“Would you be able to make a few cloth masks for hospital visitors and patients leaving the hospital and heading home?”
That question came to Eleanor Plewes in an email from Dr. Rob Drury in late March. A few months and over 3,000 masks later, he’s had his answer.
Plewes reached out to her evening quilting guild and Victoria Quilts, a group that makes quilts for cancer patients. Thirty-five people responded.
Ross Memorial Hospital will higher annualized funding, according to a press release from the province.
“This investment provides a five per cent increase of over $3.7 million in funding for Ross Memorial Hospital and a two per cent increase of more than $199,000 for Haliburton Highlands Health Services Corporation,” says MPP Laurie Scott in the release.
Following the province’s introduction of expanded testing guidelines, the RMH COVID-19 Assessment Centre has seen a significant increase in testing numbers.
To date, RMH, in partnership with Kawartha Lakes Paramedic Service, has provided 2,176 assessments, and 1,019 tests.
Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH), Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS), Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH), Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) have now received formal approval from Ontario Health (OH) to move forward with a regional plan to begin resuming non-urgent surgeries, procedures and tests.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health has issued expanded guidance on Ontario’s testing strategy to provide COVID-19 testing for:
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre phone lines are open from 8a.m.-4p.m. daily.
The COVID-19 outbreak on Ross Memorial Hospital’s Continuing Care Program (CCP1) unit has been declared ‘over’ as of May 7.
The hospital worked with Public Health to complete contact tracing and testing, and the outbreak remains limited to 1 patient and 1 staff member. “Our team quickly identified and contained the spread of COVID-19 on the unit, maintaining the safety of our patients and staff,” says Kelly Isfan, president and CEO.
Two Ross Memorial Hospital staff members who were in close contact with a patient who recently tested positive for COVID-19 have now also tested positive for the virus.
Tests are being completed for all staff and physicians who work on the unit, and any other staff member who was in close contact with the patient.
One patient has tested positive for COVID-19 on the CCP1 (Continuing Care Program) inpatient unit at Ross Memorial Hospital, after experiencing sudden onset of symptoms of respiratory illness.
Ross Memorial Hospital continues to receive exceptional support from our community, according to a media release from the hospital.
“The most important thing that everyone can do in the fight against COVID-19 is to follow the advice of our public health officials by staying home,” says Kelly Isfan, President and CEO. “If you must leave your home for essential reasons, practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene.”
As COVID-19 numbers are expected to worsen in the coming weeks, Ross Memorial Hospital is moving as many non-acute patients out of the hospital as possible – a situation that is putting pressure on family members.
Veronica Nelson, interim president and CEO of RMH, says given the predicted models of COVID-19 in Ontario, “all hospitals have been asked to create capacity to manage a potential surge in inpatient cases.”
