In an effort to keep you, our staff, and other patients in our offices
safe, and in accordance with CDC guidelines, anyone entering our office
must wear a face mask or face covering. These may be made of cloth (including
scarf or bandana) and should cover your mouth and nose.
Please see here for more information on this and other COVID-19 information/policies.
We continue stringent patient and staff health screening protocols, enhanced
cleaning/disinfecting procedures, and social distancing in the office.
Our primary objective is to keep our environments safe for patients and staff.
Our efforts are to ensure you have access to the best care during this pandemic.
Thank you for your support during this time,
Physicians and Staff of the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine
Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates
ACRM is actively monitoring the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak
and continues to prioritize the safety and well-being of our patients.
We have an obligation to limit potential COVID-19 exposure to our patients,
employees and medical treatment team. We have instituted a
policy of testing for all patients undergoing a procedure involving anesthesia (egg retrieval,
operative hysteroscopy or D&C) or those undergoing a frozen embryo transfer.
Telehealth Appointments Available
For patients who require pre-procedure testing, we provide a self-administered
COVID-19 RNA test that can identify the SARS COV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
Because of the risks of undergoing procedures while unknowingly infected
with COVID-19, there is
no option to decline this testing if you wish to proceed with treatment.
Patients in an IVF cycle will be tested on the 5th
OR 7th day of stimulation injections. Patients in an embryo transfer cycle
will be tested at the mid-cycle appointment prior to starting progesterone
injections. Patients having an OR procedure will be scheduled to come
into the office 3-5 days prior to their procedure for their testing. This
test can be performed at the Perimeter or Buckhead locations. The results
will be ready in 3-4 business days at which time you will be notified.
Patients with positive tests will be required to postpone or cancel their
procedure.
We will continue to offer
telehealth appointments for all new patient and follow-up patient visits to limit the number of
staff and patients in the office.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:
- Patients will be required to come to the clinic alone. No guests will be
allowed EXCEPT for obstetric ultrasounds.
- Patients will be required to wear a mask or face covering when entering
the clinic. Please visit the CDC website for information regarding acceptable
face coverings.
- All patients will be screened via questionnaire, temperature and symptom
history before being allowed into the clinic.
- A limited number of patients will be allowed into the lobby and clinic
at any given time. You may be asked to wait in your car until your appointment
time has arrived or there is sufficient space in the lobby to safely accommodate you.
- We will not be able to accommodate IVF monitoring visits outside of a specific
time block in order to provide the safest environment for our patients
and staff.
- For patients who are considered high-risk for COVID-19 exposure (health
care providers), we will continue providing care as long as you are asymptomatic
and have not been exposed to anyone with COVID-19.
- For patients who test positive for Covid 19, you need to stay home and
self-isolate (“quarantine”) until 10 days from test/first
symptoms and you must be fever free (no fever-reducing medications) x 24 hours.
- For those with known close exposure to a person with COVID-19 (caretaker,
household member, direct physical contact, shared eating/drinking utensils,
respiratory droplet contact, within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more):
-
If you are asymptomatic, plan to stay home and self-isolate (“quarantine”)
for 14 days. An earlier release of quarantine is possible if you have
a negative test 5 days after exposure – you can stop quarantine
7 days after this negative test. You can also stop quarantine after 10
days if you remain asymptomatic.
-
If you have symptoms or test positive for Covid 19, you need to stay home
and self-isolate (“quarantine”) until 10 days from test/first
symptoms and you must be fever free (no fever-reducing medications) x 24 hours.
SERVICES OFFERED:
-
Telemedicine visits for current and new patients.
-
Testing visits for healthy patients.
-
IVF for healthy patients; no visitors allowed at the ultrasound or egg
retrieval visits.
-
Frozen embryo transfers (see above for details regarding dates); no visitors
will be allowed at the ultrasound or transfer appointments.
-
Timed intercourse and IUI cycles; no visitors allowed at the ultrasound
or IUI visits.
-
Obstetric visits for healthy patients through “graduation.”
Only one visitor allowed at the ultrasound visits.
