March 11, 2020. That was the date that one of the staff members of Owen, Patterson & Owen told us that she may have had contact with someone who had COVID-19. This was before any shutdown by schools, stores, or government agencies. Our immediate response was to instruct her to get immediate testing if possible, contact everyone she had been around, allow all OPO employees to leave and completely disinfect the office, dousing every conceivable surface with Lysol.
In the days preceding March 11th, I had made sure that our outside IT person had set up remote office systems for everyone in their homes. Everyone thought I was crazy. They thought it was unnecessary. It would never come to that. We purchased Lysol, wipes, and hand sanitizer for the office when it was still easily available at our neighborhood store. Again, overkill. Masks were delivered to our house, and even I thought, we aren’t actually ever going to need these, are we? Whatever might be needed, we had. We wanted to make sure that “work” would and could continue as normally as possible should the coronavirus become too widespread.
While we had the physical tools in place before the shutdown occurred, something amazing happened after everyone went home. Now, we have regular Team meetings where our entire staff gets together online, more regularly than we did when we were all in the office together. We discuss cases, as well as how everyone’s family is surviving this “new normal”. We are adopting new technology, as now is the time to perfect efficiency and more important, serve our clients with the best customer service possible. Before COVID-19, our physical doors were open from 8:30 to 5:30, Monday through Friday. Now, in these times, we are available always.
“The office” is much more than a place. It is the employees, the ideas, the teamwork, and most of all, it is you, our clients. You are the very life of our practice. Even during shutdowns, accidents still happen. Please call us at 661-799-3899 or contact us at info@owenpatterson.com. We are here for you.