At OHI, we continue to hold strong to our commitment to the safety for the OHI community. As Covid-19 cases start to decrease, we still need to show patience as the vaccine rolls out, and diligently practice safety protocols (wear mask, wash hands, socially distance) to stop the spread of the virus.

OHI Austin’s colonic, chiropractic, and massage services are open. Call us with questions or to book your stay at OHI Austin: (800) 224-2620

The OHI Safety Bubble

If you’ve been receiving our emails, then you know we’ve been working hard to enhance our guests’ experience, while also providing a safer environment. We established community health guidelines for all of our on-campus community members – guests, missionaries and staff – making OHI the safest place to be outside of your home.

100% Safety Record = 0 Transmissions

We are proud to share with you – since the pandemic started, we’ve had zero transmissions of Covid-19 on campus. We attribute our 100% safety record to the following protocols:

• Step 1 - At the time of reservation: We pre-screen to qualify guests for on-campus stays. Anyone experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms will be required to book their reservation 4 weeks after they are symptom-free.
• Step 2 - Before guests arrive: We check in with our guests 3-5 days before their arrival to ensure they qualify to be on our campus.
• Step 3 - On arrival: Per CDC protocols, we monitor temperatures of all incoming guests, using non-contact thermometers. We will continue to take guests’ temperatures at their request.

On-campus testing: We recently implemented a rapid, non-invasive, pain-free screening method that detects coronavirus through saliva, called TestTheTeam. The testing method is designed to test groups of people who interact with one another on a regular basis and are not experiencing common Covid-19 symptoms and it has been shown to be as accurate and as sensitive as the RT-PCR – the gold standard in Covid-19 testing. Here’s how it works:

• On Sundays and Wednesdays, all of our on-campus community members (guests, missionaries, and staff) are required to participate in the rapid Covid-19 group testing.
• The test consists of gargling a mouthwash for 10 seconds, spitting solution/saliva into a tube, and sealing the tube. It’s that simple!
• The tests are administered in groups of 4 people. Once we collect 4 tubes from a group, we send the tubes to the lab and receive results in 24-30 hours.
• A “detected” or “not-detected” result will be given for the group. Individuals will not be singled-out or identified as having coronavirus.
• If a group receives a “not-detected” result, we know that each individual in the group does not have coronavirus.
• If a group receives a “detected” result, then each person in the group will immediately quarantine (restricting the spread of the virus) and be instructed to contact their healthcare provider, and then be sent for diagnostic testing before any individual displays symptoms.

Smaller cohorts: We have fewer people on campus, including guests, staff and missionaries. OHI San Diego is limited to 60 guests on our 2-acre campus; OHI Austin is limited to 20 guests on our 14-acre campus. 

Physical distancing: We support physical distancing by booking our guests in single-occupancy rooms (one person per room), keeping 6-feet of distance between us at all times, and limiting the number of guests allowed in each classroom. This allows us to balance staying connected with each other while safely practicing physical distancing.

Trained staff: From the moment we became aware of the COVID-19 back in March of 2020, our staff immediately established safety protocols for the OHI community:

• We formed a compliance team to actively monitor the COVID-19 situation to ensure we not only follow the most-current CDC and county-prescribed safety protocols, but to ensure we exceed those standards.
• Before each work shift, if one of our staff members or missionaries exhibit any symptoms of cold or flu, they do not come to work.
• For those who do come to work - before every shift - each employee and missionary is required to take their temperature and if they exhibit a temperature of 100-degrees Fahrenheit or higher, they are sent home.

Food handling: Food is solely handled by our trained kitchen staff. Our kitchen staff wear gloves, face masks, and face shields during food preparation and during mealtime service.

Clean facilities: We follow a comprehensive safety plan that involves three major pillars: 1) minimizing infectious diseases from entering the OHI campus, 2) sterilizing the campus, guest rooms, and public areas to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission, 3) and conducting Covid-19 testing twice weekly with our on-campus community members: guests, missionaries and staff.

