Virtual Care

Sept 16, 2021

As most of you will know by now. our provincial government has declared a state of emergency due to an overcapacity in hospital and ICU beds for Covid patients and new restrictions have been imposed as a result.  No changes will occur on the physio/massage clinic side.  Which means we are still offering both in person and virtual appointments.  Whichever is best for you!  For in-person appointment, we will continue to screen all patients, masks are mandatory and spacing/scheduling/cleaning protocols that we've been following for over a year will remain the same.

Capacity in the gym will be limited to a maximum of 10 at any given time and distancing of 3 m will be required between people not from the same household.  Currently 4-6pm on weekdays is the only time of day that we run into a possible capacity issue, so at this time we will be limiting workouts to one hour for each member between 4-6pm.  If you need more than an hour to work out, please come at a less popular time.  We are not currently booking appointments but will start if we determine it is required.  Masks are required in the hallway, lobby, clinic, waiting room, etc. but can be removed once you are exercising at a 3m distance from your gym mates!  Please continue to self screen on the sign in sheet and carry cleaning equipment to sanitize your area as you go.  

Thank you so much to all of our members who are so respectful of our business and other members and compliant with these protocols.    

June 2, 2021

Exciting news! If vaccination uptake continues to head in the right direction and hospitalizations continue to decline accordingly, we will be RE-OPENING THE GYM ON JUNE 10TH!!! We have already moved our PRIME senior class from on-line to the park this week, and look forward to seeing more of you in person on the 10th!  Distancing and masking will still be required until Stage 3 commences, but no appointments will be required.  Come the first time during business hours or give us a call, so we know to reactivate your card!  The current target for Stage 3 is only two weeks later on June 24th.  The first day of Stage 3, we will reactivate all cards for those members who have time left on their card.  For example, if you had 4 months remaining on your card when the gym closed, your card will be reactivated with 4 months remaining.  If you would like your card reactivated in Stage 2, please let us know and we will be happy to reactivate it early, but all cards will automatically be reactivated at the start of Stage 3!

Physiotherapy services continue to be offered both in clinic and virtually and massage services continue to operate in person as well as in the comforts of your own home!

March 2, 2021

Good news!  Though there are still limitations and restrictions, by tomorrow morning, our on-line booking website will have appointment spots (Monday to Friday) that you can book for a gym work out! 

According to the step 2 changes announced last night in Alberta's "Path Forward", individual and group fitness activities are now permitted, with restrictions.  Low intensity exercise is now allowed without a trainer, however it must be scheduled by appointment, masking is mandatory and distancing is required at all times.  The only time masking is not required is during high intensity exercise which is only permitted under instruction of a trainer (who will be masked).  We do still have a few openings for personal training sessions and these are still being discounted until such time that the gym is allowed to open to a greater capacity.  

We understand that "low intensity" is a difficult thing to judge.  When does 'light weight-lifting' become 'heavy weight-lifting'?  We would encourage your breathing rate to be your guide.  If you are feeling the need to remove your mask, your breathing rate has increased to the point of high intensity.  Taking longer rest periods between sets will quickly settle this, along with decreasing your weight.  As many of you have had months off from lifting, consider this a safe way to start back gradually!

We also understand that many of you may want to carry on with your current fitness routines at home or outside until more restrictions are lifted.  For this reason, all memberships will remain on hold at this time, UNLESS you book in for a gym appointment. 

Starting tomorrow morning check out the schedule at:https://performancephysiotherapy.janeapp.com/locations/performance-health-fitness-centre/book#/listunder "Gym Time" (either 2 or 3 spots) when you are ready to come back to the gym or give us a call at 403-742-4533! 

February 1, 2020

Physiotherapy and massage services are both up and running as per usual.  Physiotherapy can be done virtually or in-person, whichever is best suited for the client.  Massage therapy DOES NOT require a referral, and both can be booked on-line or by calling the clinic.  

