Message on Covid19 (Corona) From Dr. Zahl
During this horrible crisis we managed to remain open as we’ took precautions to provide a safe outpatient environment for the patients that I needed to see in person. Covid is now endemic which means it has not gone away totally. It is though that due to mutations in the spike protein that new strains will keep appearing., As my patients know I have used Telemedicine along time ago and almost all encounters are being handled by that route. Unfortunately Covid does not appear to have disappeared and I still use the same precautions that have worked since April of 2020.
However for new patients or for complicated cases or for those without access to the Internet I have adopted the following protocol to provide for a safe environment as possible in this challenging time.
Unlike a hospital or acute care outpatient facility which may have multiple people in the waiting room and make social distancing difficult if not impossible I have adopted the following protocol:
We have limited the schedule to allow for social distancing of patients and staff my staff . We are doing elective procedures when there’s a low risk for hospitalization or complications.
My staff and I are vaccinated.
We also screen all patients coming into the office for coronavirus exposure and or symptoms before they schedule and again when they arrive which also includes taking their forehead temperature.
All surfaces that patients touch or come in contact with are disinfected with virucidal cleaning solutions and we use a fogging spray after each patient leaves..
It’s my hope that we will get through this safely and I hope to remain available as long as possible to assist those with special needs for medical care related to pain, opioid use disorder and access to medical marijuana.
Yours in better Health! Kenneth Zahl MD
More about Dr. Zahl
Over 20 years ago, Dr Zahl was among the first 100 physicians to concentrate in interventional pain before it was recognized as an independent speciality. He treats patients in East Stroudsburg and Bethlehem, PA with the goal of getting to the root cause of their discomfort.
Originally trained in cardiac and neurosurgical anesthesia at "Penn," Dr. Zahl has since dedicated his practice to the diagnosis, management, and treatment of chronic pain conditions so that he can help people live their lives to the fullest. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, with additional qualifications in pain.
Dr. Zahl is known for providing personalized, high-quality care to those who struggle to manage their pain or have had difficulty finding results elsewhere. His experience in interventional procedures comes from having taught other physicians and medical students for over 15 years, before focusing on his own private practice. Dr. Zahl has been a principal author in 10 peer reviewed publications and had been on the teaching faculty of several local medical schools. He did the first pulsed radiofrequency procedure in the US in 1999 and also was among the handful of physicians to bring pain procedures out of the hospital to a private office setting.
Dr Z is also proud of his bicultural heritage, having grown up speaking Spanish, and has worked with the Congress of Latin American Anesthesiologists in terms of speaking and training. He has another website in the Spanish language at www.dolor.me. He also is conversationally fluent in French and German.