<div>South Bay Primary Medical Group, the office of both Dr. Trace and Dr. Leticia Polanco, will be observing the Fourth of July Holiday. We will be closed Friday July 3, 2020.The office will reopen on Monday July 6, 2020. If there is a life-threatening emergency, please call 911. On behalf of SBPMG we wish you all a safe and restful holiday. For additional details please visit the website or contact our office at www.sbpmg.com</div>

<div>It is with great anticipation that we announce the Re-opening of SBPMG Office hours. Please note the following safe practice procedures and policies that the South Bay Primary Medical Group, office of both Dr. Trace and Dr. Leticia Polanco, will be implementing for the safety of you, the office, and the community:&nbsp;<br><br></div><ol><li>Announcing Senior citizen hours. In an effort to reduce the exposure of this high risk population, we will be dedicating the first 3 hours of the day toward senior care. These hours will be between 9 to 12 PM. Afterwards, the office will be cleansed by the staff and all other patients will be welcomed between 1 and 5 PM. We ask that patients please take this into consideration when self-scheduling online and when calling the office to schedule an appointment.&nbsp;</li><li>Introducing the car waiting room. Presently, we are working on utilizing both text and phone messages to communicate to our patients when it will be time for you to come upstairs for your scheduled appointment. Please visit the SBPMG patient portal to confirm your contact information and call the office if you need to update your cell phone number, so that you will be sure to receive our communication. At this time, to minimize exposure at the office, patients will now be screened at the door and escorted directly to their exam room rather than being seated in the waiting area.&nbsp;</li><li>Respiratory sick visits. Currently, we are advising our patients to continue to contact the office for a virtual web or phone visit if you are experiencing any respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath. We are encouraging these patients to remain at home and allow the physicians to provide you a phone or video consultation. Please be advised that if you present to your office visit with these symptoms, you will be rescheduled for a phone or video consultation.</li><li>Non-visitor/guest policy. With the exception of minors or patients with special needs, who will be allowed one accompanying adult, SBPMG patients will be only allowed to come in to the office. If a communication is required between the physician and a caregiver/family member, the physician will contact the caregiver/family member after the consultation by phone.&nbsp;</li><li>Door triage/screening. Patients with an appointment will be screened at the entry of the office. Patients will be questioned regarding any potential coronavirus exposure, travel history, fever or respiratory symptoms. Patients will be rescheduled for a virtual visit either web or phone if it is deemed unsafe to enter the office.&nbsp;</li><li>Entering patients. All entering patients will receive a contactless temperature screening and be provided a pump of hand sanitizer when entering and exiting the office. In addition, only patients with face covering/masks will be allowed to enter the office. Although we have some mask supplies, protective personal equipment (PPE) will only be provided upon availability. Otherwise, the patient may be rescheduled to a future date or time if they present to their office visit without a mask/face cover or if a complimentary mask is unavailable.&nbsp;</li><li>Contactless payments. We are encouraging our patients to call ahead to pay their co-pays by phone. Our SBPMG staff will also offer you the opportunity to pay as well at the time of scheduling your appointment. Cash and check payments are discouraged. Apple Pay and credit card are available onsite however pre-payment is suggested.&nbsp;</li><li>Employee screening. For the safety of our office and the SBPMG patients, our staff will be screened when they arrive to the office. In addition, any staff member who chooses to leave the office during their break will require re-screening upon their readmission to the office. Be advised, that occasional temperature screening will be performed on the staff during the day to reduce any risk to our staff and patients. Our employees will be wearing mask and be provided hand sanitizer and gloves as well for your protection. Lastly, we are currently evaluating areas for plexiglass shielding if deemed necessary. At the office, our staff will be stationed with the appropriate social distancing guidelines.&nbsp;</li><li>Commercial office cleaning. Although we make every effort to maintain a clean and sanitized office environment, we will also be increasing the frequency of our after hours commercial cleaning services.&nbsp;</li><li>New hours. Until further notice, SBPMG will be offering extended hours to meet our patients needs. In addition to our extended virtual care visits, we will be continuously assessing any further need for extended hours and days. Please contact the office or check the SBPMG patient portal for the most up-to-date physician availability.&nbsp;</li><li>No Walk-in policy. In the protection of our arriving SBPMG patients and the safety of our staff, we are discouraging any Walk-ins to our office. At this time, our primary focus will be on the scheduled appointment individuals. Please call the office, schedule an appointment, visit the SBPMG website or access the SBPMG Patient portal to safely navigate our many services. We thank you for your trust and confidence in your health care and we are confident that our safe practices will allow you to return back to the office. Recognizing the value virtual visits have provided everyone over the preceding weeks , we encourage you to continue to utilize this form of healthcare if necessary or desired. Over the past 10 weeks, we have shown ourselves the value that technology has provided us to safely meet your medical needs.&nbsp;</li></ol><div><br>Thank you again for your compliance to our safe in office procedures and we look forward to seeing you again at the office.&nbsp;</div>