As per the latest government announcement, the gym will remain closed to the public, but starting Feb 8th will be open for one-on-one (or immediate family) personal training session in person, by appointment.  In order to make this a more affordable option we are discounting personal training until such time that the gym is allowed to reopen in the usual capacity.  Please give us a call if this is of interest to you.  

As well, for those you are still prefering to workout at home, on-line personal training is still being offered and can be safely shared with friends via zoom.  According to our government's "path forward", it appears that in person fitness classes are at least another 7 weeks away.  As a result, we are e-mailing out free recorded work outs twice per week for all interested.  You need only to send us your email and ask to be added to the list.  

Keep following us on facebook as we are planning more regular physio and fitness tips to keep you going through this season!

December 10, 2020

As per the new government restrictions both the gym and massage clinic will be closed as of this weekend until January 11th (or as per any future changes to government regulations).  The gym will be locked on Friday at 5pm when we close the clinic, so please come for any belongings you may need before then.  All gym memberships will be frozen at that time and the lost time will be added to your card upon re-opening.  Classes will continue virtually until the end of their session (end of next week).  The physiotherapy clinic continues to operate for both virtual and in-person visits.  COVID policies and procedures remain unchanged with the exception of the entrance flow, which will return to the ramp/front desk on Monday Dec 14th.  

November 30, 2020 

We regret to inform you that Stettler and County has now reached COVID classification of "enhanced" and as a result we are now prohibited from running any fitness classes or small group training in person.  Starting tomorrow morning, all of our classes and small group training sessions will now be running via zoom ONLY, for the remainder of this session.  If you attend one of our classes, you should already be receiving the zoom links and recordings via email.  Please call let us know if you are not receiving these or are struggling to access.  We would love to help you!  The gym remains open with the same COVID rules and regulations as prior.  

November 13, 2020

As many of you are likely aware, our provincial government announced
New targeted public health measures yesterday  that come into effect today, Nov. 13.  These new targeted measures are for all communities in the province on the enhanced list (purple zones) to protect our health system and limit the spread of COVID-19.  Stettler and County are NOT on the enhanced list and therefore these new restrictions do not apply to us, at this time.  As a result all of our fitness classes will continue to run next week as per usual.  In both classes and gym use, we will continue to be diligent in mitigating our risk of infection with symptom/exposure screening, social distancing, capping numbers and enhanced sanitization.  Thank you all so much for adhering to these guidelines, respecting and encouraging each other as you have!  The large majority of our classes also already offer a virtual option (via zoom), for those who prefer to do them at a distance for a variety of reasons.  We plan to add a virtual option to our HIIT classes starting next week as well.  If our region's COVID cases rise dramatically and we are then put on the enhanced list, we will simply switch to strictly virtual, temporarily, as needed.  Physical fitness is an essential part of our physical, mental and emotional well-being and we will continue to support this aspect of your health.  Thank you so much for supporting us in return:)  We are feeling truly blessed to live and work in the community that we do!
 
Rhonda Missikewitz, BSc.P.T., GunnIMS, CPMA

Physiotherapist/Owner

June 12, 2020

We are super excited that today marks the beginning of Alberta's relaunch strategy phase 2, a week earlier than originally expected and WITH new restrictions lifted (like gym opening) originally scheduled for phase 3! 

As a result, we have exciting new changes coming to Performance starting on MONDAY JUNE 15th with both massage services and the fitness facility open for business!

GYM:

We are working hard today to put together a new "COVID season membership contract", get required signage up and all screening and cleaning procedures in place.  Anyone who had a membership prior to March 17th will need to come in during business hours for a quick re-orientation with one of our staff and sign the new contract.  We will then re-activate your membership with however much time you had left on it when we closed on the 17th.  For example:  Carl Stettler had purchased a 3 month membership mid February, we closed mid March after he had only used one month.  When Carl comes in Monday and signs the new consent his card will therefore be activated with the two remaining months! 

We are also happy to accept new members starting Monday as well! 

