GBGH COVID-19 outbreak update: December 7, 2020

December 7, 2020 – An outbreak of COVID-19 declared at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) on December 4, in collaboration with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, has now been changed to include all inpatient units at the hospital due to additional staff positive cases. This includes 2 North, 2 East, 1 North, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Obstetrics.

Initially the outbreak impacted the 2 North inpatient unit. On December 3, one admitted patient and one staff member from 2 North were confirmed positive for COVID-19, initiating the outbreak to be called on the specific unit.

Through testing over the weekend, the hospital has now confirmed an additional 12 staff and credentialed staff (physicians, midwives, dentists) infections in areas of the hospital outside of 2 North. GBGH has confirmed an additional inpatient case bringing the total to two patients and 13 staff/credentialed staff.

“We are deeply concerned about the status of this outbreak and I want to assure our staff and our community we are doing everything we can in the best interests of our patients and our team members,” says Gail Hunt, president and chief executive officer, GBGH. “Over the weekend, our team has been working tirelessly to test, conduct contact tracing and implement the necessary measures to manage this outbreak and we will continue to put all our best efforts forward.”

Over the weekend, GBGH conducted extensive testing of all patients on the 2 North and 1 North units. On December 7 all patients on the 2 East inpatient unit and ICU were swabbed. Of the testing completed with 2 North patients on December 5, results have been received and they have all been negative. The hospital is awaiting results for 1 North, 2 East and the ICU. Contact tracing is currently underway to thoroughly examine transmission and potential exposures, either high or low risk.

“GBGH continues to work closely with public health to manage and control this outbreak which includes thorough contact tracing and enhanced infection prevention and control,” says Dr. Dan Lee, COVID medical lead and chief of Emergency Medicine, GBGH. “Based on the test results we’re receiving we are seeing more positive cases among staff than patients. The majority of transmission appears to be from staff to staff based on our preliminary findings.”

The hospital tested 167 staff on Saturday and Sunday, and is continuing to test today and December 8. GBGH is also testing all new admissions to detect infections which may have been contracted in the community.

Effective December 8, non-urgent and elective surgical and ambulatory care (endoscopy) procedures scheduled at the hospital are being postponed at this time. Urgent and emergent surgeries and endoscopies will proceed at this time, as will Diagnostic Imaging. Physicians’ offices or the hospital will contact patients to notify them if their procedure is being postponed.

Visitation to the hospital remains restricted with the exception of special circumstances (palliative, birthing unit) on a case-by-case basis.

Currently, there are 44 active hospital outbreaks across the province.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH declares COVID-19 outbreak on 2 North inpatient unit

December 4, 2020 – An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) on its 2 North inpatient unit, in collaboration with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. On December 3, one admitted patient and one staff member were confirmed positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing is currently underway to determine the origin of the infection and the risk of exposure among staff and patients.

“GBGH is working closely with public health to manage and control this outbreak so we can declare it over as soon as possible with limited transmission,” says Dr. Dan Lee, COVID medical lead and chief of Emergency Medicine, GBGH. “Our infection prevention and control measures have been very successful throughout the pandemic to date and our hospital has all the preventive measures in place to ensure the continued safety of our patients, staff and credentialed staff.”

The impacted unit – 2 North – is now closed to new patient admissions for the duration of the outbreak. The patient has been relocated to GBGH’s dedicated COVID beds on the 2 East inpatient unit.

Effective today, all visitation to the hospital has been restricted with the exception of special circumstances (palliative, birthing unit).

Contact:
Jennifer Moore
Communications Officer, GBGH
705-526-1300 ext 5177
moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH awarded for championing organ and tissue donation

Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) was recently honoured by Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) with a Provincial Conversion Rate Award. This award is presented to hospitals who exceed the target of 63 per cent conversion rate set by TGLN, reaching 100 per cent. This is the first year GBGH is receiving the Provincial Conversion Rate Award. Accepting the award on behalf of GBGH are (form left): Tyler Pilon, GBGH’s TGLN operations lead and manager of Intensive Care, Surgical Services & Respiratory Therapy, and Dr. Khalid Tahir, GBGH’s TGLN medical lead, intensivist and chief of Critical Care.

November 24, 2020 – At a virtual awards ceremony held November 24, Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) was honoured with a Provincial Conversion Rate Award by Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), Ontario’s organ and tissue donation and transplantation agency. This award recognizes GBGH for its outstanding efforts to integrate organ and tissue donation into quality end-of-life care in 2019-2020.

