Establishing a New Normal for St. Louis

Life continues to re-establish itself in St. Louis and St. Louis County as business reopen, although with several new realities that are part of life during the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses in the area that closed during March and April began to reopen in mid-May and are now operating in a new normal: some businesses have returned to operations as they were before, and others, including us at Watson Imaging Center, have adopted different hours and procedures to ensure the safest operations for both employees and customers.

Two main things make the reopenings very different from before the coronavirus began to spread widely in the St. Louis area. One is that masks are recommended and, in some cases, such as at Watson Imaging Center, are required, and another is that social distancing of at least six feet between people is recommended. These two stipulations for returning to normal have caused a lot of businesses to change standard procedures in order to safely accommodate all customers.

Watson Imaging Center reopened a little over a month ago and requires all employees and patients to wear masks. We also continue to ask everyone to socially distance at least six feet or more from others, where possible. These two measures have been shown to be the most effective ways of slowing the spread of coronavirus. We continue to operate on an altered schedule, with our hours being 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. We will be open 8 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of the next two months, July 11 and August 8.

We continue to ask that only patients come into our facility. This helps us maintain social distancing guidelines of maintaining six feet or more between people in our facility. It also helps when patients show up at their scheduled appointment time, not early and not late. X-ray patients can register at the front desk and then are asked to wait in their car until we are ready to see them.

We are adhering to all guidelines provided by the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County and are making every effort to ensure the safety of our employees and our patients. Please call us with any questions about making an appointment. We are happy to be able to see patients again.