JUNE 28TH, 2021

As the province is about to open to the rest of Canada in July we remind RMTs the importance of screening and following guidelines.

COVID Screening:

RMTs can treat clients who travelled outside of the province at their own or their clinic’s discretion
RMTs are allowed to require a maximum of 2 weeks waiting period, but not self-isolation, before a client can be treated if they travelled outside of the province
Clients should be made aware of any new requirements prior to their appointments and it should be added to your COVID screening questionnaire
Clients should be given options of alternatives to treatment if the RMT is denying/postponing treatment. This may include referral to another RMT, health provider, home care instructions and/or rescheduled for the next available appointment time after the two week waiting period

Vaccines

Clients may be asked if they are vaccinated for the sole purpose to update their personal health information however a client does not need to disclose this information
A RMT does not need to disclose to clients if they are vaccinated or not
Treatment can not be denied or postponed based on vaccination status
PPE requirements for clients (masks) and RMTs remain the same regardless of vaccination status

The number one defence we have to protect the public and the members is the screening and use of PPE. We understand many are tiring of the guidelines in place but safety must always be at the forefront. As the Chief Medical Officer makes recommendations and loosens restrictions we will do the same and update the members and public.

Regards,

The Covid Committee

march 25^th, 2021

Based on the update from Department of Health and Community Services on Wednesday, March 24^th, 2021 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is moving to Alert Level 2 on Saturday, March 27^th, 2021 at 12:01 am.

The CMTNL is requiring that all RMT’s in Newfoundland and Labrador follow Phase 2 Guidelines for PPE. Please see below for updated guidelines. If you wish, you can still follow Phase 1 guidelines as well. This will be reassessed as changes are made by the Department of Health and Community Services.

All updated guidelines may also be accessed on our website (https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phase-1-^0-2-Updated-March-10-2021.pdf).

As always, the CMTNL will continue to communicate with the registrants in a timely manner should any changes occur with respect to this recommendation. Please know that if you require any further guidance or information, you can contact us at any time, and we will do our best to provide the necessary guidance.

Stay safe,

Yolanda Critch

CMTNL Registrar

March 10^th, 2021

Based on the update from Department of Health and Community Services on Wednesday, March 10^th, 2021, the Avalon Region will move to Alert Level 4. Outside the Avalon Region will move to Alert Level 3.

This means that all RMT’s inside the Avalon Region may return to work as of Saturday, March 13^th, 2021 at 12:01am. The CMTNL is requiring that all RMT’s inside the Avalon Region who are returning to work to do so following Phase 1 Guidelines for PPE. Please see below for updated guidelines. This will be reassessed as changes are made by the Department of Health and Community Services.

RMT’s outside the Avalon Region can now treat clients following Phase 2 Guidelines. Please see below for updated guidelines.

All updated guidelines may also be accessed on our website (https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phase-1-^0-2-Updated-March-10-2021.pdf).

The areas outside the Avalon region include:

Labrador-Grenfell Health;
Central Health;
Western Health; and,
Zone 4 of Eastern Health, which encompasses the Burin and Bonavista Peninsulas, as well as the Clarenville area, including the Isthmus.

February 26, 2021

This means that all RMT’s outside the Avalon Region are able to return to work as of Saturday, February 27^th,2021 at 12:01am. The CMTNL is requiring that all RMT’s outside the Avalon Region who are returning to work to do so following Phase 1 Guidelines for PPE. Please follow link https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phase-1-Updated-March-1-2021.pdf or the attached document for Guidelines. This will be reassessed after the 2 week period.

Based on the update from Department of Health and Community Services today, all areas outside the Avalon Region are moving to Level 4. The Avalon Region will remain in Level 5 for the next 2 weeks with an update at that time.

Any RMT’s within the Avalon Region are still in Level 5 and only able to treat urgent or emergency clients. Urgent and emergent care can be offered for those clients who meet the following:

· Urgent – provision of services to clients that would experience a significant exacerbation of symptoms or experience significant deterioration of their condition in the absence of care

· Emergency – services necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of the health of the client.

Any Therapist who continues to treat must do so according to phase 1 guidelines and register with the CMTNL by emailing registrar@cmtnl.ca.

The areas outside the Avalon region include:

Labrador-Grenfell Health;
Central Health;
Western Health; and,
Zone 4 of Eastern Health, which encompasses the Burin and Bonavista Peninsulas, as well as the Clarenville area, including the Isthmus.

Stay safe,

Yolanda Critch

Amended February 13^th, 2021

As we are all aware, yesterday the province moved to Alert Level 5 due to the discovery of the new Covid-19 variant. This news of course is disheartening and upsetting to us all.

Alert Level 5 states: “Private health care clinics are closed, except those of physicians and nurse practitioners. Closed clinics can offer urgent and emergent care, and virtual options can be offered for non-urgent care.”