The Provincial Conversion Rate Award is presented to hospitals who exceed the target of 63 per cent conversion rate set by TGLN, reaching 100 per cent. The conversion rate is the percentage of potential organ donors (patients who die in a hospital setting and are deemed medically suitable for donation) who went on to become actual donors.

“Organ donation is a complex process, and the conversion rate reflects how well Trillium Gift of Life Network and GBGH are working together to save lives,” says Dr. Khalid Tahir, TGLN medical lead, intensivist and chief of Critical Care, GBGH. “By working closely with TGLN in 2019-20, GBGH was able to identify and facilitate one organ donation which lead to one transplant and 25 tissue donations. I know our GBGH team is extremely proud of our role in helping facilitate these donations which enhance the lives of many.”

Although GBGH is one of 30 hospitals to be awarded a 2019-2020 Trillium Gift of Life Network Achievement Award, this is the first year GBGH is receiving the Provincial Conversion Rate Award. In the past two years, GBGH has received consecutive Provincial Routine Notification Rate Awards. Routine notification is the rate at which hospitals notify TGLN when a patient has died and there may be the potential for organ and/or tissue donation.

“GBGH has made an outstanding contribution to organ and tissue donation in Ontario and this award is a reflection of that important work,” says Ronnie Gavsie, president and CEO, TGLN. “The collaboration and partnership we have with our hospitals is critical to saving lives. Every Ontarian can play a part by registering to donate at BeADonor.ca. Now is the time to think about what we can do to protect the health of others, and this includes saving more lives through donation.”

Today, more than 1,600 people in Ontario are on the waitlist for a life-saving organ transplant, and every three days someone will die without one. While the majority of Canadians support donation only 35 per cent of Ontarians have formally registered their consent for organ and tissue donation.

While some people believe that their age or medical condition prevents them from donating, in actuality, neither age nor health precludes someone from becoming a donor. Every potential donor is assessed at the time of death for medical suitability. Others may believe that doctors won’t work hard to save a life if someone is a registered donor, but in fact, saving a life is always the priority. Donation is only considered after all lifesaving efforts are exhausted, there is no chance of recovery, and the family accepts the diagnosis of death.

Midland and Penetanguishene – both with 54 per cent donor registration rates – well exceed the average provincial registration rate of 35 per cent. Midland ranks 19th and Penetanguishene ranks 20th for organ donation registration out of 170 communities in Ontario. Visit www.beadonor.ca to register or find out more.

Contact:
Jennifer Moore
Communications Officer, GBGH
705-526-1300 ext 5177
moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

Midland COVID-19 Assessment Centre now offers online appointment booking

November 17, 2020 – Effective today, the Midland COVID-19 Assessment Centre will offer online appointment booking via the Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) website. Anyone interested in booking their appointment online can do so here – https://gbgh.on.ca/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-updates/

Appointments can still be booked via telephone by calling 705-529-1025 between:

Monday: 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday – Friday: 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Midland Assessment Centre has swabbed nearly 11,000 people since opening on March 25, 2020. The centre is staffed by community partners including GBGH, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Centre de Santé Communautaire CHIGAMIK Community Health Centre and the North Simcoe Family Health Team.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH tightens visitation in response to pandemic status

November 3, 2020 – Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is revising its visitation policy in response to an increase of COVID-19 cases in the community. Effective November 4, admitted patients are permitted one visitor per day between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Exceptions can be made for palliative patients working with a patient’s care team.

All inpatient visits must be scheduled in advance by calling the hospital at 705-526-1300.

Prior to this change (since early September), GBGH was permitting two visitors at a time for inpatients anytime within the visiting hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

“Given the increase in cases within our region, GBGH has made the difficult decision to return to a more structured system with visitation being booked in advance,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “Although we wish we didn’t have to ever restrict visitation, this will allow us to safely manage visitation while ensuring patients can still enjoy time with their loved ones.”

To attend a scheduled visit, the public must enter the hospital through the main entrance and check-in with the screener who will confirm their information (contact, visitation time, unit receiving visitor).

Emergency department patients may have one support person with them if additional assistance is required. Circumstances where support could be required include:

• Pediatric patients – i.e. children under 18 (one guardian permitted with child)
• Language barrier (translation required)
• Mental health/competency/confusion challenges
• Palliative

Patients attending the hospital for scheduled appointments or procedures may have one support person accompany them if the patient requires it for similar reasons as in the Emergency department (listed above).

All permitted visitors will continue to be screened upon entering the hospital. Any visitor who screens positive for COVID-19 symptoms will be asked to not visit. In exceptional circumstances (such as a support person for a woman in labour, a parent/guardian of a child in the Emergency department or a palliative/end of life patient), a visitor who screens positive for symptoms will be reviewed by GBGH’s infection prevention and control practitioner or hospital coordinator prior to entry.

