As we welcome more patients back to onsite appointments at Fenway Health, we want to reassure you that we are taking precautions to maintain a safe environment. You’ll see changes like screening in our lobby and check in areas, required masks, and physical distancing measures such as floor markings, furniture spacing, and plexiglass, as well as verbal reminders. We’ve also made some changes to our patient visit guidelines. Those include:
New Process for Patient Visits November 2020
We are updating our patient visit process to keep staff and patients as safe as possible in the face of a new surge in COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts and across the country.
- You will continue to receive a pre-visit phone screening the day prior to your visit
- You will also be screened in the lobby at 1340 Boylston or Fenway: South End when you arrive for your visit
- If you have a MEDICAL APPOINTMENT
- After you check-in, a Medical Assistant (MA) will bring you to an exam room and take your vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, weight).
- Then the MA will leave and your provider will call you either on your cell phone or on the room phone to go over your medical history. This will allow us to cut down on the amount of time you both spend in the exam room together in order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Your provider will then join you for your exam or procedure and a follow-up conversation. Your provider may also provide you with a printed after-visit summary and any follow-up instructions.
- If you have a DENTAL APPOINTMENT
- After you check-in, a Dental Assistant or Dental Hygienist will bring you to a dental operatory and provide you with a pre-procedure mouth rinse.
- For hygiene appointments, a Hygienist will perform a dental cleaning. For all other visits, a Dentist will treat you directly.
- If you have an OPTOMETRY APPOINTMENT
-
- After you check-in, an Optometric Tech (OT) will bring you to an exam room and may conduct some pre-visit testing.
- Your Optometrist will then join you for your exam or procedure and a follow-up conversation. Your Optometrist will provide you with your printed optical prescription(s) and any follow-up instructions.
-
- Then you can go about your day.
Returning to Massachusetts After Travel? (Please Read)
Returning to MA After Travel?
Currently, all Fenway locations require that any patient or clients who have lived in or traveled outside the state of Massachusetts in the last two weeks provide proof of a negative COVID test in order to be seen in person. This can be provided on paper or pulled up on an electronic device upon entry to any Fenway building. These results need to be from 72 hours before your return to Massachusetts or upon your return and before your visit to Fenway Health.
This applies to all patients and clients, regardless of the circumstances of your travel.
COVID Screening for Patients and Clients
Starting Monday, March 15, Fenway Health will no longer include an out of state travel question as part of the in-person visit screening process for CLIENTS/PATIENTS. This means that clients/patients traveling to Fenway Health in-person appointments from other states will no longer be required by Fenway Health to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test in order to be allowed into our buildings.
The reasons for this change in our protocols are:
- By lifting this requirement, we will be removing an obstacle to care for many of our out-of-state patients who are overdue for much needed in-person care or eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment with us.
- We feel that our infection control protocols, coupled with an excellent vaccination rate among our staff, will continue to prevent infections from occurring within our buildings.
- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has already offered an exemption from the testing requirement to folks coming to the state for health care or clinical trial related visits, and we feel we are now able to safely comply with this exemption.
- Other health care organizations have been complying with this exemption for some time and have not reported any significant on-site COVID-19 transmission incidents as a result.
We will continue to screen anyone entering our buildings for COVID-19 symptoms and exposures. We await further guidance from the MDPH regarding how COVID-19 vaccination status will impact our screening protocols.
- We ask that you try to arrive for your appointment no earlier than ten minutes before it is scheduled. We aim to limit your time spent in waiting areas.
- Parents of young children and guardians or caretakers of adults who require special assistance are welcome in our clinical spaces, but we request that other companions remain outside of our buildings if possible while your appointment is completed. This will help us better maintain physical distancing for everyone.
- Everyone entering a Fenway Health building will be screened for COVID-19.
- If you are coming to a clinical appointment at a Fenway Health location, we will provide a surgical mask for you to wear while you are in our space. We ask that you wear this mask instead of any cloth masks or face coverings you might have worn to travel to your appointment.
- Where possible, we have enacted unidirectional foot traffic through our facility to prevent crossing traffic and unnecessary exposures
- The furniture in our waiting rooms has been spaced out to better enable physical distancing.
- We have also installed markings on the floor to help with physical distancing.
- Most staff continue to work remotely. While we still prioritize continuity with your care team, you may be more likely to receive in-person care from staff on other teams.
- Our waiting rooms, restrooms, and other public spaces are all cleaned and disinfected regularly throughout the day. Our exam rooms are cleaned thoroughly after every patient visit.
- Plexiglass has been installed at our check-in counters to better protect staff and patients.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency
DIAL 911
Online Scheduling for Medical & Optometry Appointments Available
Ansin Building
1340 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
Call the Ansin Building
617.927.6000
Fenway: South End
142 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
Call Fenway: South End
617.247.7555
Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center
Borum patients are currently being seen at 1340 Boylston and 142 Berkeley Street. You can still call the Borum’s main number (below) to make an appointment.
