COVID-19 GGH Update April 1
Our community’s gratitude comes in all forms.
To little Aayush, nurses are heroes.
To the community at large, we all are. (click photo to enlarge)
Expanding our in-house capacity
Today, we’ll start opening additional beds and continue over the next few days as follows:
- Day Surgery: Emergent or urgent surgical patients who would normally come through Day Surgery will now be cared for in the Cataract and Endoscopy areas on Level 3.
- The 27 bays in the Day Surgery Unit will be activated in our IT system and will show up as 3 East Medicine. ALC patients will be prioritized and starting today and for the next two days, 8-10 patients will be moved to this new location.
- Also today, six additional intensive care beds will be opened. These will be located in the OR and/or PACU. The priority patients will be decided in collaboration with our ICU and surgical teams.
Donated Supplies – Foundation update
Our Foundation working with community with respect to donated supplies including masks, face-shields and gowns. Over 200 contacts have been made and thousands of items have been received, primarily masks. Most are not our usual brand/model so they are being evaluated.
A campaign for sewn masks is about to begin. These will be given to visitors and discharged patients. Please direct anyone interested in helping in any way to this link: www.gghfoundation.ca/covid-19-ppe-critical-response/
Finally, community members have already donated more than $110,000 to our COVID-19 Critical Response Fund!
Local discounts and promotions
We’ve receive a variety of offers to support staff. Some local hotels are offering discounts to hospital staff. When booking, identify yourself as a GGH employee and ask for their discount rate.
- Days Inn at Wyndham – 519 822-9112
- Comfort Inn Guelph – 519 763-1900
- Staybridge Suites Guelph – 519-767-3300
Airbnb is also doing their part to support First Responders. To see if there are local accommodations on offering, follow this link Airbnb First Responder Support
Signing in clarification
Staff working clinical areas are required sign in and out of the unit. Those staff making multiple entries during a shift such as food services are only required to sign in once at each unit visited during a shift.
Recruitment campaign
Our drive to hire at least 100 temporary workers is off to a fast start. The marketing has begun and applications are coming in quickly.
Empowering video
Dr. David Price is a NY physician who has been treating COVID+ve patients for the past month. In a 10-minute video, “Empowering and protecting your family during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he shares some of what he’s learned and what to do to keep yourself and your family safe.