All visitors must comply with hand hygiene practices, wear a hospital-provided mask and follow physical distancing. Visitors could also be asked to wear additional personal protective equipment as determined by the care team based on a patients’ condition.

Visitor guidelines are subject to change based on the status of the pandemic within the region GBGH serves.

For more information, please visit https://gbgh.on.ca/covid-19-visitor-restrictions/.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH puts safety first as team receives their annual flu shots

Gail Hunt, president and CEO of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) received her flu shot this year from GBGH chief of staff Dr. Vikram Ralhan. GBGH’s Occupational Health team will complete the rest of this year’s immunizations for staff, credentialed staff and volunteers. Receiving a flu vaccination is especially important this year as the hospital wants to avoid parallel surges in COVID and influenza patients this fall and winter.    

October 29, 2020 – Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) launched its annual influenza immunization campaign this week in the hospital’s efforts to ensure patient, visitor and staff safety during the upcoming flu season. During the campaign staff, credentialed staff and volunteers are encouraged to receive their flu shot at the hospital to protect patients, themselves, their loved ones and their colleagues.

“Our annual flu shot campaign is an important part of GBGH’s commitment to safety – for both our patients and our team,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “Receiving a flu shot this year is critically important as we want to help reduce the burden on the healthcare system during the pandemic. Each fall and winter, GBGH anticipates there will be an increased need for hospital beds, but this year with potential COVID surges a possibility, we worry about the parallel risks of the pandemic paired with a bad flu season. We need to do everything we can to ensure our patients and community are safe, and this includes receiving our flu shots.”

GBGH makes vaccination a top priority every year based on two main considerations – ensuring its team of staff, credentialed staff and volunteers don’t pass along influenza to patients, as well as ensuring its team is healthy to provide care to patients when they need the hospital.

“The hospital is doing its part to reduce the chance of transmitting flu to patients and is committed to ensuring the highest safety precautions are in place to protect patients,” says Judy Schell, manager, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), GBGH. “It’s equally important for our community to make flu vaccination a priority this year. Vaccination has a positive impact on reducing flu activity in the community, and therefore decreases the chance it will be brought into the hospital and possibly transmitted to our patients or staff.”

To make receiving immunizations as convenient as possible, OHS is visiting all GBGH department six days a week for two weeks and then running additional clinics to ensure as many of its team members as possible receive a flu shot during the next five weeks. GBGH’s flu shot campaign is running from October 22 to November 30.

As part of standard COVID precautions, all patients and visitors are screened upon entering the building for symptoms of COVID, which can be similar to influenza. All patients and visitors are asked to wear a hospital-provided mask and practice hand hygiene when entering GBGH at the main or Emergency department entrances.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH ICU achieves Level 3 Basic designation

October 21, 2020 – Georgian Bay General Hospital’s (GBGH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been recently designated as a Level 3 Basic facility based on a recent review by Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO) of ICUs across the province. This is the second highest designation an ICU can receive in Ontario with the exception of specialty units (i.e. Coronary Care).

“For a community hospital like GBGH to have this designation is quite a testament to our commitment of providing exceptional critical care,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “I am very proud of this accomplishment and what it means for our patients. GBGH’s ICU is able to care for some of the most complex and acutely ill patients in our region, providing comprehensive critical care services within our community.”

To be designated a particular level, ICUs must meet specific standards related to respiratory therapy support, ventilator use and intravenous blood pressure monitoring and medication management.

There are five levels for ICU care in Ontario – Level 1, Level 2 Basic, Level 2 Advanced, Level 3 Basic and Level 3 Advanced. Level 3 Advanced is the highest level of ICU care (with Coronary Care Units being an additional specialty designation).

“GBGH has invested in its critical care program over the past three years and the positive progress we’ve made has brought us to this Level 3 basic designation,” says Dr. Khalid Tahir, intensivist and chief of Critical Care, GBGH. “By implementing 24/7 respiratory therapy coverage and continuing to improve the skills of our talented ICU team, we are able to address more serious conditions. There will still be some instances – such as with neurosurgery and cardiovascular care – when we still need to transfer patients to other facilities, but we are well-equipped to care for the majority of our area’s critical care cases here at GBGH.”

In addition to providing a high level of critical care, as a Level 3 Basic ICU, GBGH is more attractive to recruit intensivists and nursing staff who prefer to work in a more acute critical care setting.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH partners with RVH to offer echocardiography services to the community

Photo: Through a partnership between Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), patients can now receive echocardiogram services at GBGH, improving their access to care close to home. Patient Ewan Campbell, 73, of Midland received an echocardiogram from RVH cardiac sonographer Tena O’Rourke in preparation for the program’s official launch on October 5.

