Texas is Re-Opening after COVID-19 – Are You Ready?

Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock Texas is Re-Opening after COVID-19 – Are You Ready?

by Lisa Parelli-Monaghan

The re-opening of Texas, after been locked down since March 16th, comes with many mixed feelings. We are all trying to decide if we dare venture into the gym, restaurants, churches, or retail stores? Should we allow people into our home that are not members of our family? It seems everyone is at a different level of confidence as related to the virus.

When the stay at home orders first appeared, many essential businesses put procedures into place making home visits as safe as possible. And, it seems many are keeping those procedures in place until the confidence level amongst homeowners has become widespread.

Most service companies such as plumbing, HVAC, etc feel the safety of their clients and own team is a top priority. They have adjusted their business and construction practices to safely continue working in their clients’ homes and are all likely following the practices and processes as defined by the CDC guidelines.

Here are some suggested ways to consider your re-entry amongst civilization (sounds like a sci-fi movie we have all watched on TV):

Meetings:

If you have a project that you are considering, such as a bathroom remodel, home office build, you can actually suggest a virtual meeting with the contractor. We have all learned about Zoom or similar meeting platforms throughout the pandemic. Virtual meetings can be a great way to ask questions or talk to your contractor about your project. It’s a great starting point and may prove useful throughout a project.

Social Distancing and Protection:

If you have to meet someone face to face, most companies require their staff to wear a mask if it requires two people to be within 6 feet of each other and recommended any time that more than one person is onsite. In some cases, gloves are recommended when on-site. Eye protection is also recommended when on-site by contractors.

Cleaning & Sanitization:

If anything has been drilled into us through this pandemic is hand washing. We should all be in the habit of washing our hands before and after we touch anything. And, it is a habit we should always keep in place. Remember 20 seconds soap and water!

If someone has worked in a space, you may want to wipe down an area after they depart. Don’t forget the doorknobs and light switches! You should already be cleaning and sanitizing all touchpoints in your home.

If you have a big project such as a remodel, most contractors have a designated hand cleaning area for everyone working on site. This is typically outside your home. This will include hand sanitizer, an operable sink with soap, and other sanitation and cleanliness options. Hand washing is required after eating, smoking, drinking, blowing the nose, coughing, sneezing, and in general often and thoroughly. The Lead Carpenter on each job site will disinfect commonly touched surfaces upon arrival and immediately before departure each day. Lead carpenters will also disinfect work areas throughout the day.

Most companies will continue to check their staff daily for symptoms and check temperatures before they leave the office for their work day. It never hurts to ask, “what safety procedures are your company following?"

What is your name and the name of your business? Dr. J Clint Lowry, MD. Urgent HomeMD.

How long have you been in business? Five Months (I also have fifteen years of experience working as a Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician prior to creating my own practice model)

Tell us about your business (what do you do, where do you do it, etc.) We offer In Home Urgent Care evaluations as well as telemedicine evaluations. We do have a clinic available upon request if any of our patients prefers to be seen in a clinic environment, but we can offer most anything a traditional Urgent Care Clinic offers right in your home. We also have arrangements with Imaging Centers if you need X Ray studies or any additional imaging studies, and we can arrange for labs to be done at facilities in close proximity to the neighborhood. We are able to test in home for things such as Strep, Flu, and UTI. Additionally we are able to do COVID swabs for those with symptoms or exposure to confirmed or suspected COVID. While we are mostly an Urgent Care based practice model we do also offer Sports Physicals and once flu shots are available we will have those available as well. We also take pride in offering some extras to those who are in the neighborhood. Need an antibiotic and the pharmacy is closing soon? Don't want to drive to a 24 hour pharmacy 15 minutes away? I will bring your first dose of antibiotics to your door. Even with telemedicine evaluations, I will drive to your residence myself with your first dose of medication. What inspired you to do what you do? It is difficult in my area of training to start a small business. I spent a considerable amount of time pondering what that might look like. Then one day I had an epiphany: My daughter missed a week of school last fall with a respiratory illness. On her first day back her teacher called me and told me she was still coughing. I told her, "I don't think she is contagious any more, but she might need a breathing treatment. I will bring my stethoscope to the school and listen to her, and if she is wheezing I will bring her home and give her a breathing treatment". She sounded fine and got to finish the day at school. In the process of doing this I realized, this kind of service might be valuable to people, and I would love to build a practice offering something so comfortable and convenient to my patients.

