COVID-19 cases on the rise: Montfort moves to level 2 of Surge Plan

Ottawa, April 16, 2021 – On Friday morning, April 16, over 30 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized at Montfort. This is, by far, the highest number of positive patients in our hospital since the beginning of the pandemic.

Due to the continued growth in the number of people with COVID-19 in our community, and to be prepared to accommodate even more patients if necessary, Montfort moves to Level 2 of its surge plan.

Planned changes to our operations include:

The closure of two surgical lines, which represents a 30% reduction

The reduction of activities to 80% in the Ambulatory Care Unit

The reduction of activities to 70% in the Medical Day Unit

The suspension of the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation program for a period of one month

etc.

These measures will allow us to increase our capacity, redeploy Montfort team members who will be freed up by the reduction in non-emergency services, and implement adapted models of care based on staffing. 

We ask that community members who can do so stay home and comply with public health measures. This will help protect those who need to leave the house, including healthcare workers, and prevent you from becoming one of the people with the virus, or one of our hospitalized patients. 

We also remind people who have a health problem not to wait to see a doctor, whether it's your family doctor or at the Emergency Room. Hospitals are still safe places, and our emergency teams are there to take care of people who need it. 

"We would rather take care of you now in the ER than have you admitted to the hospital if your condition worsens later."

People who have respiratory symptoms, whether from COVID-19, the flu, asthma, or anything else, can also make an appointment with a doctor at one of the three COVID-19 testing and care clinics (Heron, Ray-Friel and Moodie).

Above all, we encourage everyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they are eligible, regardless of the type of vaccine offered.

The past year has been a difficult one for everyone, especially those on the front lines. We are incredibly grateful for the work of the Montfort team members.

We are at war with this virus. The solidarity of the first few months is needed now more than ever. We know how, and it's pretty simple: let's get vaccinated, and stay home. That’s how we'll get through this and get back to a somewhat normal life, finally.