IN-OFFICE SAFETY PROTOCOLS

a doctor sanitizing a patient chair

At Heartland Foot & Ankle, our top priority is always protecting the safety and health of our patients and staff, as well as their families and communities.

We’ve come a long way since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as CDC recommendations have changed, we’ve continued to update our protocols and safety measures in order to ensure our patients can continue to get the care they need while keeping risk and inconvenience to a minimum.

CURBSIDE WAITING ROOM

Our reception area remains temporarily closed in order to reduce your time indoors with others. 

When you arrive, please remain in your vehicle and call or text us at (309) 661-9975 to let us know you are here. When we’re ready for you, we’ll let you know and guide you directly to your exam room.

Wellness screenings and temperature checks are no longer being required prior to your appointment. We reserve the right to re-institute these policies as needed should CDC guidelines change in the future.

MASK POLICY 

All Heartland Foot & Ankle Associates staff members will continue to wear masks during our encounters with patients. We kindly encourage our patients to wear masks as well, even if they are fully vaccinated, per current CDC guidelines.

We are hopeful that we will be able to fully remove masks in the medical setting soon, but we’re awaiting further guidance from the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health, and the McLean County Health Department before making that change.

OFFICE CAPACITY

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve operated at reduced patient capacity in order to minimize contact between patients, make time for enhanced cleaning protocols, and limit the number of total people in the office at any given time.

This remains in effect, but we are hopeful that we will be able to expand our scheduling back to pre-COVID capacity by July 1, 2021. More updates to come!

OFFICE CLEANING AND SANITATION PROTOCOLS

At Heartland Foot & Ankle, we’ve always taken cleaning and sanitation extremely seriously. In addition to maintaining our already rigorous protocols, we are performing an additional 3 cleaning sessions per day, in which all high-touch areas and surfaces are thoroughly sanitized.

REDUCED CONTACT CHECKUP

To reduce your time in the office even further, we can send you a text message with your bill for the appointment and you can pay with your phone after you leave the office. We’ll still help you schedule your follow-up appointment in person, but after that you can be on your way.

ALTERNATIVES TO IN-OFFICE APPOINTMENTS

Certain types of appointments may not require you to enter our office at all:

Telemedicine appointments with Dr. Lockwood are still being offered whenever it’s possible to do so. Many follow-up and review appointments can be conducted easily over a video call. CLICK HERE to learn more about telemedicine at Heartland Foot & Ankle Associates.

Online product orders are also available for existing patients who need to restock on their recommended foot care products. CLICK HERE to review our product list or place an order. (You can also simply call us and tell us what you need.) Either way, once your order is placed, we’ll call you to take payment over the phone. You can choose to have us ship your products to you, or you can drive to our office for curbside pickup.

Safety First. Feet Second.

While we’re committed to improving and protecting the health of your feet and ankles, your “whole body” health obviously comes first.

At Heartland Foot & Ankle Associates, we take your safety extremely seriously, and we have always prided ourselves on going above and beyond for our patients. During these uncertain times, that commitment has only grown stronger!

Be well. We will all get through this together. 

a person putting on their mask with a group of people behind him already wearing their masks