CLASSES:

Classes will continue to be offered outside at West Stettler Park as scheduled, and as encouraged by Alberta Health.  In the event of bad weather, they will be moved indoors to the Stettler Alliance Church gym in order to maintain ample availability for social distancing and not overload capacity restrictions at Performance. 

PERSONAL TRAINING:

Personal training will continued to be offered at West Stettler Park.  As well, some new time slots will be available at the gym with both Robyn and Taryn starting next week.  We look forward to welcoming Melissa back from her Mat leave in July as well!  For those who are loving working out at home, but want some training too, we are still willing to do training virtually as well.

MASSAGE:

All three massage therapists will be accepting appointments starting next week! 

PHYSIO:

All three physiotherapists continue to offer a hybrid of physio appointments both in-person and via tele-health.

PLEASE NOTE:

We are doing our best to continue to provide you with the comfortable, familiar and welcoming environment you are accustomed to, with enhanced safety precautions in mind, ensuring an even higher level of sanitation than ever before. 

All aspects of the business are running with new policies and procedures in place to MAXIMIZE your health and wellness while minimizing any risks!  These procedures do differ however, in the clinic vs the gym.  For example, the clinic is a health care setting and the nature of the appointments do not allow for social distancing, therefore masks are worn.  In the gym, social distancing IS possible and it would be hazardous to work out while wearing a mask! 

In order to minimize hallway congestion and maintain risk management at the highest standard possible we have opened a new clinic entrance.  When you come in the front doors on mainstreet, clients attending for physio and massage will enter to the right  (up 3 stairs), and gym patrons will head left up the hall ramp.  (If you are a clinic patron and prefer a ramp to stairs, please feel free to enter the old way, up the ramp.)  

All in-person appointments (physio, massage and training) MUST be booked over the phone (not on-line) at this time, due to the pre-appointment screening required.  We are hoping that by July the regular changes to policies and procedures will stabilize and we will again be able to re-open our on-line booking platform for all services. 

We are so excited to see all of your smiling faces again very soon.  

May 4, 2020

We are excited to announce that seeing our physio clients in the clinic is now an option again!  Within a few hours of sending out our May newsletter last week, we got the news that some restrictions on physiotherapy clinics would be lifted as early as Monday May 4th (today)!  We do still need a few days to prepare, but starting next week, we will be taking a limited number of in person visits as well as continuing the virtual visits we are already doing.  

It is important to realize however, that the spread of COVID-19 is still a real risk, and as a result, things will be run a bit differently.  Following guidelines from both Dr. Hinshaw (Chief Medical Officer) and Alberta Physiotherapy Association and College, many health and safety measures are required in order to minimize contact.

We are still recommending virtual visits whenever possible.  All initial assessments will be done virtually, as well as all aspects of treatment that can be serviced this way.  As this includes history taking, education, advise, functional movement assessments, exercise prescription and progressions, there are many of our clients who will be well looked after in the safety and comforts of their own home.  

For those who would benefit from treatments that require a more hands on approach such as manual therapy, traction or needling, we have made scheduling and staffing changes to serve you in the safest way possible.  

Prior to attending our clinic in person, all clients will be screened over the phone for respiratory health and risk factors.  This screen will be repeated for clients and staff each day that they attend.  As it is not possible to keep to social distancing during an in-person physiotherapy treatment, all therapists and clients will be required to wear a mask as per AHS guidelines.   Hand sanitizer will be provided for you on your way in and out of the clinic.  If you have your own mask, please bring it and put it on before entering the building.  We ask that you attend on-time and stay in your vehicle until 5 min prior to your scheduled appointment. The therapists are only seeing one client at a time and have a specific time slot booked for you.  We want to make the most of it! We ask that payment, extended health care billing be looked after over the phone as much as possible when booking the appointment.  Other logistical details will be provided for you over the phone prior to the appointment as well.  