How has your business been impacted by COVID-19? I quickly pivoted to add a telemedicine component to my practice model. We continue to provide In Home evaluations throughout the pandemic, but using telemedicine we are able to limit exposure for both ourselves and our patients. In the process we became better in many ways in terms of what we offer. Our telemedicine visits are considerably less expensive, so often times I recommend patients to start with a telemedicine evaluation (phone or video consult, depending on patient preference) and if we need to do an in home visit the price of the telemedicine eval is deducted so they don't get charged for two separate services. We now offer telemedicine state wide. How long have you lived in Canyon Creek? We moved to Canyon Creek in February of 2017. Approaching the 3 1/2 year mark which is hard to believe we have already been here that long.

What brought you to Canyon Creek? Previously my wife and I lived in a town home centrally in Dallas. Once my daughter arrived we knew it would soon be time to be in more of a family friendly neighborhood environment. At the time, we were mostly searching for homes in Dallas but not finding what we wanted. I was working at Methodist Richardson at the time, and I mentioned to one of our nurses that we were looking for a home. She told me, "You should look at Canyon Creek". Despite working so close by I had not explored the neighborhood much. At her suggestion I drove around and I absolutely loved what I saw. I brought my wife up here to drive around the area and we fell in love with the area, immediately narrowed our search to this neighborhood and never looked back.

What do you love most about living in Canyon Creek? The people we have met are absolutely wonderful.

Tell us about your family (names, ages, schools, work, etc). My wife Patricia and I have been married for almost ten years. She is a Registered Nurse working in the Emergency Department at Methodist Richardson. She was a graphic designer previously before attending nursing school and still enjoys doing many art projects

on the side. We have a four year old daughter named Eva who keeps us busy. Neighbors in our vicinity may have crossed paths with Eva as she loves to pass out dog treats whenever she is cruising the neighborhood in her little "car".

What do you think the neighborhood should know about Covid-19? I have been following new reported cases on a daily basis, specifically for Dallas County. We are seeing a small downward trend but we are certainly not in the clear. I started recommending wearing a mask in public to all of my patients a few weeks before the CDC formally recommended it. I still believe people should be wearing masks and taking precautions. I support businesses reopening with the right precautions being taken and guidelines being followed.

If you had to guess, what are the odds of our kids returning to school in the fall? My best guess would be a hybrid of at home learning and some coursework being in the classroom setting with smaller groups on any given day being in the classroom, temperature checks on arrival in the morning, and contingency plans in place should we see a big spike in new cases this fall.

Do you do anti-body testing and how accurate are the results in your opinion? I offer antibody testing but do not strongly recommend it. I have a lengthy blog post on my website discussing antibody testing, www.urgenthomemd. com. We still have a lot to learn about antibody testing for COVID. A recent CDC report showed as many as 50% of results may be inaccurate. I have not at the time of this writing seen any breakdown of what specific lab methods they were looking at or if they were all lumped in together. My belief is in time we will find out that some lab methods for antibody testing are far more accurate than others. I spent considerable time debating whether to offer the test and if so, what test to offer, and I will continue to closely follow as new data becomes available. Photos courtesy of Dr. J Clint Lowry, MD

Tell us your name, the school you currently attend and what year you are in school. My name is Myna Seshadri and I am a Senior at Plano Senior High School.

What other schools have you attended? I have attended Aldridge Elementary School, Wilson Middle School, and Vines High School in this Plano ISD feeder school system.

