COCHRANE— Opening their doors to the public for the first time in more than three months, Salt Water Wellness Centre is adapting daily to COVID-19 public health measures to ensure clients and staff stay safe.
The centre closed its doors on March 18 and it has been a flurry of excitement preparing to once again welcome the public into the centre starting Monday (June 22) said co-owner and registered massage therapist Cassandra King.
“We’ve been reevaluating our goals about what we want to make this business,” King said. “The fact that we’re able to reopen, we’re very lucky.”
For the first two weeks, they will be open from noon to 6 p.m. with limited staff. The time will serve to help the Wellness Centre ease into reopening and slowly get back to “normal," said co-owner and registered massage therapist Ashley Tobin.
Salt Water Wellness Centre was able to reopen as part of Stage 2 of Alberta's Relaunch Strategy. The Relaunch Strategy officially began June 12, a week earlier than expected.
During Stage 2 wellness services including massage, acupuncture and reflexology have been able to open with public health restrictions in place.
King said they will be constantly evaluating the reopening to ensure that it is meeting the needs of their clients and staff.
Tobin, King and fellow co-owner Sarah d’Abadie launched Salt Water Wellness Centre in January of this year. It has been a challenging year because they were open for two-and-a-half months before COVID-19 changed the world.
Salt Water Wellness Centre will be following Alberta Public Health measures paired with guidelines supplied from massage, acupuncturists and naturopathic associations in the province, Tobin said.
She explained that they combine all the information they receive to create protocols that keep clients safe and have been collaborating with the province and associations to ensure the safety measures used are the most up to date.
One of the biggest changes visitors will see is that staff will be wearing masks, Tobin said.
They have also been speaking with staff to ensure the protocols that have been implemented help them feel safe.
Other safety measures include the use of a contactless thermometer to check the temperature of visiting clients, asking clients to read and follow the Alberta Government COVID-19 checklist before visiting to ensure all precautions are taken, asking people to wait in their car until their appointment to limit contact between clients and a questionnaire will be filled out when clients arrive that goes through the Alberta Public Health guidelines, King said. She added that they have also increased the time between appointments from 15 minutes to 30 minutes to ensure areas have time to be properly sanitized.
“As soon as they [clients] get in and they can see that we are taking those extra precautions it’s going to ease any sense of fear that they might have,” Tobin said. “We’re doing everything that we possibly can.”
She added the reopening could be compared to starting a new business because there are so many new unknown factors they now need to contend with.
Other changes at the Wellness Centre include the addition of a naturopath to the team paired with acupuncturists. They are also working to include a birth side to the Wellness Centre.
“We’re making it a one-stop-shop for everything wellness,” King said.
It is exciting being able to see clients again she said and the Wellness Centre staff appreciates the support the public has shown during the pandemic.
The phone has been ringing off the hook since they announced they were reopening, but Tobin added it may take time for some people to feel comfortable visiting the centre and other public areas.
“We’re excited to come back and come back strong,” King said. “We want it to be relaxing we it can be— We want people to enjoy their time.”