Local patients are now able to have important cardiac diagnostic procedures completed at their community hospital.

Thanks to a new partnership between Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) echocardiography services are now available at GBGH. Prior to this partnership, patients from Midland, Penetanguishene, Township of Tiny, Township of Tay and Christian Island were travelling to Barrie or Orillia to receive this service.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart which produces two and three-dimensional images of heart structure and function. This important low-risk imaging procedure can assist in the diagnosis of heart murmurs, valve function, cardiac masses, hypertension and heart disease.

Once the echocardiogram is completed at GBGH, the images will be sent electronically to RVH where a cardiologist will interpret the images to assist in diagnosis.

“In the first year of this partnership, we anticipate nearly 1,100 patients will be able to receive echocardiograms at GBGH, reducing their need to travel out of our area for this service,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “We are very pleased to partner with RVH on this initiative based on their depth of experience in cardiac care and for the benefit of providing this important service to our community. Offering echocardiograms at GBGH directly aligns with our strategic priority to grow our programming to align with community needs.”

Starting October 5, the service is provided in GBGH’s Diagnostic Imaging department by an RVH cardiac sonographer. It is available to GBGH inpatients and patients from the community referred by a physician. The service is available Monday, Wednesday and Thursday each week with the potential to increase to five days per week in the future.

“As the regional health centre, RVH is committed to providing exceptional care closer to home through important partnerships like this one with GBGH,” says Janice Skot, president and CEO, RVH. “By leveraging the expertise of RVH’s regional heart program, patients can have great confidence in the skill and accuracy of the diagnostic study, without having to travel for care.”

GBGH and RVH have shared in many successful partnerships over the past three years to improve quality, as well as increase the variety of services GBGH can offer to patients.

 Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH celebrates Franco-Ontarian Day

Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) celebrated Franco-Ontarian Day on September 25, 2020. This annual event is held province-wide to recognize the unique Francophone history and culture in Ontario. Across province, there at more than 600,000 Franco-Ontarians, making up 4.9% of Ontario’s population.

Members of GBGH’s French Language Services Committee, and GBGH president and CEO Gail Hunt, proudly raised the Franco-Ontarian flag at the hospital to recognize the unique Francophone community the hospital serves. GBGH is proud to have received its partial French Language Services designation in 2017. As part of this designation, the hospital provides information externally in both languages, as well as offers French language service in several departments – Switchboard, Human Resources, Finance, Ambulatory Care.

Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext. 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca

GBGH continues gradual expansion of visitation

September 8, 2020 – Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is continuing to gradually expand hospital visitation to enhance the patient experience. Effective September 8, GBGH is allowing two visitors at a time for inpatients within the set visiting hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. This is an increase from one visitor per patient per day. Inpatient visits will also no longer need to be booked in advance during specific blocks of time.

“We are re-opening visitation in a slow, phased approach to ensure we can maintain the safety of our patients and GBGH team,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “The ideal scenario would be to resume unlimited family presence, meaning patients can have visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Unfortunately, that’s just not possible at this time, but this is a positive step forward to ensuring patients can see their loved ones which we know improves their experience and outcomes.”

Emergency department patients may have one visitor remain with them if support is required. Circumstances where support could be required include:

• Pediatric patients – i.e. children under 18 (one guardian permitted with child)
• Language barrier (translation required)
• Mental health/competency/confusion challenges
• Palliative

Patients attending the hospital for scheduled appointments or procedures may have one visitor accompany them if support is required for similar reasons as in the Emergency department (listed above).

All permitted visitors will continue to be screened upon entering the hospital. Any visitor who screens positive for COVID-19 symptoms will be asked to not visit. In exceptional circumstances (such as a support person for a woman in labour, a parent/guardian of a child in the Emergency department or a palliative/end of life patient), a visitor who screens positive for symptoms will be reviewed by GBGH’s infection prevention and control practitioner or hospital coordinator prior to entry.

All visitors must comply with hand hygiene practices, wear a hospital-provided mask and follow physical distancing. Visitors could also be asked to wear additional personal protective equipment as determined by the care team based on a patients’ condition.

Visitor guidelines are subject to change based on the status of the pandemic within the region GBGH serves.

For more information, please visit https://gbgh.on.ca/covid-19-visitor-restrictions/.

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Contact:

Jennifer Moore

Communications Officer, GBGH

705-526-1300 ext 5177

moorejen@gbgh.on.ca