Tell us the activities you were involved in and what you enjoy about them. I am involved in a cornucopia of organizations on campus. I am the President of the state renowned Plano Senior High Student Congress which hosts the largest single day blood drive in the nation. I am a member of the Plano Drumline and Band where I march playing Bass 2 during the marching season. Additionally, I am a member of the President’s Club on campus as well.

Tell us your honors and awards in school. I am in the top 10% of my graduating cIass at Plano Senior High School. I’m a National AP Scholar, National Merit Commended Scholar, and PanAmerican Student Forum Participant. Additionally, I was recognized as one of the Plano Senior High Class of 2020 “Who’s Who’s”. I have served for 2 years on the Plano ISD Superintendent’s Advisory Council.

Myna Seshadri

What’s your favorite subject(s) in school? I am truly a scholar in every aspect of the word, and I have a passion for all of my subjects. Some classes which I have thoroughly enjoyed are AP Physics C and AP Spanish Literature.

Tell us about your plans after graduation. I plan on going to Texas A&M University to major in Aerospace Engineering.

Outside of school, what do you do for fun? I enjoy playing drums with my friends and climbing at Summit Climbing Gym. I love running and spending time with my friends and family. I work at Anthropologie and I tutor students in all subjects including Calculus, Algebra, Physics, Spanish, ACT/SAT, etc.

How long have you lived in Canyon Creek? I have lived in Canyon Creek with my family since 2006.

What do you love most about living in Canyon Creek? I have always loved the lush greenery and outstanding shops and dining- I love how there are impeccable running trails by the waterfall which are so very close to my favorite places at II Creeks!

Spaces Available For Lease

Dance Studio – 5,700 SF Retail Space – 1,000 SF Other spaces 1,000-5,700 SF

Tells us a favorite story or two about a big moment or exciting moment in your life. A recent moment which was particularly exciting to me was persuading PISD to give the class of 2020 a timely graduation- I heard about other districts such as Allen ISD and RISD creating plans to have graduation for their seniors in May/June and knew that Plano had to do something. Immediately, I created a petition which received well over a hundred signatures and caught the attention of the district. Soon after, a plan for a live graduation in May/June was created, and the district announced that they will still keep plans open for the August Graduation at The Star in Frisco in addition to this if allowed!

Share with us a story or fun experience of living in Canyon Creek. Many of my favorite memories have been made while hanging out in II Creeks as a teen with my friends, or going down to the creek and catching snakes to scare people as a kid.

Anything else you would love for your neighbors to know about you? If you haven’t tried the Oreo or Confetti shakes at Shady’s, you’re missing out!

Andrew Shaw, CCIM 214-256-7104 ashaw@nairlretail.com

II Creeks Plaza

2701 Custer Pkwy., Richardson

Inquiry Today!

And Life Goes On…

by Jessica Wedge

If you ask Brooke how she met Gates, she’ll tell you a detailed story about a college friend introducing them on “adult spring break”, and then again the next year on another “adult spring break”, and then seven years later a final and lasting encounter at church. If you ask Gates, he’ll tell you a charming little story about a chance bump in at church, and thinking of any question for an excuse to talk to her. Either way, it’s a tale as old as time. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl get married, have two babies, and go through a pandemic together. Ah, young love.

Let’s back it up a bit. Brooke is a business manager in the office of Communications at UT Dallas. Her first experience with Canyon Creek was in, arguably, the best way possible: a lunch at Frankie’s. Her interest was piqued, and with the help of two very convincing neighbors, Adam and Allie Travis, and the already developed and established foliage and parks, The Colberts purchased their house in March 2019. That October, with renovations behind them, a toddler beside them, and the fresh, exciting news of a baby on the way, they moved into their Canyon Creek home.

When you think of the final six weeks of pregnancy, it usually includes nesting, baby showers, and taking in the last few moments with your friends and family before welcoming a new member. For Gates and Brooke, the end of their pregnancy journey began the day shelter-in-place orders were put in. The couple knew they had to take extra precautions to protect the health of Brooke and the baby. So, at the end of Gates’ workday, he would come home and take off his shoes in the garage, strip his scrubs to be washed immediately, and take a shower before interacting with his family. Gates works as a Nephrologist with the Kidney and Hypertension Associates of Dallas at Baylor Medical, so with the added risk of exposure while working Photos courtesy of Jessica Wedge

with COVID-19 patients, he needed to sacrifice and limit the interactions with his own family to ensure the safety of everyone around him. No more kisses, no more hugs.

