To my Patients, Friends and the Entire Walker Orthodontics Family,
On March 19th, Governor Brown issued an executive order mandating that all dental and medical offices reschedule non-emergency procedures no sooner than June 15th. The time frame in this announcement left me in a state of disbelief. Over the past few days, I have been struggling to process the fact that we cannot see you all for three months and figure out how to share this devastating news with you. Although this mandate is out of my control, I still feel responsible to care for you and never want to let you down. This is a situation I would have never dreamt I would face as an orthodontist and business owner.
Although things will be different for a little while, I am still here for you. Feel free to reach out with questions by email, text or phone. If you don’t reach me right away over the phone, please leave me a message and I will call you back. Above all, I promise to do my best not to prolong your treatment any more than we have to.
What you need to know:
- Walker Orthodontics is closed and will remain closed until June 15th. Should conditions improve and the June 15th executive order be amended, we will reach out to share the good news!
- We will reach out to you if you have an appointment scheduled with us before June 15th. You do not need to call us to cancel your appointment.
- I will personally review each and every patient’s chart to evaluate your treatment during this time. If I recommend a virtual appointment (video conference call) during this time, I will be reaching out to you! Should you have any concerns that you would like to discuss via a virtual appointment, please reach out and let me know.
- If we asked you to wear elastics (rubber bands) at your last appointment, please continue to wear them as prescribed. Let us know if you run low and we’ll mail additional elastics to you.
- For Invisalign patients, if you finish wearing the last aligner we gave you please continue to wear it no less than every night to hold your teeth in position. If we have more aligners I recommend giving to you during this time, we will be in touch to coordinate getting them to you.
- For all of you wearing braces or Invisalign, please understand that your teeth are still moving! All the progress that happens between appointments is still happening and your teeth will continue to improve even if you aren’t coming in to see me.
- We will be communicating more frequently during this time on our social media, if you wish to hear from us please follow our office on Facebook (link) and Instagram (link).
In addition to curbing the spread of the virus, the Oregon executive order is intended to preserve PPE for the healthcare workers on the front lines that need it most. We will immediately donate our surplus gloves, masks and hand sanitizer to the healthcare workers who need them more than we do.
On a personal note, my sister works at a hospital in Washington state. Speaking to her over the phone every night after her shift has given me the perspective I need to be brave. The situation in our hospitals is dire. Though this time is going to be hard on all of us, sacrifice is needed for the greater good of our community. Let’s work together to slow this virus down so our healthcare system can take care of those that get sick.
Stay home, stay positive, stay healthy and keep smiling.
-Dr. Camille Walker
Additional Resources:
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
Oregon Health Authority: https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19
OHSU: https://www.ohsu.edu/health/coronavirus-resources
