The president and CEO of Bluewater Health is pleading for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as its effects are having a lasting impact on the healthcare industry.
Mike Lapaine said it has been a long 18 months and the healthcare system is strained.
"One COVID patient can be the equivalent of three or four other ICU patients," he said. "When you tack that onto the fact that our staff are already tired, the system is under strain, we really don't need admissions to hospital that are avoidable. The best way to avoid an admission is to get vaccinated."
Lapaine said he's concerned with the level of exhaustion among staff.
"I don't believe many of them had the reprieve they needed to be fully recharged for the fall. Our industry, not just the hospital, has seen an unprecedented number of people leave the industry and we're having difficulty recruiting for the industry."
Fall is typically a busy time of year at the hospital but when a fourth wave is added to that, Lapaine said it's cause for concern.
"I don't know how we would cope and that's sort of what keeps me up at night," he said.
Aside from caring for COVID-19 patients, Lapaine said hospitals are still behind with elective surgeries, such as joint replacements.
There are currently no COVID-19 patients admitted to Bluewater Health. However, the province reported 336 COVID-19 patients in hospital, of which 33 are fully vaccinated. Health Minister Christine Elliot said of the 158 people with the virus in intensive care, 10 are fully vaccinated people.
-With files from Sue Storr