QHC: covid surge capacity, anxiety, organ donations

Quinte Health Care’s Board of Directors had a full agenda to deal with at its regular meeting Tuesday.

Here are some highlights.

Preparing for second wave

Quinte Health Care’s management and staff have been hard at it getting ready for a second surge in COVID-19 patients.

Chief Nursing Officer Carol Smith Romeril says so far local hospitals are managing well and there’s capacity for a few more patients.

However, COVID-19 patients create a real problem as far as the availability of extra care beds is concerned.

“As covid cases, either confirmed or highly suspected, come into the hospital what we’re trying to make sure is that they are in a room by themselves so that typically closes the second bed in that room.”

Smith Romeril added the biggest problem looming in dealing with the pandemic was the very tight labour market for health care professionals.

There are many more jobs available than qualified people to fill them.

Trepidation about going to hospital

There’s a lot of anxiety in the Quinte region because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Tuesday’s Quinte Health Care Board of Directors meeting Board Chair David MacKinnon said one of the biggest worries people had was wondering if they should go to the hospital for treatment or delay going out of fear of the coronavirus.

MacKinnon has strong and clear advice.

“Encourage people to certainly not delay treatment. There’s nothing yet in how we’re operating that should cause anyone to delay showing up at the hospital for any needed treatment.”

A backlog of surgeries is steadily being whittled down and there is still some capacity, although limited, for more patients in QHC hospitals.

Patients show care for others

It appears people who are treated at Quinte Health Care hospitals are very generous. A full 100% of patients who were potential organ and tissue donors at local hospitals went on to become actual donors in 2019/20.

This led to an award called the Provincial Conversion Rate Award to be presented by the Trillium Gift of Life Network.

Trillium’s target for recognition is 63%.

This is the fourth time in five years that QHC has been recognized by the Network.