Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) is dealing with another spike in COVID-19 cases after recently resuming public visits to Medical/Surgical Unit 2A following an outbreak. After consultation with Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Prevention and Control (IPAC) Health Unit leaders, staff and members of the hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, NHH made the difficult decision to temporarily stop the visit at NHH’s Rehabilitation Unit due to a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases. As of September 20, there are five active cases of COVID-19 among patients admitted to the Rehabilitation Unit. Across the hospital as a whole, including Remedial Care patients, there are currently eight admitted patients with COVID-19. In line with previous outbreaks, exceptions to visiting patients with positive COVID-19 in Remedial Care will continue to be made for those nearing the end of life, in consultation with IPAC and the healthcare team. Visiting continues as usual outside the Rehabilitation Unit, unless patients are in isolation due to infection or exposure to COVID-19. Limited exceptions are made for COVID-19 positive patients in discussion with the IPAC and care team, including, for example, those nearing the end of life. Here is a summary of the infection prevention and control measures in place at NHH:
Temporary closure of the Rehabilitation Unit on all new admissions Daily self-screening by staff for symptoms of COVID-19 – All persons entering the hospital for work should screen for symptoms and refrain from entering the building or community mental health offices if symptoms develop. Mandatory use of appropriate PPE – All staff, doctors, midwives and key carers/visitors are expected to pay strict attention to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements throughout the hospital and NHH’s universal coverage policy remains in place. Grouping of patients considered “high risk contacts” – All patients identified as being at high risk of exposure have been gathered in the same area, screened and cared for with appropriate precautions. Mandatory staff vaccination – All staff and doctors are required to be up to date with their vaccinations (two doses). Booster vaccines continue to be distributed to further reduce the risk of infection and spread. Strict adherence to scrupulous hand hygiene practices – Strict adherence to scrupulous hand hygiene will continue to be strengthened. Improved environmental cleaning – enhanced cleaning, with a focus on shared equipment between patient rooms Proactive Communication – Public announcements are continuously updated on NHH communication channels, including the doors in/leads to the hospital, to promote awareness of the presence of COVID-19 and the importance of vigilance with PPE.
Universal coverage of a shared responsibility to mitigate the spread
As a high-risk environment, NHH’s universal coverage policy continues to remain in effect across all hospital and Community Mental Health offices. Visitors have access to free masks upon entering NHH hospital and community mental health offices and should wear a medical grade mask at all times (or over their personal cloth mask) while inside unless eating or drinking in the designated areas. Visitors are not allowed to eat or drink in patient rooms due to the fact that masks will need to be removed. Mask dispensers have been added at public entrances to the hospital and Community Mental Health. The dispensers are intended to reinforce the support of NHH Auxiliary volunteers who have been instrumental in distributing masks and reminding incoming patients and visitors of the importance of Personal Protective Equipment while inside the hospital.
“Despite NHH’s universal coverage policy, we continue to see some visitors casually approach the mask while inside the hospital, either by removing the mask upon entry, letting it fall around their chin, or removing it once in a room patients. Unfortunately, we believe this contributed to the infection of some patients with COVID19,” said Helen Douglas, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at NHH. “For our care teams, it is extremely difficult to enforce a mask when some visitors simply do not recognize the risk to themselves, the loved ones they visit and other vulnerable patients around them, when masks are not worn in high-risk areas such as hospitals. Masks work. If you are visiting a loved one at NHH, please wear a mask and please wear it properly and consistently throughout your stay to help us minimize the risk of further outbreaks in the future.” Updates on NHH’s COVID-19 situation will continue to be shared through the hospital’s website and relevant social media channels. Community outbreak information can be found on the HKPRDHU website, hkpr.on.ca/category/mycommunity/outbreaks/ View/download the pdf news release
