COVID-19 Resources for MiracleFeet Partners

MiracleFeet has closely monitored local conditions and COVID-related protocols with partners. Together, over the past several months, we devised reopening procedures, including increased safety precautions at facilities to ensure providers can safely offer patients treatment. MiracleFeet-supported clinics are subject to local government and hospital/facility-level safety procedures in response to coronavirus, and decisions to reopen must comply with those policies, as well.

Promoting safety at clinics

• Continue to follow social distancing guidelines and promote conditions that allow for social distancing (spaced seating in waiting room, outdoor waiting, etc.).
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect clinic equipment and furniture between every appointment.
• Limit accompanying family members/caregivers to one per child in the waiting and treatment rooms.
• Screen patients and families for recent fever, respiratory issues, or other illnesses. Delay treatment if necessary. 
• Provide pre- and post-treatment hand sanitizer and/or handwashing stations. 
• Provide masks, aprons, and gloves to health workers and masks to family members. Encourage families to take masks home for use on public transportation and during future visits.
• Post COVID-19 educational materials in clinics and educate families on transmission prevention.

How to safely treat patients

Our Commitment to Children and Families, Local Partners, and Health Workers During COVID-19

• Consider alternative locations for casting, if needed, to minimize exposure to acutely ill patients.
• Provide a separate space for cast removal to reduce the number of people in a confined space, when and if possible.
• Consider in advance the timing, preparation, and location of the tenotomy procedure. 
• Perform tenotomies in the clinic setting rather than the surgical theatre, per Ponseti guidelines, to reduce the chance of exposure.
• Consider accelerated Ponseti to work through patient backlog.
• Consider providing two shoe sizes or two braces during brace visits to reduce the frequency of clinic visits.
• Schedule a teleconsultation with parents to review their concerns, to provide remote brace advice, or assess the patient’s condition.

Prioritizing treatment for patients

MiracleFeet recommends that the following children be given priority when scheduling patients return visits:

• Infants whose treatment was suspended, including those who were in casts and those due for their first foot abduction brace-fitting
• Infants with clubfoot waiting to start treatment 
• Patients who are known to be struggling with the foot abduction brace and are at risk of recurrence
• Children with pain or skin problems due to the brace. 

Supporting families and caregivers

• Providers may need to offer moral support to put families still nervous about attending a hospital at ease.
• Help determine the safest means of transportation for patients to and from treatment.
• Provide reassurance to parents that, despite a short setback, their children should still have a full recovery.

The following list of resources provide additional guidance on how to provide safe treatment during the ongoing pandemic:

COVID-19 Coverage

Determined Mother Walks 18 KM to Clinic to Complete Son’s Treatment Before Country Lockdown

How Liberia Team Thrived Despite Ebola

Physiotherapists in Morocco Shift Focus as Focus Shifts

Clinical Update: Global Guidance to Partners in Response to COVID-19