Happy Solstice from Functional Massage Therapy to you and yours! Rest easy, knowing our hands are ready to help you rise up as we journey towards 2021!

Yesterday’s challenge was brought by the power being out for the whole clinic day. Luckily the clinic stayed a toasty 18.5 degrees before the sun went down. During covid precautions, I can’t offer a warm blanket for each patient, but you can certainly bring one with you!
I’m happy to announce I am more prepared to work under such conditions! I now have a hot water bottle, a way to warm lotion and a way to raise the heat in the treatment room without electricity. 3 cheers for solutions and a strong hope that doesn’t happen again! Thankful to be better prepared for stormy situations.
Speaking of stormy situations, I am no longer offering 2 hour massages. At least until the covid cases drop back down to single digits on the island. It’s too risky to have prolonged contact at the moment. One hour massages are still available.Be kind, be safe and stay local! It may take a community, but we can do this!
The latest update from the College of Massage Therapy of BC, (November 2, 2020), requires patients to complete the BC Covid Self Assessment Survey 2 days before their massage and day before phone calls are no longer necessary!
Each patient will receive only one email, 2 days before their appointment. Functional Massage Therapy has streamlined the BC Covid Self Assessment Questionnaire with the bubbles, travel and health survey; making it easier to complete without having to navigate to another webpage. To reduce the number of emails received for each massage appointment, day before reminders will no longer be sent. Phone calls will only be made if the BC Covid Self Assessment questionnaire has not been filled out 2 days before their massage appointment. All other steps to reduce the risk of Covid transmission will continue to be in place.
New patients will receive a phone call as soon as Leslie Clisby notices they have booked, to ensure they understand Functional Massage Therapy’s policy of only treating patients that have stayed within Vancouver Island health region’s boundaries for 2 weeks before their massage and have not hosted anyone from off Island in this time. Hosting includes hugging, sharing meals and social gatherings. This policy will continue for all that enter the clinic for an extra layer of protection for our community; especially while neighbouring health authorities experience high numbers of active cases!
Gratitude for being able to keep Functional Massage Therapy’s door open in downtown Courtenay as we navigate the challenges of 2020! Wishing you and yours wellness!
Gathering size is no longer a restriction to accessing treatment from Functional Massage Therapy. Time to let go of what happens outside of the clinic, slowly. Health symptoms and travel limitations outside of Vancouver Island will remain for the time being. I appreciate the cooperation with the early prescreening efforts! I like to believe they increased awareness and eased the burden on our community over the summer! Take care until I can treat you again!
Functional Massage Therapy always intended to shut down once a local Covid case was confirmed by VIHA. Recently, a public exposure event has been confirmed here in Courtenay and Leslie Clisby is choosing to keep the doors open for patients, relying heavily on the safety provided by sanitizing hands frequently and wearing masks indoors, as well as avoiding high risk activities such as large gatherings or travel to other regions reporting new cases daily. Please do your part to keep faces and places to a minimum in the weeks leading up to your massage!
A survey has been created to better understand how my patients bubbles will be balancing the cooler weather, education, activities and ongoing Covid concerns. When Functional Massage Therapy reopened in June, the variables were less daunting with zero cases on the island and all requests for care had to be scheduled by Leslie Clisby. Now that online booking has made scheduling self serve again, Leslie Clisby is shifting some policies and admin tasks to help eliminate guess work and improve communication. Your understanding, cooperation and honesty are truly appreciated as she finds the balance between remaining safely open and avoiding the contact trace team!
With cooler weather comes the return of school and other organizations and services are starting to reopen with a safety plan. Indoor gatherings of this nature will be tolerated as long as masks are worn indoors, attendees remain seated 2 meters apart, handwashing/sanitizing is done upon entry and exit and they isolate from the clinic immediately if anyone in their education or service bubble develops symptoms. Singing, sharing food, drink or serving utensils are not options in this stage of easing of restrictions at Functional Massage Therapy. All other indoor gatherings greater than 6 people outside of your home bubble are excluded from this stage of easing of restrictions, unless all participants wear masks.
Functional Massage Therapy patients are no longer asked to complete the BC Covid self assessment 3 days prior to their massage therapy appointment. One day reminders will continue to be sent out with the link to complete the self assessment the day before your massage.
Now that online booking is self serve again, a new survey will be emailed out to ensure no new patient falls in the cracks of understanding informed consent at Functional Massage Therapy. At the moment, this survey gets sent out automatically 3 days before your massage. In the future, it will get sent as soon as someone books an appointment.
The day before the massage phone calls to verify bubbles, travel and health are still required by the College of Massage Therapy of BC. Hopefully the survey will help keep these phone calls short and efficient!
Functional Massage Therapy has opened online booking at the click of a button from this website! You can also link to Leslie’s schedule and your profile via the Jane platform at functionalmassagetherapy.janeapp.com/ or via the “Book an Appointment” button, on the right side of this home screen, below the clinic photo.
Leslie Clisby has space in their schedule to welcome new patients to Functional Massage Therapy. Patients are required to be low risk due to the current Covid environment here on the Island, out of respect for all patients that seek care at Functional Massage Therapy. This means for the two weeks prior to your massage appointment – keep faces and places to a minimum by; keeping social gatherings to a 6 pack outside of your home bubble; stay on the Island and don’t host guests or family from off Island, (surrounding gulf islands are fine, but Powell River is Vancouver Coastal health authority, which is experiencing a 2nd wave), have no symptoms, mild or otherwise and have no contact with anyone ill for 10 days. I rely on your honesty and cooperation to keep my doors safely open!
The fluidity of the Covid situation brings new updates! https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/mobile/covid-19-checkup-here-s-where-vancouver-island-s-cases-have-been-found-1.5059634?fbclid=IwAR1M11P2rxQn1WFUTKUee1qzEVNLLmF54C5-KL5dF3wjXO-G88w8Tj8WV-s
Travel anywhere within the Island Health Authority is once again acceptable in the 2 weeks leading up to your massage therapy appointment at Functional Massage Therapy. Including hosting guests from within this region. Leslie once presumed that most of the cases were down in the South Island, but yesterdays news and refined details regarding the location of cases have changed this policy back to the original reopening plan. With the North Island having one active case, Functional Massage Therapy needs to keep the policy on gatherings limited to a 6 pack outside of your home bubble until the Island has no new cases for 14 days.Please do your part to keep your bubble low risk until I can treat you!