The South Bay Primary Medical Group, office of both Dr. Trace and Leticia Polanco, would like to provide our patients with an update regarding our in-office reopening process. Presently, we are working on the safest policies and procedures to bring you back to the office. Keeping in mind your safety as well as the safety of the community, other patients and our office, we have been working diligently these past two weeks formulating a safe and efficient way to restore our in-office practice. We are proud to share with you that our full staff remains committed to your care. Throughout this coronavirus pandemic, we thank you and our office staff for your dedication and commitment to your wellness and health. We are so proud of you and the successful transition you made into virtual care. Through the efforts of our staff and your participation, our office has remained virtually open seven days a week from 8 AM to 8 PM providing you the care and reassurance during these challenging times. Currently, we are watching closely as the economy reopens. Therefore, our intention is to share our reopening strategy with you within the next two weeks as we monitor the potential rise in new coronavirus cases. At present, we are forecasting a early June in-office re-opening, but we invite you to continue to utilize both phone and web visits to minimize any disruption to your care. We thank you for your trust and your confidence with your care and we look forward to receiving you here again in the office soon, Dr. Trace and Leticia Polanco

The South Bay Primary Medical Group, the office of both Dr. Leticia and Trace Polanco would like to update everyone regarding the current status of our office and COVID-19. Presently, we are comforted to report that our Chula Vista community has been very vigilant regarding its Stay at home, Social distancing and Hand hygiene practices. Although we have experienced Coronavirus cases within our very own patient population, we are relieved that the outcomes have been favorable. We would ask every patient to continue to be safe and take the safety recommendations to heart for the well-being of you, your family and our community. During this time, we have been hosting virtual visits through the phone and web. Fortunately, our practice has been equipped with this option since we opened several years ago. We invite you to continue to contact the office or schedule your own appointment online through the South Bay Primary Medical Group patient portal. For many of you, the portal is very familiar, however for others, this is your opportunity to get familiar with what the patient portal has to offer. If you have forgotten your username please feel free to contact the office for a reminder. For individuals who have forgotten their password, there is a password reset request in the patient portal. Every patient at our office has a patient portal account that was established at the time of their registration so you do not need to create another account unless you are a new patient. Therefore, in an effort to minimize any anxieties you might have during this time and to concentrate on avoiding any disruption to your health and wellness, please be advised that your routine care can still be discussed through a phone or web visit. Please do not disregard your routine care if as many recommendations can still be provided to you in a virtual format. We remain faithful to your care and we are available for you during this time of crisis. We have even expanded our availability for you to access our care. Please contact the office or visit the patient portal if you should have any health care needs. Our staff has fully committed to being available during this challenging time and we are proud to be on the front line for you. Remain safe, remain positive and remain faithful, Dr. Trace and Leticia Polanco

In an effort to protect you, the office, your family, our community and our medical office staff, the South Bay Primary Medical Group will be suspending preventative office visits such as routine women’s health and physical exam appointments. With a continued focus on risk prevention, the office is encouraging patients to reschedule these types of appointments for a future date. Our intention is not to disrupt your care, however we are recommending that you defer these preventative visits to a later date in light of the current circumstances. Regarding routine office visits or acute ill visits, we are encouraging patients to visit the patient portal or contact the office to have your visit changed to a virtual phone or web visit if possible. We are fortunate in that we provide telehealth and virtual web visits, so we invite you to please be open to this safe and alternative form of care. At this time, our office will remain open if you choose to come for an in-person visit, but we ask you to use good judgment and discretion and reserve the office for visits that are unable to be rescheduled or converted to a virtual format. Please be advised that if you change your visit to a virtual format you may still receive a text that states office visit so please do not be confused. We are readily available to still meet your health care needs and we thank you for understanding.