KANSAS CITY, MO. — When walking into one of several Sabates Eye Centers in the greater Kansas City metro, visitors will notice that chairs in waiting-room areas have been repositioned to comply with safe distancing guidelines.
Coffeemakers, magazines and unnecessary furniture have been removed to eliminate a possible exposure hazard. Doctors also are using a special plastic barrier called a slit-lamp breath shield, which helps block the exchange of breath between the patient and the doctor.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, Sabates Eye Centers offered four ways to help oneself and others respond to coronavirus, or COVID-19.
- People who wear contact lenses should switch to glasses to lessen the possibility of touching their eyes.
- Wearing glasses could “add a layer of protections” from respiratory droplets that might contain coronavirus.
- Purchase additional eye-medicine, if possible. Experts, according to the statement, advise people to do so in the event they are quarantined or their supplies “become limited.”
- Avoid touching the eyes, but use a tissue “if you feel the urge to itch or rub your eye or even adjust your glasses,” the statement read. The center also suggested washing hands prior to touching the eyes, “even to administer medicine.”
For more information, call 913-261-2020.
