BGH statement about COVID-19: “We are not immune to this crisis”

Brockville, ON – January 11, 2021 - Thanks to the continued perseverance and commitment shown by residents across Leeds Grenville, we are very fortunate to continue to see limited cases of COVID-19 in our area. Every member of our community plays an important role. On behalf of the healthcare workers at Brockville General Hospital (BGH), thank you for your ongoing support!

Sadly, we are not immune to this crisis.

At this time, staff and physicians are caring for patients who have COVID-19 in our hospital. Our teams are working hard to deliver the safe, high-quality care you expect from us. This extends to all patients - those with and without the COVID-19 virus.

In addition, we are continuing to work with our health system partners from across the region and province to build capacity for the growing number of patients with COVID-19. Similar to the first wave, there are many moving parts from building hospital capacity to new information around vaccinations. We are working with the province, region and local partners to navigate the information and prepare the best plans to ensure the safety and wellbeing of community, patients and healthcare workers. 

This winter compared to past years in hospitals

Historically hospitals have been challenged over the winter months with increased patient volumes because of seasonal illness (influenza, respiratory illnesses, etc.). Fortunately, the province is experiencing significantly lower numbers of seasonal influenza, which has been directly attributed to the COVID-19 precautions that are in place.

However, in today’s report, of the 2,000 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in Ontario, 387 are occupied by COVID-19 patients. In a traditional year, we would see our ICU occupancy rates during the winter months reach 100 per cent at times. With the added complexity of patients with COVID-19 requiring critical care in ICUs, this is creating increased pressures across the province. Adding to the challenge, patients with COVID-19 on ventilators often require longer stays in the ICU compared to other ICU patients.

The projected rise in the number of COVID-19 patients over the next few weeks will require all Ontario hospitals to take swift action and more than ever work seamlessly together to create and share capacity.

The closures (and fear) during the first wave, combined with concerns about seeking healthcare throughout the pandemic, means that many people presenting to the Emergency Department and/or primary care offices have waited longer to seek care and, as result, their illnesses have progressed. Despite our volumes of patients with COVID-19 being very low compared to other regions across Ontario, the pandemic has caused significant disruption in the way we provide healthcare. The level and pace of change is unprecedented. To date, the combination of change, pace and disruption, has resulted in higher usage of our current hospital beds.

To navigate this, we are working closely with our regional partners and our internal teams to build capacity to ensure we maintain the services that our community needs. However, to be honest, this is becoming increasingly difficult given the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the Province.

Building hospital capacity

All hospitals across Ontario, including BGH, have been asked by Ontario Health to build capacity in response to the rising COVID-19 numbers. Ontario Health has indicated that hospitals should plan and be ready to accept patients from other hospitals in the event of surge. We have seen this happen in western Ontario already. Our teams at BGH have been working closely together and reviewing new information daily to best prepare. This is not a simple task because of the reasons listed above. 

• Our first effort has been to increase capacity for our most critically ill patients. We are finalizing details to add two new ICU beds within the ICU. This brings our bed capacity in the ICU to 12.
• We are also working closely with our long-term care partners to support patient transfers to a community setting. At this time, BGH has around 20 alternate level of care patients waiting for long-term care beds.
• To build capacity across the organization we are developing a phased, adaptable plan to utilize all available hospital spaces. Again, our efforts are being reviewed daily as the situation evolves.
• Local primary care physicians have been working closely with us to build medical human resource capacity in the event of significant increase in patient volumes.
• To support these growing needs, BGH will also be hosting a career fair on January 19 to recruit qualified staff. Please visit our website at www.brockvillegeneralhospital.ca/careerfair for more details or to share with your friends.

As new information becomes available, our leadership and clinical teams continue to adjust these plans to ensure the safety of our community, our patients and our healthcare workers.

Help our healthcare heroes

As we look to the future, the next three to six months will be incredibly busy for all healthcare workers in our community. This time will also bring many rapid changes and more challenges.

Similar to the beginning of this pandemic, I have asked our people at BGH to stretch further while we wait for the vaccines and to continue to do what they do best – help others. I am truly grateful for the continued dedication shown by our staff and physicians.

We ask that the community continue to do your part, too. Support our local healthcare heroes and essential workers by staying home, practice physical distancing, wear a mask and wash your hands well and often. For more tips on how to stop COVID-19, visit the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit at healthunit.org.   

Lastly, please continue to show kindness and empathy. These are very difficult days for everyone. By working together, with compassion, we will get through this.

Sincerely,

Nick Vlacholias

President and CEO

Brockville General Hospital

Dr. Michael Fuoco

Chief of Staff (Acting)

Brockville General Hospital

Contact

Abby McIntyre

Marketing and Communications Specialist

Brockville General Hospital

613-341-1202

AMcIntyre@brockvillegeneralhospital.ca