A total of 20 cases of COVID-19 are now part of a growing outbreak at St. Marys Memorial Hospital in the town of St. Marys, 20 minutes outside Stratford.
The outbreak at the hospital’s inpatient unit was declared on April 18. At the time, four patients and one staff member were sick.
As of Tuesday, a total of 20 cases have been linked to the outbreak – 15 in patients and five among staff.
Andrew Williams, head of the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, says when you add in staff that may have contracted COVID-19 elsewhere, 18 people – almost 20 per cent of the hospital’s total staff – are off right now.
Measures put in place to contain the outbreak also impact staffing.
“We have a policy that if you are working in an outbreak unit you then can’t work in another part of the organization, and sometimes you have staff that work in multiple organizations, not only hospitals but long-term care so we have to factor that in,” Williams said.
Hospital operations have been significantly affected by the staff shortage.
Williams estimated over the last week about four or five patients were transferred to other hospitals for care.
On Monday April 20, the hospital announced it would close its emergency department overnight as it grappled with COVID-19-related staffing shortages. That temporary overnight closure has since been extended until May 2.
During the closure, emergency calls will be sent to Stratford, London, or Ingersoll.