COVID-19 Statement

Dear Valued Patients and Neighbors,

First and foremost, Estrella Ear, Nose and Throat would like to extend our appreciation to each of our patients for your support over the last 10 years. We value your trust, your loyalty and for allowing us to be your ear, nose and throat provider.

It is an honor to serve our patients and the Arizona community.

We understand the increasing concern and uncertainty surrounding the developments of the COVID-19 virus across the state of Arizona. Here at Estrella Ear, Nose and Throat, we are taking this situation seriously by initiating all the necessary precautions to protect our patients, our team and our community. Your health is our top priority and we want to make sure we are doing our part to help reduce the transmission of the virus.

Effective Tuesday March 24, 2020 through Monday May 4, 2020, upon the recommendation from the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Estrella ENT has made the decision to close our offices for all routine visits during this time and to limit care to time-sensitive and emergent problems only. We are offering virtual visits to our patients during this closure and if you are interested in a virtual, TeleMedicine visit, please contact our office at (623) 535-8770. This closure is subject to change based upon the Arizona Department of Health guidelines, CDC recommendations, and continued communications with the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Our hope is that by taking this action, we can help to flatten the curve of transmission and preserve critical supplies and equipment for those who need it most.

In addition, our team will continue to implement specific safety measures within the offices to prevent exposure and to actively reduce any risks to our patients. We are confident that with these efforts, we have a firm grip on the situation and will be able to continue to see our emergent cases.

Estrella ENT has posted notices on our doors and in our patient waiting areas as well as sending out communications to our patients asking patients to refrain from coming into the office if you are experiencing or meet any of the below criteria:

• Cough
• Fever
• Extreme Fatigue
• Shortness of Breath
• Have traveled outside of the U.S. within the last 8 weeks.

Additionally, in order to limit the number of people in the office, we are asking our patients to come to their appointments without additional family members/friends, unless the patient is a minor.

Our team has also been provided with COVID-19 screening questions that are being asked during patient calls and at the point of check-in to prevent scheduling or seeing patients who potentially have symptoms.

We are advising our patients to call the Arizona Department of Health Service’s hotline at 1 (844) 542-8201 or visit their website https://www.azdhs.gov to obtain information on testing sites within the state and up to date information on the how Arizona is handling COVID-19.

The Estrella ENT team has been advised to stay home if they are experiencing any symptoms and we have increased our disinfectant practices along with educating our team on the CDC recommended guidelines for sanitary protocols which are being strictly followed in our clinics.

Our team is thoroughly trained on the risks and symptoms of this virus and we are taking every precaution to prevent transmission.

Our practice is working diligently to continue to collect as much information from the state as well as government agencies on the COVID-19 developments as they become available and we will continue to adjust our operations to follow all recommendations being made.

We have faith in our team to keep our patients safe and we will continue to serve our patients to the best of our abilities during this time. We appreciate your support, patience and understanding as we do all that we can to keep our community safe. Together, we will overcome this health crisis as we remain mindful, responsible and united.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please do not hesitate to call our offices at (623) 535-8770.

Thank you for your trust in us!

Dr. Jonathan Wiggenhorn and the Estrella ENT Team