Attention FOCUS Families: Effective immediately and until further notice, the FOCUS Therapy waiting room will be closed.

We are updating our pickup and drop-off procedures in response to parent concern and the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Florida.

Rather than entering the facility to check-in and pick up, we ask that parents and patients remain in their vehicles.

Upon arrival, parents should text the FOCUS Office cell phone –  (239) 322-2810 – and provide the patient’s name, therapist’s name and make/model of the vehicle. Your therapist will then come out to the vehicle to retrieve your child. When your child’s therapy session is finished, your FOCUS therapist will escort your child to your vehicle in the parking lot.

Closing our waiting room for the time being is an action we take out of an abundance of caution in addition to numerous existing precautions and vigorous cleaning policies.

For example, our sensory gym remains closed. All therapy areas have been spaced apart, with only one child per adult allowed in a 6-ft radius. Patients and therapists are expected to thoroughly wash their hands before and after sessions (and during as necessary). Work stations and therapy objects are carefully sanitized daily and between uses. We have also installed numerous hand sanitizing stations throughout the clinic.

We require the patients to be fever free for 24-hours without any medication such as Tylenol, Motrin, etc.  If your child or a household member has tested positive for COVID-19, we ask that you please inform our office as soon as possible.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, possible symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• New loss of taste or smell
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

As of this writing, several mobile testing sites in Lee County are being operated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Lee Health.

Our FOCUS patients and families are everything to us, and we will always be responsive to your concerns. We will continue to do all we can to help keep our patients, families and therapists healthy while providing the in-person therapy sessions we know are essential to our patients’ well-being and development.

If you have any questions or additional concerns, you can reach us at [email protected] or by calling us at 239-313-5049. You may also reach out to your child’s individual therapists if you have their contact information.

More information about COVID-19 is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

FOCUS offers speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and ABA therapy to children in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online for more information.

Additional Resources:

Florida surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases as July 4th holiday weekend comes to a close, July 6, 2020, By Emily Mavrakis, USA Today

More Blog Entries:

ABA, Occupational Therapy Helps Address Safety Concerns for Florida Children With Autism, March 23, 2020, FOCUS Therapy Blog