• We use electrostatic spray disinfection systems and only safe, non-chemical cleaners in our guest rooms, common areas, and kitchens.
• We have Molekule air purifiers in each guest room, classroom, and large common areas. These air purifiers destroy a wide range of pollutants, including allergens, volatile organic compounds, bacteria, mold, and viruses.
• We increased sanitation in all of our departments across our campuses, Including regular cleaning of doorknobs, light switches, and other surfaces around our campuses. Additionally, we sanitize and deep-clean our kitchens and community bathrooms on a regular basis.
• We put extra emphasis on keeping our dining hall and water stations sanitized before, during, and after mealtimes.
• We continue to provide alcohol-based hand-sanitizer stations in a variety of places on our campuses (public bathrooms, classrooms, etc.) – especially areas that concern food (dining area, wheatgrass juice room, and food prep classrooms).

A more intimate guest experience: We’ve recently taken this opportunity to create a more-intimate guest experience by reducing the number of guests in our program. This means more private rooms are available. The flipside is that program space fills quickly. Therefore, we recommend booking 3 weeks in advance in order to get your preferred room.

OHI face masks: Everyone on campus is required to wear face masks. Feel free to bring your own or you can purchase one of our face masks in our on-campus store. Our OHI for Life face masks are made from washable copper fiber. These are far superior to fabric face masks for two reasons: one, copper masks are far more comfortable than fabric masks, and two, copper destroys pathogens like bacteria and viruses.

Although guests must wear face masks in all common areas on our campus, you do not have to wear a mask when you’re in your private room.

Introducing the OHI for Life Wellness Room: We updated our guest rooms with these comfort and safety features:

• Certified organic bedding: We now have 100% certified-organic bedding in all of our guest rooms. This means our new sateen fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillowcases, and duvet cover are pure 100% organic cotton. Our new comforters inserts are filled with MicroMax, a premium synthetic down-alternative. Our comforters are also proven through Allergy Standards Ltd lab testing to reduce allergens making them asthma and allergy-friendly (AAFA).
  At OHI, we know that sleep is one of the essential pillars of optimum health. Our new organic linens provide a new look and great feel – improving your sleep experience.
  In order to keep our organic bedding toxin-free, we wash it with Charlie's Soap products, which are all-natural laundry detergents that contain only biodegradable, hypo-allergenic ingredients and no perfumes.
• Air purifiers: We’ve outfitted each guest room and all large, indoor common areas with a Molekule air purifier. The Molekule air purifier uses Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) technology that destroys a wide-range of pollutants, including allergens, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bacteria, mold, and viruses – Yes, viruses too. Great timing as we’re all now acutely aware how airborne contaminants can harm our health.

1. Remain calm – Practice Alpha technique in any form that speaks to you (meditation, journaling, conscious breathing, singing, etc.)
   
   
2. Drink water – Stay hydrated and keep bodily fluids flowing.
   
   
3. Eat healthily – Increase your daily intake of fresh, organic vegetables, sprouts, seeds and fruit. Get your daily doses of essential vitamins and nutrients, like vitamins A, C and D—the go-to vitamins for boosting the immune system. To better absorb your vitamins, be sure to take your daily doses of zinc, magnesium and potassium.
   
   
4. Exercise – Movement helps keep breath and bodily fluids flowing, which in return strengthens your immune system. Just do it—but at a distance. Stay at least 6 feet away from other walkers, joggers or hikers if you go out. And while you’re at it, be sure to get your time in the sun and soak up that vitamin D – another immune booster!
   
   
5. Stay connected – While physical distancing is a smart practice these days, so is staying connected. There are plenty of ways to stay connected online. If online social media isn’t your thing, then pick up the phone and call a loved one.

All of these practices will help boost your immune system – keeping you healthy and safe.

In order to keep us all safe, we reduced the number of guests in our program – resulting in a guest experience that is more intimate. But space fills-up quickly. Therefore, we recommend booking 3 weeks in advance in order to get your preferred room.

If you’re considering a stay with us, call us and we’ll talk it through with you. We want to assure you the safety of our community members is our highest priority.