Media Release: Hospital responds to increasing COVID-19 cases

The COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving. As of today, there are 35 patients admitted to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) who are COVID-19 positive. Of those, 10 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The overall capacity is approximately 75%.

TBRHSC’s Incident Management Team (IMT) is meeting on a daily basis to implement a safe and appropriate response. Ensuring the availability of specialized acute care services is a priority.

We implore everyone in our community to do their part by following the public health guidelines. Stay safe by staying home except for essential purposes. Accessing care in urgent situations is essential. During the first wave of the pandemic, some community members avoided the hospital out of fear. As a result, in many cases, health care conditions worsened. Those who need urgent care can safely access it at our hospital.

Dr. Zaki Ahmed, Chief of Staff and critical care physician who also provides care in the COVID-19 Care Unit, noted, “If we need to triple our capacity to provide critical care, our plans allow us to do just that. We are ready to respond to our community’s increasing needs during this pandemic.”

In order to address increasing numbers of patients in our hospital who are COVID-19 positive, a number of measures have been taken. These include:

• Expanding the dedicated COVID-19 Care Unit to the entire 3A unit. This ensures patients who are COVID-19 positive are cared for in a safe and isolated environment;
• Expanding the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to provide intensive care to patients in alternate locations within the hospital;
• Focusing on more day surgeries and short-stay procedures. This enables health care providers and support staff to work in the areas of highest need.

We have plans in place to escalate or ramp down our response as the situation requires. More importantly, we know our teams have the expertise, will and commitment to serve our community safely and responsibly. Our teams are trained to be professional, nimble, and compassionate. You are our most valuable resource. We are entirely committed to protecting the dedicated people who make patient care possible.

We are in this together.