“On one hand, it’s great to be able to wear sweatpants the last six weeks of your pregnancy…” Brooke joked while reflecting, “…But, you don’t expect to spend the last six weeks literally by yourself. No grandparents, no playgrounds, and of course it rained a lot.”

So what is it like giving birth in the middle of a pandemic?

“It wasn’t as scary for me because Gates works there every day, so being able to hear him talk about the hospital and what they were doing to keep it safe and take precautions made me feel a lot better. My doctor, too, is and was involved in some of the labor and delivery policies being made at the hospital…Between my doctor and Gates they did a good job of helping me not feel so overwhelmed by it.”

Two days before the delivery, Brooke went to Baylor Medical for a routine COVID testing that included both a nasal swab and an antibody test. She tested negative for both. “That helped me feel better, knowing I’d avoided the virus up to that point. It also made things simpler in the OR and in postpartum.” On May 4, 2020, with a scheduled Caesarean section and an on-time baby, the delivery was a success with Gates by her side the whole way. Gates explained that only the father is allowed in the hospital throughout their whole stay, so they couldn’t have their two and half-year-old son, Grant, in the room with them. With many FaceTime calls out to their friends and family, they slowly started introducing their son to the world. “When Gates and I could finally celebrate the birth of little Caleb with a kiss, we knew I wasn’t and hadn’t been an asymptomatic carrier.”

While Brooke rests at home and enjoys the quiet time with her new baby, Gates still has to go into work at Baylor. “Nephrology is like the accounting of medicine. It’s all about looking at numbers and data, labs, electrolytes, and trends. I like the objectivity and analytical side of medicine.” He never expected that he would be part of a pandemic, but like all health care workers, he is doing his part to provide the best care for all of his patients. His clinic appointments have been moved to telemedicine while he is working in the hospital providing dialysis for ICU patients, many of who have COVID.

When Gates and Brooke aren’t bringing a child into a quarantined world or healing sick COVID patients, you can find them at Shady’s, strolling through Prairie Creek Park, or feeding the turtles over the Canyon Creek bridge. You may also see Gates running through the neighborhood training for his next half marathon or landscaping and defending his yard from the bunnies. Brooke is eager to get back into running and is always willing to experiment with recipes in the kitchen. They’re excited to use their credit at The Wine Authority, and overall they’re very grateful for their neighbors. Due to everyone working from home, they’ve been able to meet more people than they would have had the opportunity to if quarantine didn’t happen. They’ve received so much support and care from their neighbors that have solidified their confidence in moving into Canyon Creek.

When I asked Gates what he wants his neighbors to know about COVID, he said, “Don’t be scared of the virus. The mortal-

ity rates and becoming sick are still very small, but we still need to be very cautious by washing our hands, wearing masks, and following the recommended guidelines, but we don’t need to live in fear.”

Similarly, I asked Brooke what she would want expecting mothers to know about giving birth in a pandemic, “I felt very protected and I felt like I couldn’t have been in a safer place. Every single time anyone walked in my room they would sanitize on the way in and on the way out, and 100% of the time the staff was wearing masks. They were just functioning as business as normal…so don’t be afraid. I do appreciate what Gates did to keep me safe, I still haven’t been to the grocery store since this all started! It’s great!”

This time hasn’t been easy for anyone, but even newcomers Brooke and Gates have felt the love and support that only a special neighborhood like Canyon Creek can provide. From the warm and welcoming hellos they’ve received from unknown neighbors to the many meals and Tiff’s Treats that have been delivered, the Colberts, along with everyone else, are happy they’re here in the neighborhood. They’re happy they can kiss again, too.