What strange times these are! The news cycle seems to be forever stuck on the coronavirus, but the updates are changing hourly. You probably haven’t left the confines of your home or yard in two weeks. Perhaps you heeded the recommendations to pursue only outdoor recreational activities while maintaining quality social distancing (SIX FEET!), and maybe those recreational activities resulted in injury as they so often do. Never fear, we are here to help. We have kept our doors open during this time specifically for emergent/urgent needs that arise.
If you have been to our building in the last two weeks, you may have wondered if we were actually open due to the inactivity and lack of patients. Let me assure you, we ARE open and treating patients with emergent needs the very best that we can with the standard of care you have come to expect from Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin. Our main clinic, MRI department, surgery center, durable medical equipment store, and physical therapy clinic remain open for urgent needs. You will notice a slightly different procedure upon entering the building as your temperature is checked, your symptoms are evaluated and any recent traveling is triaged before you ever reach the reception desk. You will also notice a lot more masks, gloves, and scrubs and perhaps less friendly small talk than before. Please bear with us. We promise that your care will be just as elite as ever. The precautions are for the safety of our patients, our providers, our staff, and our community. If we can safely treat you for your urgent need, we certainly will. Urgent orthopaedic needs include things like possible fractures, infections, tendon ruptures, and severe and debilitating pain.
If you are an established patient with our physicians, we ask that you have patience with us as we navigate this treacherous time. It breaks our hearts to know we have patients wanting appointments that are not currently safe or advisable to schedule. If you are hoping to be a new patient of ours, please hang in there, and we will get you the care you need as soon as we possibly can. We are trying to do our part in limiting the spread of the coronavirus and keeping everyone safe as we recognize that so much of what we treat is not life threatening. We are hoping our efforts help conserve medical supplies and resources for patients with life threatening symptoms.
Ultimately, the physicians and staff here at Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin chose the field of orthopaedics to be able to help others in their quest to live healthy, active lifestyles. We look forward to the day when we can return to doing just that without the masks that cover our smiles. In the meantime, we ask that you join us in our efforts to be part of the solution and use the home remedies (rest, ice, compression, elevation, over-the-counter medications, etc.) whenever you are able. If you need additional guidance on these remedies, please call us at 262-303-5055 extension 3003 and we will guide you along.
From all of us here - we wish you health and wellness during this troubled time and look forward to treating you again when the dust settles.
Thank you, stay safe, and take care.