To determine whether or not you would be best treated 'virtually' or 'in-person', please call us at 403-742-4533.  Virtual visits can still be booked on-line however we are booking all 'in-person' visits over the phone at this time, due to the screening requirements.  

Massage therapy is currently scheduled to be re-opened in phase 2 of Alberta's relaunch plan, and fitness centres in phase 3.  Phase 1 begins on May 14th, but we do not yet have dates for phase 2 and phase 3.  We are excited to be able to offer those services for you again in the coming months!

March 27, 2020

As per the premier's decision this afternoon to shut down all non-critical health services including physiotherapy, we will no longer be able to offer in-person appointments even for urgent cases.  However, we have done a number of telehealth appointments this past week and they have gone quite well.  It is a great way for us to video conference with you, allowing us to answer your questions, give advice, see how you are moving and demonstrate exercise progressions.  Feedback has been very good, insurance companies are covering these appointments, and if you have a smart phone, ipad, laptop, or tablet it is easy to do!  Please call the clinic and leave a message if you are interested in a telehealth appointment.  We will be checking messages daily. 

The telehealth appointments have been going so well, we are actually extending the option to personal training clients as well.  So if you are missing your personal trainer, and need some accountability and motivation, let us know and we will set you up for a training session at home!  As well, please follow us on facebook for free daily workouts you can do in the comforts of your own home.  A new one will be posted Monday through Saturday at 7am.  For those of you who are now make-shift home-schooling teachers, this would be a great way to offer 'phys ed' to your children through a daily family workout!  Lastly, we are offering a new on-line fitness challenge starting April 1, to keep our mental and physical health in good shape!  It will also help us as a community meet our social needs in a new way, and keep us positive, connected, motivated, accountable and healthy through this pandemic.  Check out our facebook page for more info, or call and leave a message at the clinic and we will give you a call back with all the details.   

March 19, 2020

First of all, my sincere apologies for the abundance of emails and communications with you in the past week!  I realize you are getting emails from everyone (from retailers and phone companies alike).  Unfortunately, developments over the last few days regarding COVID 19 highlight the fact that this is a fluid situation with new information and recommendations emerging daily. Like all health professionals and health organizations, we are working hard to stay abreast of, and consider the implications of new developments. We continue to look to our provincial regulatory boards for guidelines. Our goals, as always, are what is best for the health of our clients, staff and community at large. With this in mind...

With respect to the fitness centre, it will continue to remain closed until further notice.

With respect to the physiotherapy clinic, we will continue to provide care to patients in need of treatment, in a temporarily restricted capacity. 

We at Performance agree with the stance of Alberta Physiotherapy (our provincial regulatory board) that stated on March 18, 2020:

"physiotherapy clinics and multidisciplinary practices remain open for business at their owner’s discretion... provided appropriate measures are in use...

...If all private health-care facilities close, the burden on the health system, including emergency departments, physician’s offices and urgent care clinics would increase dramatically, taxing an already stressed system. Physiotherapists have a role to play in providing primary care services to injured Albertans, thereby reducing this burden."

However, in order to keep the risk of infection as low as possible we are making some temporary changes.

1.  Decreasing 'in-person appointments', clinic hours, and alternating staff to limit the volume of human interactions occurring.  

2.  Altering staff and patient booking practices to ensure we can disinfect effectively, and maximize social distancing by having minimal staff and patients in the building at any given time.

3.  We will be offering appointments by 'tele-health' for all WCB, insurance and private pay clients for whom this is appropriate. 

4.  "In-person appointments" will be limited to initial assessments as well as acute/urgent cases that cannot be treated effectively over tele-health. Each physiotherapist will have a limited number of hours each week for these visits.

***To determine whether you would be best treated by 'tele-health' or 'in-person' please speak with your therapist or call our office at 403-742-4533. 

Tentative clinic hours starting Monday March 23rd will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10-3 and Tuesday/Thursday 7-1.  These may change at a moments notice. 

