An Update from the Registrar on COVID-19 Re-opening

Updated: June 2, 2020

On April 30, 2020, the Premier of Alberta announced that allied health professions may now reopen beginning May 4, 2020. This means that independent / private practice dietitians may now consider re-opening their doors for face to face consultations. This re-opening is completely voluntary.

The College of Dietitians of Alberta (CDA) has developed a guideline for safe re-opening, however we note that smaller businesses may have challenges with the expected office cleaning practices, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements for in-person counselling.

While the consideration to re-open may be undertaken by private practice dietitians at their discretion, the College suggests that continuing to provide virtual services to clients is appropriate and may be the most prudent use of resources, and may continue to be the safest method for providing client care at this time.

Please review CDA’s Safely Returning to Practice: Information on Providing Dietetic Services (amended 5/26/2020), the College statement on Virtual, Electronic Communications, the College statement on Use of Personal Protective Equipment in addition to these documents:

COVID-19 Information: Workplace Guidance for Business Owners

https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/covid-19-workplace-guidance-for-business-owners.pdf

https://www.alberta.ca/guidance-for-workplaces.aspx

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions – for Primary Care

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/ppih/if-ppih-covid-19-primary-care-faq.pdf

Sincerely,

Doug Cook
Executive Director & Registrar
College of Dietitians of Alberta