COVID-19 Update – RIW Office is closed temporarily
Posted on March 17th, 2020
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
March 17, 2020
The Rehabilitation Institute of Washington considers the health and safety of our patients and staff of highest priority. Our medical and safety staff are monitoring developments in the outbreak of the respiratory illness COVID-19 in the greater Seattle area.
As of today, March 17, 2020, the RIW clinic will be closed to patients and visitors. Limited staff will be on hand to answer questions by phone, and to maintain essential functions of the clinic. This closure will be in effect for a minimum of two weeks and will be updated as needed.
In an effort to reduce any negative impact this closure would have on our patients, our clinical staff are working to develop remote treatment options using telemedicine technology. We hope to begin offering limited services as soon as March 23, 2020. Some services may be available sooner than others.
- Mental Health Services: Our Clinical Psychologists can continue to provide counseling and psychotherapy using telemedicine.
- Program Evaluations: We plan to conduct evaluations for our Structured Intensive Multidisciplinary Program (SIMP) and our Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program (BIRP) via telemedicine. Other types of evaluations are also being explored.
- SIMP and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Programs: Our treatment teams are working on modified programs that can be delivered via telemedicine. These programs would be available for patients that had already begun treatment as well as new patients.
RIW staff will continue to be available to answer questions via telephone, including taking new referrals. Our goal during this time of limited contact is to ensure our services will be available to those who need them, now and in the future.
As recommendations from the CDC and King County Public Health change, we will provide updates to our patients and staff.
Thank you,
Heather Kroll, MD
Medical Director