KAWARTHA LAKES-Lindsay’s Ross Memorial Hospital has 2 negative pressure rooms in the E.D., which they are keeping available for any potential COVID-19 cases. They have 7 additional negative pressure rooms throughout the hospital.
At negative-pressure room is designed to isolate a patient who is suspected of, or has been diagnosed with, an airborne infectious disease. The negative-pressure isolation room therefore is designed to help prevent the spread of a disease from an infected patient to others in the hospital.
As of Wednesday, there were more than 118,000 cases of COVID-19 in 114 countries, and the virus continues to spread. As of today there are 103 cases in Canada and 42 in Ontario. One person has died.
There are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus or COVID-19 at this time in the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Officials told Kawartha 411 the hospital is involved in several local, regional and provincial working groups that are actively planning screening and testing models including in-home testing and assessment centres. More information will be shared about these models once available. This is being done to help mitigate pressures on hospitals and emergency departments in particular.
There were several patients in the ED recently who did not have a bed. The hospital said on Tuesday night there was 7 people waiting for a bed. Our source with knowledge of the situation said many of them had respiratory symptoms.
While the Ontario government has not announced increased funding for hospitals to deal with an influx of patients due to the pandemic they have fast tracked testing and assessment.
“To rapidly expand screening and ease pressures on hospital emergency departments, Ontario will immediately establish a number of dedicated assessment centres in areas experiencing significant growth in testing. Some of the first wave of assessment centres will open in the next several days, including at Brampton Civic Hospital, The Ottawa Hospital, North York General Hospital, Mackenzie Health, Scarborough Health Network, and Trillium Health Partners. These centres are located in dedicated spaces that will facilitate high-quality care, to protect broader patient populations.” Provincial officials said.
Additional assessment centres will be established across the province in the coming weeks. Regions without an assessment centre will continue to be serviced by the local hospital or primary care settings.
Ontario has also approved new physician billing codes for telephone assessments, enabling doctors to conduct more assessments over the phone rather than in their clinic, helping to keep patients at home rather than in primary care settings where they would co-mingle with others.
At Ross Memorial they have a surge algorithm that is deployed each year as needed that allows them to flex capacity and staffing based on seasonal influenza and respiratory illnesses. They say they are developing additional plans that would support in caring for higher volumes of COVID-19 patients.
Health officials say most COVID-19 patients present with mild symptoms, do not require hospital admission and are able to recover in self-isolation under the guidance of Public Health.
The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit is also ramping up it’s response.
“At this time, we still do not have any local cases,” says Lynn Noseworthy, Medical Officer of Health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. “And while we may eventually see cases in our area, we have been working with our hospitals and health care partners to ensure we have supports in place to protect our residents and contain the spread of the illness when it arrives.”
These supports include:
- Health unit nurses providing testing information to residents who call with questions;
- Nurses following up with anyone who is tested, as well as any of their contacts to ensure anyoneimpacted is tested and self-isolates to prevent any spread of the illness;
- Providing up-to-date information on case definitions and travel restrictions to callers through the Health Unit’s call centre;
- Sending regular information updates to community agencies and partners.Under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition, a pandemic is defined as the global spread of a new disease and is based on the spread of the disease, rather than the severity of the illness it causes.
“The illness itself has not changed,” she says. “The majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 are experiencing mild symptoms and are recovering fully. We know that many people are experiencing heightened anxiety about COVID-19 and I want to reassure them. This declaration should not increase those fears.”
The best thing people can do is work together to prevent the spread of the illness. The best way to do this is:
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
- Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose as much as possible;
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands;
- If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve or arm;
- Stay home if you or a family member are ill;
- Regularly clean and disinfect (common disinfectant product) objects and high-touch surfaces (e.g. doorknobs, fridge/cabinet handles, countertops, light switches);
- If you are ill and must visit a healthcare provider, clinic, or hospital emergency department, call ahead or tell them right away when you arrive that you have a respiratory illness and wear a mask while waiting to be seen; and
- Avoid visiting people in hospitals or long-term care homes if you are sick.
- If you have travelled outside of Canada, self-monitor your health for flu-like symptoms for 14 days after your return. If symptoms develop during that time call the Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 5020.The Health Unit has been working with its health partners to develop strategies on how to screen additional people to help reduce the strain on the emergency departments. Once these strategies are finalized, additional information will be shared.
- In the meantime, if people have questions or concerns on COVID-19, they can call the Health Unit at 1-866-888- 4577, ext. 5020, or visit www.hkpr.on.ca. After hours, people can call Telehealth Ontario for medical advice toll- free at 1-866-797-0000.
