Local hospital leaders are pleading with the public to stay home as COVID-19 cases rise and acute care units and ICU beds throughout the system reach capacity.
Erie Shores Health Care in Leamington has just opened up a third COVID-19 unit and has had to transfer other patients to Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare to accommodate the growing number of positive COVID-19 cases within the hospital.
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of confirmed COVID positive cases coming through our emergency room and our probable cases of COVID as well,” said Erie Shores Healthcare CEO Kristin Kennedy. “It has put a burden on the inpatient units. We were running one COVID unit in wave one. We quickly went to two units over the last month and we’ve increased to three COVID units as of [Monday] to help carry the burden that we’re seeing and be able to, attempt to, take care of the patients that we need to in a safe manner.”
For local hospitals and other front-line workers, the supply of personal protective equipment and ventilators is not a concern during the second wave of the pandemic. However, the resource in short supply is human.
“Resources are depleting and we need to be cognizant of that,” said Kennedy. “Community spread is increasing and the measures we have in place right now are not necessarily being adhered to by our community. We know that as we see the rising numbers and with community spread comes community spread to our health care workers as well. Resources are depleting quickly.”
Human resources are also a major factor for Windsor Regional Hospital when considering opening the 100-bed field hospital at St. Clair College.
“Everybody is stretched to the limit. We have a finite number of staff who can work and be at the field hospital but everybody is stretched so far out that it’s nearly impossible right now,” said WRH Chief of Staff Dr. Wassim Saad.
Currently, WRH ICU is beyond capacity and they have had to use beds outside the intensive care unit for critical care patients.
“[The field hospital] is available. We are looking at when we would need to trigger the opening of it but it is going to be for very selective patients. Those are patients who are known positives, who are done with their acute treatment in the hospita,l and now need a few days to a week or more to recover from their COVID illness,” said Dr. Saad.
Hospital leaders are asking the public to do its part and stay home to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and relieve the pressure within the local healthcare system.
“Shelter in place, adhere to guidelines, protect each other,” said Kennedy. “We all have an accountability to keep each other safe. We hear often that healthcare workers are heroes. We need others to step up and be a hero to protect our healthcare workers.”