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Hospital begins sending patients south, as COVID-19 fills ICU

There were 22 patients in critical care at Thunder Bay's regional hospital as of Saturday, with 19 on ventilators.
TBRHSC
Thunder Bay's regional hospital has begun diverting patients to southern Ontario as it faces rising COVID-19 admissions. (File photo)

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s regional hospital has begun sending patients to southern Ontario for care, as it grapples with rising COVID-19 hospitalizations, and now an outbreak in its 1A Medical Unit.

There were 45 COVID-positive patients in hospital as of Saturday, with 12 of those in the Intensive Care Unit. A total of 22 patients were receiving critical care, the hospital reported, with 19 of those on ventilators.

The hospital normally has 22 ICU beds, though it has recently begun offering critical care in other areas after exceeding ICU capacity.

Two patients have so far been transferred elsewhere, a representative for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre said.

The hospital moved its internal COVID-19 response level to Grey (Lockdown) Friday after declaring a COVID-19 outbreak.

Due to the outbreak, 24 beds in the 1A Medical Unit are now unavailable for admissions. It also means no new admissions and no access for essential care partners at the 1A Oncology Unit.

The move to Grey activates strategies including transfer of some ICU patients to hospitals in southern Ontario with more room, in order to free up critical care capacity.

The hospital may also divert incoming critical patients from regional communities to southern Ontario, except “those with life and limb needs,” it said in a statement issued Saturday.

It will also further reduce elective procedures and work with health system partners to transfer patients to "other appropriate care locations."

The hospital remains a safe place for people to access urgent care, it reassured the public.

The Thunder Bay District is grappling with easily the worst per capita COVID-19 numbers of any health unit in Ontario. The hospital also serves patients from a wide region beyond the district.



Ian Kaufman

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