New masking guidelines at Montfort
Ottawa, May 15, 2023 – Montfort is taking one more step in the gradual and safe removal of some COVID-19 precautions.
Effective today, masks are recommended but they are no longer required in public areas outside of clinical areas, such as hallways, elevators, and the cafeteria. This applies to staff, patients and visitors. This is a low-risk step that provides people with more flexibility and helps us recover as a community.
Staff will continue to wear masks at all times when engaged in patient care and we ask visitors to do the same. Masks (medical, clean and new) will be required at all times in clinical areas, including patient rooms, Emergency Departments, clinic appointments and waiting rooms.
Similar changes are also taking effect at the Aline-Chrétien Health Hub, The Royal and the Queensway-Carleton Hospital. Please consult hospital websites and signage to confirm the exact guidelines at each facility.
We also remind visitors not to come to the hospital if they are not feeling well or have symptoms; for this change to be safe and stay in place, we must stay at home in this situation. Of course, if you need care, don’t hesitate to go to the nearest hospital.
This decision was not made lightly, given the importance we place on the safety of our staff and patients, especially those whose medical conditions make them more vulnerable to infection. The decision was made after monitoring various indicators to determine the right time to make changes:
- Wastewater indicators have stabilized.
- The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has decreased and there are very few ICU admissions for many weeks.
- The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in our region has also decreased.
Given all this information, we are ready to take this next step in mask use. We will carefully monitor hospital and public health indicators and adjust as necessary.
We continue to recommend masking, especially in high-risk areas such as hospitals, and to provide safe, quality care.
About Montfort
Hôpital Montfort is Ontario’s Francophone Academic Hospital, offering exemplary person-centred care. The hospital serves over 1.2 million people in Eastern Ontario, in both official languages. In 2022, it earned Accreditation with Exemplary Standing from Accreditation Canada for the third time, and is the first francophone host as the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s flagship Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO).
With its main partners, the University of Ottawa and La Cité college, as well as other post-secondary programs, Montfort is preparing the next generation of Francophone healthcare professionals. Since 2015, it has joined the ranks of Canada’s top 40 research hospitals through the activities of the Institut du Savoir Montfort, its knowledge institute. Montfort strives to become “your hospital of reference for outstanding services, designed with you and for you”. In 2019, it was named one of the world’s top 1000 hospitals.
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