(Photo courtesy © Can Stock Photo / gajdamak)(Photo courtesy © Can Stock Photo / gajdamak)
London

St. Joseph’s Hospice to accept new admissions as outbreak ends

A hospice in London will be reopening its doors for admissions following a COVID-19 outbreak that affected staff and patients.

An outbreak was declared at St. Joseph’s Hospice earlier this month, with 13 staff members and five patients contracting the virus. On Tuesday, the Middlesex London Health Unit announced that the outbreak had been resolved.

Now that the outbreak has ended, the hospice will begin accepting new admissions, however, St. Joseph’s will screen and test all new patients. Anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is suspected of having the virus will not be admitted.

“The number of people dying from non-COVID-19 causes is not changing, and they still need our services and care. It’s also important that we continue to ease the burden on hospitals by accommodating those at end of life here at [the] hospice,” said St. Joseph’s Hospice Executive Director Janet Groen in a news release.

While the outbreak was in effect, the hospice employed an external professional cleaning service to deep clean the premises with hospital-grade disinfectant and broad-spectrum virucide.

“To ensure the safety of its healthcare workers, patients, visitors and volunteers, St. Joseph’s Hospice is implementing a plan to re-open its residence to new admissions,” said Groen. “The procedures were developed based on the current best practices and current guidance and directives issued by the province and in consultation with Public Health Ontario and the Middlesex London Health Unit”.

Each employee at the hospice will only return to work once they are cleared on an individual basis by the Middlesex London Health Unit. While at work, the staff will be wearing protective equipment and will be diligent with cleaning and hand hygiene.

The hospice is also limiting visitors to one per day for each patient. Visitors will also be screened for COVID-19 upon arrival and will be expected to wear a mask and comply with physical distancing policies.

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