Snow Removal for Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Clinics

4 min read · Thames Valley Snow, London, Ontario

Your patients are the most at-risk visitors on the street

A treatment clinic sees people with back injuries, sore joints, recent surgery and balance problems. Some arrive with canes, walkers or crutches. Many are older. For these patients, a thin layer of ice on the walkway or a ridge of snow at the curb is not a minor inconvenience. It can be the difference between a routine appointment and a new injury.

Thames Valley Snow serves chiropractic clinics in London, and the planning we do for those sites is built around the patient walking from the car to the front desk.

Start with the path from the car to the chair

When you plan winter service, trace the actual route a patient takes. It usually starts at the accessible spaces or the row closest to the door, crosses a curb or curb cut, follows a sidewalk and ends at an entrance that may have steps, a ramp or both. Every part of that route should be in the contract and should be hand-cleared and salted on every visit. That includes:

• The accessible parking spaces and the access aisle beside them
• The curb cut or ramp from the lot to the sidewalk
• The full sidewalk to the entrance, not a single shovel width
• Steps, landings and handrail areas at the door
• Any rear or side entrance patients are told to use

Timing around early and late appointments

Many clinics open early for patients who come before work, and stay open into the evening. The lot should be cleared before the first patient arrives, and the contractor should know your hours so walkways are checked for refreeze before the evening rush. Opening time is one of the factors used to price a commercial site, so be accurate about it when you request quotes.

Ice is the real risk

Fresh snow is visible and people slow down for it. Ice is not. The most dangerous days are often after a thaw, when meltwater runs across a walkway and freezes overnight, or after freezing rain. Ask your contractor how they handle these conditions and whether they return to salt when there is no new snow. Snow should be piled away from doors and drains so melt does not run back across the path. Our salting and ice control page covers this in more detail.

Documentation protects the clinic

Health practitioners understand records. Your snow service should keep them too. A timestamped photo log of every visit shows when the walkways and ramp were cleared and salted. If a patient reports a fall, the clinic and its insurer have something concrete to look at instead of relying on memory. Ask for these records in the contract, along with a certificate of insurance.

Simple things the clinic can do too

Even with good service, the clinic can help. Keep an absorbent mat inside the entrance, and a small container of ice melt by the door for touch-ups between visits. Remind patients by text or email on bad-weather days to allow extra time. Let your contractor know right away about any spot that keeps icing up, such as a downspout that drains onto the sidewalk, so it can be watched on every visit. See our churches and clinics page for how we set up these sites.

Get a written quote for your site

We price clinic sites individually from paved area, walkway length and opening time, measured from City of London maps and aerial imagery. Every site gets a written contract and a timestamped photo log. Request a measured price through our quote form, or call or text (548) 888-8702. A written quote usually comes back within 2 business days.

What's included… and what's extra

Commercial snow service is priced per site from paved area, walkway length and opening time. A typical contract includes plowing at the agreed trigger depth, clearing before opening, hand-cleared entrances, sidewalks and ramps, and a timestamped photo log of every visit.

Common extras are quoted separately so you only pay for what the site needs: salting and de-icing per event, extra sidewalk or ramp coverage, after-hours or priority service, and snow relocation when piles run out of room. See commercial snow removal or request a site quote by calling or texting (548) 888-8702.