Additionally, prior to attending our clinic in person, all clients will be screened over the phone for respiratory illness, any other illness and risk factors for COVID-19.  We ask all clients to 'scrub in and scrub out' by washing their hands immediately upon entering the facility and we are directing any staff who are ill to stay home.  As previously mentioned, we have stepped up the intensity of both cleaning and disinfecting as well. 

While there is an abundance of information (and misinformation) available through mainstream media, social media, and other sources it can be difficult to know what information to trust. As a result, we find it helpful to focus on websites and recommendations from Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Alberta Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the World Health Organization. When/if this information is conflicting, then we would suggest giving the most attention to our local experts as their advice should be most relevent to our geography.  We've listed a few links at the bottom of this announcement, for those interested. 

We know that the COVID-19 virus can be alarming and a bit overwhelming. At Performance Health & Fitness Centre, we see this as a partnership journey with you as we make it a priority to take care of each other. 

The steps that we have put in place are due both to our love for our clients but also for our great staff who are here for our clients.

We can all play a role in this joint battle with the virus.  We continue to advocate for facts over fear, what we CAN control and thankfulness for what we have.

At Performance Health & Fitness Centre, the health of our clients is the cornerstone of why we exist. We look forward to continuing to be a partner in your health and wellness journey and take steps with you to create a healthy and sanitary environment.

The team @ Performance Health & Fitness Centre

Alberta-specific information (including travel restrictions, local actions, etc.)

• https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page16997.aspx
• https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans

Health Canada

• https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/being-prepared.html
• https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html

WHO

• https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

March 17, 2020

We hope that you and your family are well. In the last couple of days we have all seen a new reality regarding the concerns about the COVID-19 virus.

At Performance, your health and well-being is our top priority.

We are monitoring recommendations from the health authorities multiple times per day and Alberta has now declared a state of emergency under the Public Health Act, as of this afternoon. 

This states that:

Alberta declared a state of emergency under the Public Health Act.

New public health measures are now recommended to limit the time Albertans spend in large crowds and crowed spaces. Effective immediately:

• all events over 50 people to be cancelled
• no attendance at rec centres, casinos, bingo halls, bars, theatres and other facilities
• sit-down restaurants can remain open at lower capacity

As a result, we will be closing the 24 hour fitness centre this evening. 

The physio/massage clinic falls under a health care service and will remain open full hours for the remainder of this week, but will close as of Monday for all but urgent cases.  To avoid extra strain on emergency rooms, we will be checking messages for any acute/urgent concerns daily and will promptly to respond to your needs.  We do have telehealth availability for consultations as well.  If you have an appointment booked for this week, we are keeping all appointments at this time, and we look forward to helping set you up with a home program.  Providing you are healthy and carry no risk factors, we will be happy to safely treat you.  As you know, we have private rooms, beds are well spaced, and we use hospital grade disinfectants between every client.  We will re-evaluate the status of the clinic on March 30th to see if we are able to extend hours or if we should expand our telehealth services.  We will correspond by email, website and facebook as updates occur.  Follow us on facebook for regular injury prevention, rehabilitation and general health tips.

In regards to the fitness centre, all memberships will be 'suspended' until we are able to open again.  If you have just recently purchased a '1 month membership' for example, it will be valid for a full month once we re-open.   Any time lost will be added to your current membership. 

For those who attend classes with us, home workouts will be emailed or posted on your private class facebook groups for the 1.5 weeks remaining in this session.  The next session of classes was scheduled to start on April 13th, but we will re-evaluate our options as the weeks progress. 

We will truly miss seeing you face to face, however, it is MORE IMPORTANT than ever to stay fit and healthy!  Keep moving!  Social distancing does not mean disconnect!  Stay connected with your friends and family (and us)!  Go outside for a run, walk, ski, or snowshoe!  We will be making home exercise suggestions regularly through facebook as well.  Please stay tuned in, toned up and take care of your health.

