NHH prepares for potential coronavirus
By Cecilia Nasmith
The sign is there as you walk into Northumberland Hills Hospital, right next to the hand-sanitizer stand.
Norovirus.
Right under the big red octagonal stop sign, it asks visitors to answer a couple of questions.
Do you have a cough or shortness of breath and also feel feverish? You are asked to wash and sanitize your hands, wear a mask and postpone your visit until you are well.
If the answer is yes, and you have been to China recently (or have been in contact with someone who has), you are asked to tell a health-care worker or go to the emergency department.
That's the most visible way NHH is preparing for potential involvement in the Coronavirus epidemic, but not the only one.
The risk continues to be low, NHH president and chief executive officer Linda Davis said at the February hospital-board meeting, but preparations are being made.
“Staff from the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit, Northumberland Hills Hospital, Ross Memorial Hospital, Campbellford Memorial Hospital, Haliburton Highlands Health Services and primary-care partners have implemented precautionary measures required to ensure the safety of patients, visitors and health-care workers, including thorough symptom and travel screenings.”
NHH had an outbreak of its own in January, when norovirus diagnoses were confirmed Jan. 20 on the 2A medical/surgical unit.
“It was able to be contained very quickly through the great work of our infection-control staff as well as our regular staff with things like good hand hygiene and personal protective equipment,” Davis said.
“And then, of course, Coronavirus. We heard about it on a Saturday and, by Monday, had a lot of things in place. Again, kudos to the team for their great work preparing staff and getting signage out.”
NHH gets a daily update on the situation, she said.
“I think it's really well in hand.”
Canadian Forces Base Trenton was received the first plane load of evacuees from China for their quarantine period. An emergency-management team will be on site to care for anyone who starts to show symptoms, and three nearby hospitals are set to take admissions in cases where intensive care is required. These patients would first go to the Belleville hospital and, if more capacity is needed, they would go to the Kingston hospital If anything more is needed, NHH could potentially be called upon.
Davis' report advised anyone who is feeling ill who also has a recent travel history to China to contact the health unit or a health-care provider if he or she becomes sick with cough or fever and has returned from Hubei province in the past 14 day (or has had close contact with an ill person who is either under investigation for Coronavirus or is a confirmed case).
In the case of severe respiratory systems, call 911 and explain both your travel history and symptoms to arrange swift and appropriate transport.
Davis stressed the importance of getting the most accurate and up-to-date information, and suggested visiting ontario.ca/coronavirus or canada.ca/coronavirus.
The health unit is also monitoring the situation and sharing information with its partners and members of the public through its website. Anyone with questions can visit hkpr.on.ca or call 1-866-888-4577.
