Southlake Regional Health Centre has expanded its acute care capacity and will have medical tents available if required, in anticipation of an influx of seriously ill patients with COVID-19.
As a result of significantly reducing scheduled and elective procedures, the Newmarket hospital has increased capacity by 25 per cent, Southlake president and CEO Arden Krystal said.
“We are also acquiring some medical tents that would allow us to set up mobile units in a parking lot or similar space if needed,” she added.
Staff who work in outpatient clinics, which currently have reduced patient numbers, can be deployed to other areas of the hospital as more COVID-19 patients require hospitalization, she added.
Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference yesterday that "a surge is coming" and physical distancing measures are critical to keeping Ontario from facing similar devastation as in Italy and Spain, as the province reported the largest single-day jump in new COVID-19 cases.
Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington is the first hospital in Ontario to build a temporary "pandemic response unit", announcing yesterday it will have 93 additional beds for the anticipated wave of patients with COVID-19.
As of April 1, Southlake had eight patients in its 15-bed intensive care unit, two of whom are awaiting test results. Another COVID-19 patient is being cared for in an inpatient unit.
Southlake’s assessment centre has tested more than 500 individuals since it opened March 14, with volumes that vary day to day, Krystal said.
A physician is assessing individuals to determine if a test is required. To date, the assessment centre has seen 39 individuals who have tested positive and are in self-isolation.
Inpatients are also being tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
Southlake staff are now routinely wearing surgical masks on the clinical units and in common spaces where it can be challenging to maintain the two metres, or six feet, required for physical distancing, she said.
All staff caring for suspected or confirmed COVID patients wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical masks, gowns, gloves, and goggles, as do staff who are screening visitors or patients at the main entrance, if they are not working behind a plexiglass screen.
Southlake has received “an incredible response” to the appeal it issued March 23 for donations of PPE, with local businesses and individuals providing masks, gloves, gowns and hand sanitizer, Krystal noted.
While the hospital does have enough PPE to meet the current demand, she explained, “We are using it faster than we would normally and we recognize, as the minister of health has said, we are in an international competition for PPE. We are pursuing every avenue to maintain an adequate supply.”
Other donors are providing essential emergency equipment, Krystal added.
“We are overwhelmed by the response and encourage people to keep supporting us.”
Southlake currently has enough ventilators for COVID-19 patients in its ICU, including two on loan from Seneca College’s school of nursing.
“If we see increasing numbers of patients requiring ventilators beyond our current supply, we would request additional ventilators from the province,” Krystal added.
According to the province, it has 3,250 ventilators, with 800 more on order. Overall hospital occupancy has dropped to about 77 per cent of capacity — which is about 20 per cent below normal — and critical care beds to 68 per cent, meaning 400 of those are available.
While the province issued a health care resources order March 17 giving Ontario’s hospitals increased flexibility with staffing, including redeploying and re-assigning staff, changing scheduling and cancelling vacations, Krystal said the hospital is following normal practices as much as possible when filling shifts.
“We’re treating the additional flexibility in that order as a last resort,” she said. “We would only avail ourselves of these additional measures if there was no other way to maintain the staffing we need.”
“The staff at Southlake are incredible. We see it every day and especially in challenging times like these," Krystal said. "At a time when families are spending more time together than they planned as a result of social distancing orders, the hospital’s staff are leaving their families at home to stand on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19.”
Southlake is urging community members to follow the direction of public health officials on physical distancing, including staying at home except for essentials — medical appointments and visits to pharmacies and food stores — as well as keeping a distance of two meters from others.
“They’re coming here to keep you safe,” Krystal said of the hospital’s employees, “You need to stay home to keep them safe. And, together, we’ll beat this virus.”
In recent social media posts, Southlake had to remind anyone seeking care and visitors to the hospital, to be honest with screeners about symptoms, close contacts and travel.
“Your answers to these questions won’t stop you from getting care, but they will make it safer for everyone. Your answers could change the precautions staff take when caring for you. If you are not truthful, you are needlessly risking their safety and the safety of other patients,” Krystal explained.
While visitors have been banned, some exceptions are made, including parents of pediatric patients and partners of women giving birth.
Family and friends can drop off care packages at the east entrance for admitted patients, as long as they are placed in a plastic bag and clearly labelled with the patient’s name and room number.
Southlake Foundation has taken on the task of raising funds for the crucial resources and equipment required to battle COVID-19 in our community.
The overwhelming support from donors has seen more than $500,000 raised since the fund launched nine days ago, with gifts ranging from $25 to $250,000, Southlake Foundation president and CEO Susan Mullin said.
The funds are helping to purchase crucially required equipment, including glidescopes, at just under $20,000 each, ventilators, about $67,000 each, and the purpose-built, negative-pressure medical tents that cost about $270,000 each, she said.
Equally important is supporting frontline health-care workers, Mullin said, adding donations of PPE are still required. Deliveries are accepted at Southlake’s receiving department, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
And even the small gestures — such as having a "wellness cart" stocked with snacks and treats, and providing staff small bottles of hand sanitizer to carry home — send a message that they are supported and appreciated by hospital management and the community, she added.
To help ease the burden of the visitor restrictions, the foundation is also covering the cost of bedside phones, smart TVs and internet to help patients keep entertained and in touch with friends and family, Mullin said.
The foundation's goal is to raise $1.5 million, with another medical tent and 10 additional ventilators included on the hospital's priority list currently, she said.
She has been touched by the many members of the community who are reaching out to ask what is needed, many of them new donors.
The best way to help is to donate directly to Southlake's COVID-19 response fund by clicking here.
