COVID-19 GGH Update April 16
How to give feedback
- Speak to your manager or director
- Ask your leader to bring forward an idea or concern to the COVID-19 Incident Management Team
- covidquestions@gghorg.ca
- What’s on your mind? (only works if you’re within the hospital)
Click to the section you want to read
Action/must read (1)
What’s New? (2)
Resources and Supplies (1)
Staff Support (4)
Policy Changes (0)
Notes & Comments (0)
Starting with the positive…
As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention!“
Free Tims’ Day is back! (in a modified form)
Our donor-funded free Tim Hortons day last week was overwhelmingly popular. Sales were four times what they usually are and 1,125 items were sold! Those of you who were there know there were line-ups, and the Tims staff were run off their feet.
We want to make this a regular offering, and working together with our friends at Marek, have come up with a plan. Each weekday, a portion of staff will be able to receive a free beverage and baked good of their choice (we’re excluding breakfast sandwiches as they take more time to prepare). Our schedule is based on the first initial of your first name – all you need to do is show your ID badge. (We chose first name instead of last name as not everyone has their last name on their ID badge.) We’ll change up the schedule so it is not always the same letters on the same day of the week. Here’s the schedule for the next five weekdays:
Reporting on COVID-19 activity in staff and patients*
*Now includes # staff who tested positive and are now recovered (!)
| Total number of staff tested to date | 200 |
| Total number of staff with a positive test result to date | 25 |
| Total number of staff with a negative test result to date | 163 |
| Total number of results pending | 12 |
| Number of current in-patients who have tested positive | 7 |
| # staff who tested positive and are now recovered | 10 |
Action/Must read
Wanted: Missing scrubs!
We need our scrubs and gowns back!! Currently, close to 8,000 pieces of linen are missing and over 4,000 of those pieces have disappeared within just the last month!
The ability to supply scrubs and gowns relies on an unbroken cycle of these items delivered by Ecotex, distributed within the hospital, used, deposited in soiled linen containers and returned to Ecotex to be hygienically cleaned and sent back to GGH. If the cycle is broken, they will not be available and the process will grind to a halt, impeding the flow of these critical items.
Please return any scrubs you may have in your possession asap so we can ensure that they are available when needed.
Reminders & Tips:
For areas with hospital-issued scrubs: Scrubs may not be taken off hospital property.
For staff who choose to wear personally supplied scrubs: Scrubs should not be worn outside of the building. Street clothes should be worn to work and staff should change into scrubs before their shift. Prior to going outside, change into street clothes and take scrubs home to launder in a sealed plastic bag.
Stay tuned for more communication about scrubs & gowns, but for now, please return them so we can get them back into circulation.
What’s new?
Changes to visitor screening
No longer limited to just a few health questions by screeners, any visitor presenting at the hospital with any unwell symptoms at all will not be allowed in.
Public Health expanding criteria for qualifying for a COVID-19 test
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health is working to intensify it efforts to identify people with COVID-19 in our community. It is particularly focused on vulnerable community members and to essential workers as part of expanded testing priorities, but is expanding capacity to test all symptomatic community members in line with the provincial guidance. At this time, there is sufficient supply of specimen collection kits (swabs) to support increased testing. For all the details, please click here.
Resources and Supplies
Thermometers now available for purchase
All staff should be monitoring themselves for symptoms of any illness and taking their temperature at least twice per day. These days, drug stores are often out of thermometers so a supply has been set up for staff to buy. The thermometers are available at switchboard for $14, tax included. We currently have 16 but expect to receive more over the weekend. They are for staff purchase only – first come, first served.
Staff Support
First group of COVID-related “What’s on Your Mind?” now posted
It’s been a while since the last posting. The latest group is focused on answering COVID questions. Please remember, “What’s on Your Mind?” is hosted on our Intranet and only viewable within the organization.
Upcoming Employee Wellness Webinars for All Staff
Many of us may be feeling anxiety and stress right now, and it could be increasing every day. You may feel that some days are okay, and other days are overwhelming. It is important we try to find some time to support our emotional and mental health during this pandemic.
With this in mind, we have been working with Homewood Health, our EFAP provider, to schedule their emotional/mental health Webinar offerings. As a result, we have scheduled all five of the Homewood Health COVID-19 wellness webinars. The first one, COVID-19: Strategies for Managing Stress, is tonight at 7 p.m. For all the details and how to register, click here.
Clean your badge
It’s easy to forget how often we touch our ID badges each day to open secured doors or to use staff elevators. Please make it your habit to clean it at least once a day.
HR’s staff survey winding down
Kudos to over 700 staff(!) who have already filled out HR’s short, online survey! If you still haven’t had a chance please do it soon! We’re hoping to wrap up the survey by Friday.