Our Response to the Outbreak of COVID-19

We are are taking the COVID-19 outbreak very seriously and we hope you will as well.
Below you will find our office plan and sources of reliable information.
 COVID-19 is quiet in our community but the risk for resurgence is not far away.
Please continue to protect yourself and your community:
  • When indoors, always wear a mask when around people other than your household, even when greater than 6 feet away. Minimize your time gathering indoors.
  • When out of doors, wear a mask if you are less that 6 away.
  • Wash or sanitize your hands every time you are joining other people, and every couple hours while you are with them.
  • Keep 6 feet of distance, from folks other than your household.
  • Monitor yourself and your family for symptoms. If you have even mild symptoms, stay home and call us for testing.
  • Each of these practices is imperfect but together they are powerful. Please practice them all and support others to do the same.
Our behavior is what will determine our outcome between now and when we have an effective treatment or a vaccine. We need to take courage, this is not forever. We are making history. Let's be able to look back and be proud of how we took care of each other!
Safely Connect with Friends and Family
Advise from the Vermont Department of Health                            
 Community Resource List
People over 65 and people with serious medical problems
are at increased risk of life-threatening illness and
need to limit their risk of exposure more than others.
Anyone may be infected and contagious but have zero or only mild symptoms.
Please practice universal precautions.
Support your family and neighbors and protect our elders.
Our Office Plan:
COVID-19 is now quiet in our community and so we are slowly shifting our practices.

Scheduling appointments
  • Patient self-scheduling and walk-in time will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
  • If you need to make an urgent appointment (meaning that you think you may need to be seen today,) then call your doctor's cell phone:
                             Dr Hearst 802-379-4352 or Dr Wood 802-379-5126.
  • If your need for an appointment is not urgent, please send your doctor a portal message, an email or call 888-421-6801 and select select your doctor's extension to leave a message.
Preparing for appointments in the office:
  • If you are going to be seen at the office, we need to screen you for your risk for COVID-19. PLEASE complete the survey that comes with your appointment reminder 24-48 hours before your appointment. You can also access it by clicking here or on the link at the top of the page. If you do not, then Lynn will need to call you and do it over the phone. If she can not reach you, then your in office appointment will be cancelled.
  • When you arrive at the office, please remain in your car and call your doctor's cell phone. We will greet you at the door, have you sanitize your hands, put on a mask and hand sanitize again before entering. While you are in the office, please avoid unnecessarily touching surfaces. We will be disinfecting surfaces between appointments.
  • We will only have one person in at a time in the office unless there is need for an essential companion or a parent.
Preparing for appointments by phone or video:
  • For your first video visit, Lynn will contact you for a system test.
  • Video needs a strong cell signal or WiFi so please plan ahead.
  • Please take your blood pressure and weight before your visit, if possible and complete and return any pre-visit forms that we have sent you.
  • Please click here for Video Chat Instructions , trouble shooting guide and System Requirements
We have created these plans to specifically address how our office usually runs, and the physical nature of our building. We appreciate that these plans are not perfect, and that we will need to update them as our understanding progresses. Your feedback is welcome, but we will insist on your cooperation.
You can access our COVID-19 Reopening Policies here.
Links to help understand how to stay safe and protect your community:
Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, a Regimen for Re-entry by Atul Gawande
The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them by Erin Bromage
Saving Your Health, One Mask at at Time by Peter Tippett
It worked in 1918, it can work now: click here
How the timing of social distancing effected the rate of infection in 1918 Click here
A simulation of how social distancing works: click here
Benefits of early government imposition of social distancing in other countries: click here
What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like if Leaders Buy Us Time click here
Economists and Epidemiologists, Not at Odds but in Agreement: We need a Broad based COVID-19 Testing Survey click here

Mask Resources
Here are some easy mask ideas from the CDC
In a pinch? Here's the fastest no-sew mask!

Local Resources:
Feeding your Family During the Novel Corona Virus Outbreak
BCRC's COVID 19 Resource Page

Links for local information:
To find out how COVID-19 is affecting your community and for other information:
Vermont Department of Health: 802-863-7240
New York Department of Health: 888-364-3065
Massachusetts Department of Health: 617-983-6800
New Hampshire Department of Health: 603-271-4496 (after-hours 603-271-5300)
SVMC (Bennington's hospital )

Sources for general, national, and international information:
WHO - The World Health Organization is a source for current information from about the evolving outbreak of Novel Corona Virus disease around the world.
CDC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website is a source for up-to-date information about the disease in the United States.
WORLDOMETER - This website has no political, governmental, or corporate affiliation. It offers data gathered by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers. Their page titled Age, Sex, Existing Conditions of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths gives specific information about risk of death that is not otherwise easy to find.
A Glossary of COVID 19 Terms
PCR versus serology explained

Picture