Sincerely,  

Rhonda Missikewitz

March 15, 2020

This last week has been a bit surreal for all of us, as we try to decipher how each aspect of our lives is affected by the global current events, which are rapidly changing day by day.  We at Performance, continue to operate with a full staff and will remain open to our valued clients under normal business hours.  We are also monitoring the latest news about COVID-19 and continue to perform our normal cleaning procedures to protect our clients that include:

1.  All staff members washing their hands between clients.

2.  Changing pillowcases/sheets and using disinfectant to wipe down tables before each client is brought back to a treatment room.  

3.  Disinfecting all exercise equipment immediately after use by both clients and staff.  

4.  Disinfecting all devices held by staff members immediately after use including ultrasound, electrical stimulation, laser, hot/cold packs.  

We have increased the frequency of disinfecting any other objects that clients or staff members come in contact with including door handles, toilet handles, the front desk, keyboards, etc.  

We encourage each of you to know symptoms, be aware of your exposure and to avoid coming to the clinic or gym IF you feel you are possibly carrying something contagious.  We are a facility that prioritizes health.  We support both rehabilitation post injury/illness AND PREVENTION!  For those of you who are unable to visit us in person over the next little while for whatever reason, (and should isolation requirements become more intense over the following weeks) we do offer:

1.  Telehealth options for physiotherapy and personal training

2.  Home massage visits will continue to be offered

3.  The majority of our spring fitness classes will offer remote access    so you can join in from the comfort of your homes!  

Spring classes have been postponed by 1 week, and will now start on April 13th.  Details will be posted on our website and facebook by the end of the work day tomorrow, but are very similar to our current class list.  

With regards to COVID 19, I personally feel, it is important that we do not have our head in the sand and that we listen and learn from those who are ahead of us in exposure to this new virus.  Exponentional math is real.  We do not want to overburden our hospitals, physicians and other health care workers who, with recent provincial government actions, are already working under much tension and stress.  HOWEVER, it is also important to focus on FACTS not FEAR.  As I mentioned on facebook, I feel that FEAR is just as contagious as a virus, and has negative effects to ALL those exposed. As a result, I believe we need to keep PERSPECTIVE for our mental health as well as our physical health as the two are more connected than we know.  We need to be deliberately focusing on truth, facts, what we CAN control and thankfulness.  

It is TRUE that we are much more likely to die of heart disease, cancer, stroke, an accident or suicide than a flu. It is also true however, that as healthy, fit individuals we can carry a flu with minimal symptoms and pass it on unknowingly to someone who will experience it in a much worse way.  We need to be informed and respectful of each other.

It is a FACT that simple steps (that the public health nurses have been teaching us since kindergarten), like covering our mouths when we cough, and hand washing, are hugely effective at stopping the spread of virus'.  "Pandemic" does not refer to the lethality of a virus but to how quickly and how far it can spread.  It is a fact that we live in a region with currently, no confirmed cases of COVID 19.  It will inevitably come, as all virus' do, but...

We should be THANKFUL to live in a country, province, and small town where social distancing is already geographically a given in comparison to countries and cities of higher populations.

We should be THANKFUL to be in one of the later countries affected, so we can learn from others, taking measures to 'flatten the curve' and therefore decrease the effects.  

We should be THANKFUL to live in an era where medicine is so advanced and globally shared.  We knew more about this virus 10 days after it's first detection than we knew about AIDS or SARS months in, and it is MUCH less severe. 

We should be THANKFUL to live in a decade where our churches already broadcast their sermons live, our fitness instructors already post workouts on line, and we can FaceTime our family across the world, making social isolation unnecessary.  

My two favourite articles regarding this outbreak so far are:

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-ten-reasons-why-you-ought-not-to-panic-132941

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/health/coronavirus/anxious-about-the-coronavirus-here-are-5-tips-from-mental-health-experts-1.4851272

My favourite quote today:

'Viruses are contagious.  

But so is panic, fear, hysteria, calm, grace, empathy, love and kindness.  

Choose wisely which one you will spread.'