Therefore, all Registered Massage Therapists in Newfoundland and Labrador are to suspend all services until Department of Health has lifted the restrictions. Urgent and emergent care can be offered for those clients who meet the following:

· Urgent – provision of services to clients that would experience a significant exacerbation of symptoms or experience significant deterioration of their condition in the absence of care

· Emergency – services necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of the health of the client.

Any Therapist who continues to treat must do so according to phase 1 guidelines: (https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phases-Updates-9305.pdf)

For those who have evaluated your clientele and made the decision to treat, for essential and urgent clients, we like to inform you that you are required to register with the CMTNL by Monday, February 15th 12:00 p.m.

The CMTNL have contacted the Department of Health and Community Services requested a stop work order for all RMT’s in a “hot spot”. As always, the CMTNL will continue to communicate with the registrants in a timely manner should any changes occur with respect to this recommendation. Please know that if you require any further guidance or information, you can contact us at any time, and we will do our best to provide the necessary guidance.

COVID Update: February 2021

Covid Screening

A registered Massage Therapist can make a professional decision based on the COVID screening answers and possible follow up questions to refuse/post pone treatment or proceed.

PPE Requirements

At this time there shall be no changes to the PPE requirements for RMTs in any areas. We do however highly recommend that all Therapists take time to review the guidelines and ensure all measures are being followed. As the CMTNL has outlined more than one option for Therapists in regard to PPE each Therapists needs to evaluate and decide which phase is best for them, their business and clients.

For example, an RMT treating in a COVID hotspot area may choose to treat according to Phase 1 or in phase 2 with all recommendations in place. We trust Therapists to use their professional judgement in making these decisions.

https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phases-Update- May-29.pdf

The use of the 2-3 ply medical masks by all RMTs will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Clients should be encouraged to wear the recommended 3 layer non-medical masks. Ensure your client and you are wearing and handling masks properly at all times.

The CMTNL will follow and implement all government guidelines for shutdowns/ business closures. We support any RMT who feels that the risk of COVID in their area is too high to continue working. We will continue to monitor the situation and make any necessary changes in a timely manner.

We all must do our part and due diligence to protect ourselves, our families, our clients and our communities. As health professionals we are held to a higher standard of care.

Due Diligence

“the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care.”

CMTNL Board and COVID Committee

COVID Update: November 2020

Covid Screening

All members must change their Covid Screening to reflect the newest travel restrictions for anyone traveling outside of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Have you travelled outside of the province or been in close contact with an individual who travelled in the last 14 days?

https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CMTNL-COVID-Screening-Checklist-Nov-2020.pdf

A registered Massage Therapist can make a professional decision based on the COVID screening answers and possible follow up questions to refuse/post pone treatment or proceed.

PPE Requirements

https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CMTNL-Back-to-Work-Phases-Update-May-29.pdf

The use of the 2-3 ply medical masks by all RMTs will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Clients should be encouraged to wear the recommended 3 layer non-medical masks.

We all must do our part and due diligence to protect ourselves, our families, our clients and our communities. As health professionals we are held to a higher standard of care.

Due Diligence

CMTNL Board and COVID Committee

PE UPDATE AUGUST 24TH, 2020

After a review of guidelines and requirements the CMTNL Board and the COVID Committee have made some changes.

The requirements as of Monday August 24, 2020 will be:

Number of clients per day will be at the discretion of the RMT
Duration of treatments will be at the discretion of the RMT
Face Shield/Goggles – Are still strongly recommended. Required for Intra-oral Treatment
Gown/Covering – Is now strongly recommended
Mask – Still required for RMT and Client

April 18^th, 2020

Good day,

I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy during this pandemic. Since the mandated shut-down of public health care providers, the CMTNL has continued to work with the Health Regulators Network on a weekly basis. As everything has stayed status quo we understand that members are faced with uncertainty as to what’s next and when will things change. We are currently in communication with Department of Health and Community Services and the Health Regulators Network about the next steps to allow public health providers to provide essential services. There are a considerable amount of details to work out should this comes into effect. As for now everything remains the same and the CMTNL will continue with a weekly update to keep our registrants informed of what work is happening behind the scenes. To date, there are NO changes to report.

If at any time you may have any concerns or questions, please reach out to us. As we navigate through these uncharted waters, we want our registrants to know that we are keeping the public’s safety and the safety of our RMT’s our main priority.

Keep safe,

Jessica Moore

CMTNL Chair

March 24th, 2020

In light of today’s News Conference with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, we are issuing a mandated stop work order of ALL practitioners immediately. This is something that we have been working on since last week and have finally been given the directive. I know this is unprecedented times and this will bring about a lot of hardship for your clientele as well as yourself. Please consider putting homecare plans in place for those clients that need it as we have no time frame for when this directive will be changed.

This means all treatments as of today and thereafter should be cancelled until the stop work order is lifted. Please stay safe, stay informed and stay inside. Now is the time to do our part and flatten the curve.

