COVID-19  Update:  August,  2022

For those patients that are ready and comfortable to come to the office for eye care, we are making appointments for all services including routine eye exams and contact lens evaluations.  As we recover from forced closure, vendor supply chain shortages, and severe laboratory delays,  we are continuing to maintain several physical safety changes to the office, including replacing the ductwork in our ventilation system, designating social distancing areas, implementing redundant sanitation protocols, placing UV True HEPA filters in each room and acquiring and regularly utilizing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In addition, the following changes, recommended by the CDC, OSHA, the California Optometric Association and Marin County Health and Human Services have been instituted:

• Appointments are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all services (including comprehensive eye exams, contact lens prescription evaluations, frame repairs, and eyeglasses dispenses that require adjustment. For appointments, please call (415) 454-0354 or email: [email protected]
• Unfortunately, Unappointed Drop-Ins visits, Pets or Patient Companions are still NOT ALLOWED at this time.  To control exposure and for contact tracing, we are only allowing a maximum of 8 persons in the office at any one time.  Once maximum capacity has been reached, patients and companions will be asked to wait outside.
• Face Coverings are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  Doctors and staff reserve the right to ask patients to wear a mask when appropriate.
• Upon entry into the office, every patient will be advised to sanitize his/her hands and may be asked to answer the CDC recommended COVID-19 screening questions.  If you are sick, have a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees, or have ANY COVID-related symptoms, your appointment will need to be rescheduled.
• In order to safely accommodate as many patients as possible, every individual’s In-Person/In-Office time will be limited to a maximum of 1 hour.  To achieve this, we will be utilizing online paperwork, streamlining our pre-exam testing procedures, requiring Optomap Retinal Imaging (eliminating routine pupil dilation), delegating one-on-one optician time for efficient frame selection, and prioritizing touchless payment options for a simplified exit. 
• Appropriate 6-feet Social Distancing measures are still highly recommended throughout the office.
• Lastly, we will be appropriately and thoroughly disinfecting all rooms, surfaces and instruments between each patient encounter utilizing recommended CDC and FDA approved disinfection methods. In addition, UV-aided air filtration instruments will be strategically placed within the office to disinfect and improve air flow.  

We appreciate your patience and realize that some of these protocol changes may be inconvenient to you, but we are implementing them for your safety and the safety of others.  If you feel uncomfortable or reluctant to comply with these requirements, then we kindly ask those patients to delay their appointments with us until the CDC and local health agencies relax their restrictions, which will then allow us to relax our protocols.

In addition, we understand that many of our patients have fallen on hard financial times due to the pandemic and the economy.  For those interested, we can privately arrange individualized payment options.  Just ask! 

Sincerely, 
Drs. Ronald Garcia, Jeffrey Iwami and Staff