Keeping patients and healthcare workers safe this holiday season

Brockville, ON – December 7, 2020 – This holiday season, Brockville General Hospital (BGH) has implemented guidelines to ensure the continued safety of patients and healthcare workers.  This comes as an increase in COVID-19 prevalence is being reported from other Ontario hospitals, some of which have been attributed to celebrations and gatherings.

“Through the great work of our community, local cases of people with COVID-19 remain fairly low,” said Nick Vlacholias, President and CEO at BGH. “But, we must remain vigilant in keeping our patients and staff safe, especially as we see numbers increase in neighbouring regions.”

This means BGH is restricting traditional holiday gatherings, shared meals and elaborate decorations.

“To keep everyone safe, this holiday season will look different across our community. We know this is a hard change, and we thank our staff for putting the safety of our patients first,” said Vlacholias.  “We need everyone’s help to keep COVID-19 out of our workplaces, homes and community.” 

In keeping with the strict infection prevention and control practices, BGH cannot accept deliveries of food or care packages (example, gifts or flowers) for patients. However, scheduled visitors are able to bring non-perishable, commercially made food items and store them in the patient's bedside.

In addition, BGH’s staff and physicians are not able to accept gifts.

“We have an incredibly generous community,” Vlacholias continued. “We often see coffee and snacks delivered over the holiday season. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any shared food items this year. Instead, we encourage grateful patients, family members or colleagues to make a donation to the Brockville and District Hospital Foundation.” Donations may be made online or by calling the Foundation at 613-345-4478.

Contact
Abby McIntyre
Marketing and Communications Specialist
Brockville General Hospital
613-341-1202
AMcIntyre@brockvillegeneralhospital.ca