Impact of COVID-19 on regulatory requirements

Standard First Aid and CPR – extensions for recertification

RMTs whose SFA/CPR certification expires before the end of April 2020 are asked to send an email to registrar@cmtnl.ca with the subject line, “SFA/CPR expiring – COVID-19” and your full name. CMTNL will retain your email on file to ensure that it does not impact your Active status. SFA/CPR training must be completed hands-on, not online or via webinar. If such training is unavailable to you at this time due to COVID-19, CMTNL expects you to recertify once training is again available, and to update your registrant profile accordingly.

CMTNL office closed to the public

March 23^rd, 2020

Due to COVID-19 and the need to maintain social distancing, CMTNL’s office is closed to the public until further notice. The CMTNL Registrar and Board are working remotely, and will continue to respond to incoming messages and queries. We appreciate your patience as we continue to adapt to changing circumstances and a higher than usual number of enquiries.

UPDATE COVID -19

The Department of Health and Community Services as stated that they have concerns about members of the public not properly following self-isolation measures after returning from travel abroad, making it very hard for practitioners to determine the risk for transmission. And due to the nature of our profession it in not possible to maintain a safe social distance. Our professional liability insurance has released a statement saying that if a client claims they were infected by the virus while in your care you will not be covered.

With this in mind, the CMTNL is now recommending that RMTs consider suspending all non-essential services to the public. This will essentially suspend clinic operations with the exception of the services to patients that would experience a significant exacerbation of symptoms or significant deterioration of their condition in the absence of care. We are also recommending the following:

Clinics should not hold regular clinic hours, also making sure to scheduling at least 15
Minutes of time between the end of one appointment and the beginning of the next to allow for proper clinic disinfection and to create social isolation measures where at all possible.
Following any patient visit, RMTs are encouraged to spray any contacted surfaces with a disinfecting solution and to follow the instructions contained on the product with respect to Disinfection for viruses such as COVID-19. For reference,disinfect with a 10% bleach solution can take 5-10 minutes of wet surface contact to be effective so please use appropriate discretion with respect to what constitutes adequate disinfection.

Where at all possible, clients should be advised to wait in their cars until their appointment time and not show up early or late for appointments to ensure adequate spacing measures remain effective.
When seeing clients, it is advisable that clients enter the clinic and go straight to a treatment room without touching any surfaces in the waiting room or other areas to reduce the potential for transmission. that any financial transaction be completed by electronic transfer following the visit.

Please be assured that we have not arrived at this decision without careful deliberation. These measures are extraordinary indeed however we are currently dealing with an event which we have not seen in recent years and we need to exercise a level of precaution that is appropriately extraordinary.

How to protect yourself

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the spread of disease, including coronaviruses. Actions that can be taken to stay healthy include:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the absence of soap and water.
Avoid contact with people who are sick
Practice proper cough and sneeze etiquette. Cover your mouth and nose with your arm when coughing and sneezing and immediately dispose of used tissues in the trash.
Stay at home if you are sick
Frequently clean and disinfect high-touch areas such as toilets, bedside tables and door handles with diluted bleach or a regular household cleaner.

What you need to know

RMTs should undertake active screening (asking questions about symptoms and travel/exposures) and passive screening (signage) of clients for COVID-19

Signage should be posted at the point of entry to the facility and at reception areas for clients with symptoms to self-identify and be aware of proper protocol
Signage may be sent to clients prior to appointment (e.g. e-mail, text, booking service, etc.)
A client who screens positive should be advised to call their primary health care provider or telehealth and/or be referred to their local hospital (for more severe illness)
If a client screens positive over the phone, rebook their appointment for when they are no longer symptomatic and/or outside the 14-day period. Also, advised client to call their primary health care provider or telehealth and/or referred to their local hospital (for more severe illness)
A client who screens positive on location needs to be separated from other visitors and employees so that they are at least 2 meters apart (use a separate room were available) and given a surgical/procedure mask. Call local health care authority or telehealth for further protocol for those exposed
Any RMTs/Clinics that have missed/cancellation policies please be mindful that those appointments missed due to infectious disease or precautionary measures should not fall under those policy’s
RMTs have the right to refuse treatment to any client they suspect to have an infectious disease. RMT’s are obligated to contact public health and should document the refusal

Signs and symptoms

Fever, and/or new onset of cough or difficulty breathing,

AND any of the following:

Travel to affected zones in the 14 days before the onset of illness

Close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 OR
Close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness who has been to affected zones in the 14 days before their symptom onset.

The following signage has been created for health care settings.https://www.cmtnl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Attention-Clients-COVID-19-4.pdf

Resources

Newfoundland and Labrador Telehealth

811 or 1-888-709-2929

Novel Coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/frequently-asked-questions.htmlOpens in new window

Novel Coronavirus Information Sheet
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/2019-novel-coronavirus-information-sheet.htmlOpens in new window

World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/Opens in new window