COVID-19 GGH Update April 23
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 (0)
What’s New? (2)
Resources and Supplies (0)
Staff Support (3)
Policy Changes (0)
Starting with the positive…
The video series’ theme is, “Guelph and Area COVID-19: A Community in Action.” The videos focus on all the positive work being done locally in response to the pandemic. Our Foundation CEO, Suzanne Bone, is also featured in the latest video.
Reporting on COVID-19 activity in staff and patients
| Total number of staff tested to date | 218 |
| Total number of staff with a negative test result to date | 178 |
| Current number of staff with a positive test | 13 |
| Number of staff results pending | 10 |
| Number of staff who tested positive and are now recovered | 16 |
| Total number to date of staff with a positive test result | 29 |
| Number of current in-patients who have tested positive | 7 |
Action/Must read
What’s new?
Screeners now taking patient temperatures too
Let’s start with a shout out to our screeners for the important work they are doing to help keep our hospital safe. We all need to do our part and if that means taking a few extra minutes to be screened after going outside, it’s a small inconvenience that can go a long way to a safer environment.
Our screeners are now taking temperatures on everyone entering the hospital including patients as well as visitors and staff. For staff, please remember to enter and exit the hospital through the Level 1 staff door only (photo right), NOT through the main entrance. There has been an increased amount of staff coming and going through the main doors and it causes extra congestion when patients and visitors are being screened there. As well, if staff are leaving the hospital for any reason, they will be screened upon reentry. Finally, all staff need to clean their hands upon entering the hospital – there are several hand sanitizer containers right inside the staff entrance.
NEW Standard to guide bed placement for patients with Suspect or Positive COVID-19 status (an update to yesterday’s post)
A bed allocation process has been developed to help guide decision making for bed placement for patients who are suspect or positive for COVID-19. This new standard is now available on the Intranet in the Admission/Transfer/Discharge section of the Patient Care Manual. You can also find it here.
The process contains some new information and revised algorithms related to COVID-19 flagging (positive or suspect) and bed allocation processes. It also links to the new process to notify IPAC should a patient in hospital develop a new onset of COVID-19 symptoms during their hospitalization (that is, a current inpatient becomes a Suspect).
One of the other key changes in the document is related to removing the Pandemic flag from the patient’s chart. If IPAC has left a note in the patient’s chart detailing when a patient’s isolation related to COVID-19 can be removed, and the patient meets the criteria in that note, COVID-19 isolation precautions can be lifted and the patient can have their Pandemic Status changed to Clear.
If the criteria in the IPAC notes are met, please notify bed allocation that the patient’s Pandemic Flag can be cleared. Bed Allocation will then change the patient’s status to Clear in MEDITECH. After the flag is removed, the patient may move to another location if required. Please remember to check to ensure that the patient does not still require isolation for other reasons (such as VRE, MRSA, or ESBL) when bed placement decisions are being made. Once the COVID-19 status is clear, all of our normal IPAC algorithms apply.
Do I need to complete the Pandemic field for every patient admitted to hospital?
No. If the patient is not suspect or positive for COVID-19 on admission, there is no need to complete the Pandemic field. This is not a mandatory field in MEDITECH. Please do not enter clear on admission.
As a reminder though, if the patient has come to GGH from a unit in another facility that is currently in a COVID-19 outbreak, the patient should be flagged as suspect on admission, even if the patient does not currently have symptoms. Patients from a COVID-19 outbreak unit will need to be isolated for up to 14 days.
If a patient develops a new onset of COVID-19 symptoms while they are admitted, remember to follow the IPAC COVID-19 Active Screening Algorithm for patients with a new onset of symptoms. The patient should be immediately placed in droplet contact precautions, should be tested for COVID-19, and the IPAC COVID-19 Tracking Tool should be completed and faxed to IPAC. In this type of situation, please also call bed allocation and ask that they add the Suspect flag to the patient’s chart.
Resources and Supplies
Staff Support
A big shout out to Environmental Services
Not only does it do a great job keeping the Hospital clean and safe, it’s able to do group photos with proper physical distancing! 🙂
Tips for finding information in previous updates
One advantage of hosting the updates on our web site is all the information is searchable. For example, you remember there was information in one of the updates about getting help with your income tax return. Putting “taxes” in the search box generates a result – the update from April 17. There’s been lots of information contained in the numerous updates and now there’s a way to find it.
Just a reminder the Hospital is looking to see if any staff are interested in volunteering to work for a time at Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes
For details, click here.