Windsor Regional Hospital has teamed up with St. Clair College to increase healthcare capacity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hospital system announced Thursday afternoon that it had reached an agreement with the college to transform the main Windsor campus's SportsPlex into a temporary field hospital for the duration of the crisis. The move is being made in preparation for any surge in local coronavirus patients.
The SportsPlex will be slowly transformed over the next week into a 100-bed offsite hospital, and if needed, will treat low-acuity patients in the recovery phase of treatment, including those who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Local hospitals have been working to increase capacity, but David Musyj, president and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, said the SportsPlex is there just in case.
"We are preparing for the expected patient influx and creating capacity for Windsor-Essex. This will help address challenges for hospitals across the province," said Musyj. "Best case scenario is we do not need to move any patients to the St. Clair College site, but we have to be ready for the worst."
St. Clair College President Patti France said the school was more than happy to meet the challenge.
"Our students and staff have been using the SportsPlex to foster their health for the past half-decade, so it is a natural transition for the community to use it now to restore its health," said France. "We will continue to respond immediately and enthusiastically to anything asked of the college while this challenge confronts our community."
At this point, there are no off-site facilities run by WRH to treat patients in the pandemic. However, the hospital's Metropolitan and Ouellette Campuses have increased capacity by cancelling elective surgeries. As of Thursday, the hospital said there were 350 vacant patient spaces between the two buildings.
The SportsPlex was chosen through the guidance of retired Lieutenant Colonel Andy Stewart, who had served for 38 years with the British Army, then the Canadian Forces. Stewart had worked in Germany during the Cold War, and in Britain during the fight against foot-and-mouth disease.