-
We will be utilizing a rotational schedule for physicians and nurses. This
means that a patient may not see her primary physician during monitoring
(but will have the option of scheduling phone calls or telemedicine appointments
to discuss questions or concerns).
COMMUNICATION:
-
New patients may schedule telemedicine visits by calling 678-841-1089.
-
Due to the need to limit and rotate staff, traditional care teams will
not be used for the foreseeable future. This requires strict prioritization
of email responses and appointment scheduling. We ask for understanding
during this time as we institute this new model.
We will continue to update this website. Please know that we are here for
you in this time of uncertainty and that health and safety is our priority
To limit the potential spread of COVID-19, we are asking that patients
follow the instructions below:
- If you are actively sick and/or have a fever, please stay home and notify
your care team.
- Please contact your primary care physician or local health department if
you are ill or have any health concerns. ACRM does not have the ability
to test for COVID-19, except as above for asymptomatic patients at specific
time points.
- Please do not bring your child/children with you to any of your appointments.
- Avoid traveling to areas with active outbreaks of COVID-19 and remain away
from others that may have traveled to at risk areas for a minimum of 14 days.
- If you have traveled to a country where COVID-19 has been reported, we
recommend that you postpone treatments and all office appointments until
two weeks after returning home.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially
after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose,
coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand
sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water
if hands are visibly dirty or if you’ve been around those that are sick.
- Adhere to social distancing (i.e. avoid large gatherings or unnecessary
close exposure to people outside of your family) for the immediate future.
-
Wear a face mask or face covering when out in public.
COVID-19 Q&A for Patients
Q: Does COVID-19 impact fertility?
A: Currently, there is no data or scientific evidence to suggest that COVID-19
impacts fertility.
Q: Do you recommend that I postpone any attempt at getting pregnant until
the virus is contained?
A: We are not currently discouraging patients from attempting conception.
However, please note that the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy, especially
early pregnancy, remains unknown at this time.
Q: Should I get the Covid 19 vaccine?
The Covid 19 vaccine is now being distributed. There is little data on
the vaccine and pregnant women, since pregnant women were not included
in the study trials. Completing the two-part vaccine series prior to pregnancy
would be ideal but, as of right now, the American College of Ob/Gyn (ACOG)
is recommending that women at risk of Covid exposure, including those
who are pregnant, lactating or trying to conceive, receive the vaccine.
This is because the risk of Covid complications is higher for pregnant women.
Q: Will COVID-19 increase my risk of miscarriage?
A: Currently, there is no information on adverse pregnancy outcomes in
pregnant women with COVID-19. Pregnancy loss, including miscarriage and
stillbirth, has been observed in cases of infection with other related
coronaviruses [SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV] during pregnancy. High fevers during
the first trimester of pregnancy can increase the risk of certain birth
defects. (Source:
CDC)
Q: If I recently traveled abroad, will that impact when I start treatment at ACRM?
A: We recommend waiting two weeks after traveling to areas with reported
cases of COVID-19 before you visit the office or clinic.
Q: How will you ensure that my eggs/embryos/sperm will remain safe in the lab?
A: ACRM, a CCRM network clinic, has some of the most state-of-the-art
technologies available and implements some of the strictest lab standards
and protocols in the industry, to provide our patients with the gold standard
in patient care.
Q: What happens if I get exposed to COVID-19 during my IVF cycle?
A: If you have symptoms of respiratory distress, which is common with
COVID-19, your IVF cycle will be canceled. You do not want to use anesthesia
to suppress respirations even further, at a time that you are already
compromised due to a viral infection. ACRM wants to protect our patients
and our staff from a potential exposure, thus if you are ill your cycle
will be canceled.
Q: Does ACRM plan on shutting down for a period of time?
A: No, ACRM will not be shutting down, as there are flu and cold viruses
all year long. As a healthcare facility, ACRM is accustomed and proficient
at infection control like many hospitals are. ACRM has policies and procedures
for cleaning our instruments and patient care areas to reduce the risk
of spreading infections. However, we will be conducting more visits via
telemedicine.
For current travel advisories and up-to-date information on COVID-19,
please visit the
CDC’s COVID-19 website.