Policies and information related to COVID-19 as it relates to our on-site and administrative operations
Infection Control Guidlines (updated 5/14/2024):
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as local government regulations and concerns that are unique to our individual business. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
We are a health care facility as well as a fitness facility. We have many patients and clients who may have higher risk factors or live/interact closely with those who do. Because of this, there are times when we may observe more strict precautions than what is generally recommended due to the close nature of our services.
- We will follow guidelines based on CDC and on the CA Department of Public Health for masking and other public health issues.
- Starting April 3, 2023, masks were no longer mandatory for all visitors, staff, and clients within our facility. However, we do reserve the right to protect ourselves and those within our space who may be at a higher risk. Please read and respect our mask policy at the bottom of the page for more details. We generally operate more conservatively than the recommended government guidelines.
- Please wash your hands upon entering and before leaving the studio for at least 20 seconds as good standard practice. Hand sanitizer is readily available as needed throughout your session.
- You may be asked to wear grip socks if you will be performing exercises on some of our equipment for your safety. If you do not have grip socks, they are available for sale within the office. Unless there are specific medical reasons, we request that people remove their shoes prior to entering the upstairs carpeted studio.
- We have high quality HEPA air purifiers in all treatment and fitness areas in the studio. We may turn them on to a higher setting while you are present or just before/after your session to filter the air in the room. They work better to clean the air in a given space when the doors are closed.
- We use disinfectant cleaners on our tables, large Pilates apparatus and most props between patients. We also use UV light for disinfecting select smaller soft props that cannot easily be sprayed down.
- Please be on time and realize that we work on a strict schedule of 50 minute sessions to ensure adequate time to clean/disinfect between patients, clients, & classes.
- When possible, please have your payment available (check to ProBalance is always preferred) or a credit card on file so we can minimize and streamline your checkout.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice.
To make an in-person or remote appointment, please call our office at 510-523-1900 or use our secure contact form found on the "Contact Us" page.
We will alert you as we restrict or expand in-person offerings based on government and public health recommendations. As of May 1, 2023, ProBalance is in Phase 4* (no restrictions to services due to infection disruption).
*Guide to Phases of Operations: Phase 1: Essential physical therapy services, Phase 2: private wellness sessions (by either physical therapists or fitness teachers, Phase 3: small group classes and/or teacher training courses with vaccination requirement or testing requirement, Phase 4: group classes at prior capacity with no restrictions. For those who had purchased packages starting in July 2019 and beyond, we extended expiration dates through June 1, 2024 to reflect prior restrictions to services/classes provided and to reflect that our Phase 4 has been in effect since May 1, 2023.
Note that we have an online membership program called Be Well-Stay Well™ which provides unlimited access to live and on-demand group classes and Q&A’s on a monthly ($39/month or $399/annual) plan. We are also offering virtual private sessions to help serve our patients and clients.
Thank you for supporting The ProBalance® Studio as a local business. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
*******MASK POLICY (last amended 4-3-23)
NOTE: MASK REQUIREMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME PER LOCAL, STATE, & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND PER LOCAL OUTBREAKS.
The ProBalance Studio is both a HEALTHCARE FACILITY as well as a FITNESS/WELLNESS FACILITY. We may, at times, have stricter guidelines than those of the local agencies due to our commitment to ensuring a safe environment for you, our other patients/clients, our staff, and their family members that may be at-risk. Any bullying or refusal of compliance with our masking/vaccination/testing policies, will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the premises. Safety is our first priority.
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DO NOT ENTER PROBALANCE STUDIO IF:
* You have any COVID Symptoms or other signs of illness, including:
* fever/chills
* cough
* shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
* fatigue
* muscle aches
* headache,
* sore throat
* new loss of taste or smell
* congestion or runny nose
* nausea or vomiting, diarrhea
* You suspect you may be sick with COVID-19.
* If you have tested positive with an Antigen test within 5-7 days and are still symptomatic.
April 3, 2023, California lifted its mandate on masks for healthcare facilities. What this means for your visit to The ProBalance® Studio:
Masks will no longer be mandated by the state within our facility for clients, patients, and visitors, but are recommended based on local conditions and your personal preferences. Note that we do reserve the right to ask you to wear a mask at select times.
The ProBalance® staff may continue to wear high quality masks, particularly while performing direct patient and client services, including private fitness and wellness sessions, PT Treatment sessions, and/or even group fitness classes based on risk factors of proximity, room size, number of people occupying the room and/or respecting the sensitivity to some individuals on the subject.
Recognize that The ProBalance® Staff are in contact with a large number of people, often in very close quarters, many of which are also high risk, where serious illness can be very disruptive. For this reason, we do reserve the right to ask any of our visitors or clientele to don a well fitting mask whenever we feel it is best for everyone's safety and/or we might ask you to leave if you are ill or have symptoms of illness.
We thank you all of you for respecting our desire to protect and optimize the health of those who visit and work at ProBalance.
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Update Dec 1, 2024
Package Expiration for dates packages purchased before November 26, 2024.
- How our packages work
All pre-paid packages have always included expiration dates.
• Class packages expire in six months.
• Private sessions expire in twelve months.
These terms are printed on receipts and listed on our website and that has been since we started offering packages in 2008. - What happened during COVID
During the worst of the COVID period (2020-2023), we offered broad courtesy extensions, stating that they would expire at the end of that calendar year and further continuing these extensions each year to give clients opportunities to return. Many of these packages were purchased well before 2024 and are now several years old. - Final courtesy extension
During our software transition from Mindbody Online to Jane, we added one final good faith courtesy extension for all packages purchased between 2020 and November 26, 2024.
The final expiration for these old packages is December 31, 2025. - Why we are reminding you and enforcing the dates for 2025
Long extensions were a temporary response to the pandemic. Continuing them would make scheduling and staffing difficult and would place an unfair burden on our team. Clear dates help us stay sustainable and support the clients who attend regularly. - Options for you
If you still have remaining sessions from the older unused packages purchased between 2020-and Nov 2024, you have four choices:
- Use the sessions before December 31, 2025.
Don’t wait until the last minute to schedule as the times and practitioner that you may want may not be available. - Convert the sessions to credit toward other services you will use before the end of 2025. The conversion value is as follows (note the reduced value is due to the admin load it takes to convert these in our system):
• Class session: $20
• Fitness session: $50
• PT or Pilates session: $80 - Gift your unused sessions to someone who will use them before Dec 31,2025. You need to let us know that person’s name so we can enter it in the system and transfer those visits to them.
- Apply the credit toward a Be Well Stay Well subscription (www.bewellstaywell.net) where we offer multiple online classes that are live and on-demand. Many are taught by our ProBalance practitioners and include mat, mat/props, and even reformer classes. Contact [email protected] and in the subject line write "Convert my sessions". Ada Wells will get back to you by email to do that. For reference, here's the value of the online subscription:
• Annual: $399
• Monthly: $39
• 30-day access pass: $45
These options give you choice while helping us keep schedules clear and fair for everyone. Please be aware of our expiration dates as you purchase packages in the future.
Our goal
We want to support your wellness and maintain policies that work for the whole studio. Thank you for your understanding and for being part of our community.
