid-19 winter. This isn’t blowing through over the next few days, it is going to be several months.”
Effective today, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, Esprit Therapeutic Massage will temporarily be closed. My goal will be to re-open at the beginning of next month, on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. At that time I may re-evaluate the situation. I will be prepared to welcome the public back and continue to help the community the best way I know how; through kindness and compassion.
As elected officials and community leaders scramble to do the difficult job of keeping the public safe and the load of the virus’s impact on our healthcare system begins to weigh down upon us, it is up to every individual to do what we can to distance ourselves socially from others until we know who is infected (#flattenthecurve). As a wife, I sat down last evening to discuss with my husband, who is over 60 and a diabetic, express his feelings that it would be better to over-react than to wish we had later. We are all doing our best and all of us are going through something right now. We are all being forced to make and live with some hard choices. Doing the right thing may not be the easy thing, but it is ALWAYS the right thing to do!
The determination to close was based upon safety factors; Personal and public safety. I've had so many clients express how grateful they are that I've made this decision because they realize that I really do care about them and for my family first. Until we have the necessary testing kits, it is impossible to know if any one of us may already be infected. If we are able to evade just a single infection, data suggests that we save 3-4 lives. A temporary closing is the right thing to do.
These next few months will be incredibly hard on our families, co-workers, business and community at large. When times like these test us, we have seen again and again, that, as communities come together, we become stronger as a society. I am confident that we will once again figure out a way to overcome this and forge ahead. Small businesses will bounce back. The economy will bounce back. We will bounce back. Until such time, I ask that we continue to be mindful of our surroundings, be kind to others and respectful of the difficult choices we will all have to make.
As always, I would like to thank you for your continued support of Esprit Therapeutic Massage and understanding during these difficult and uncertain times. We will all get through this; together. Sincerely, Celeste Kreutzer, LMT #2082, BCTMB Esprit Therapeutic Massage