Sask preparing medical system for Covid-19
April 11, 2020, 5:29 am
Kevin Weedmark
The Saskatchewan Health Authority has come up with a plan for how to deliver health care in rural Saskatchewan if there is a large increase in Covid-19 infections across the province.
Moosomin, Weyburn and Estevan have been identified as the three “district hub” hospitals in southeast Saskatchewan that would continue to provide acute care services for a wider area.
Esterhazy, Kipling and Redvers would be converted to Covid-19 hospitals, caring for only Covid-19 patients, although they would continue to operate their emergency rooms.
“These are not going to become Covid hospitals overnight,” said Dr. Kevin Wasko, Senior Physician with Integrated Rural Health. “These would operate as usual until there are Covid cases starting to show up there, and then they would be converted to Covid hospitals.
"This would be determined by the needs within that particular geography and the incidence and prevalence of disease there. If the demand indicates we need to be caring for patients with Covid-19 closer to home because there are high numbers of cases, at that point in time we would admit Covid-19 patients to that location. We would ensure that all the appropriate infection control protocols were in place, and minimizing any movement of staff from one end of the building to the other to minmize spread to long-term care patients.”
Smaller hospitals like Broadview and Arcola will see a reduction in services as resources are allocated to district non-Covid-19 hospitals, and local Covid-19 hospitals.
Non-Covid hospitals will become regional hubs for medical care
Non-Covid hospitals like Moosomin are slated to become regional hubs for medical care while smaller community hospitals will deal with Covid-19 cases.
“The non-Covid-19 hospitals are our district hospitals, our regional hubs, where we have a very stable physician workforce,” said Wasko.
“We will require these locations to remain non-Covid as they will provide a higher level of care. The hub hospitals would have a larger draw and would be able to care for the non-Covid patients from some of those communities that may have converted to a Covid hospital.
“Our community hospitals will become Covid-19 hospitals where and when needed.
“The hospitals designated as non-Covid would function as usual, but if someone showed up to the emergency room, they were assessed and it was determined they had Covid-19, they would not be admitted to that facility. They would be sent to another facility. The physician would call and ask for advice from a central physician on call on where the patient should be directed."
Adding capacity to Covid-19 testing stations
There have been a lot of questions in Moosomin about rooms being constructed in the building where the Covid-19 testing site is set up.
According to Karen Earnshaw, Vice-President of Integrated Rural Health, Covid-19 testing sites like the one in Moosomin will be adding capacity.
“We will really be expanding those testing locations,” she said. “They will include assessment and treatment capacity. As physician practices have moved to virtual care and as we have asked the public to use our emergency rooms for emergencies only, we really needed locations for people to seek care and assessment so those off-site assessment centres and testing facilities have moved into public spaces, but as part of our overall surge capacity planning we don’t have plans for field hospitals. We are planning to use every existing space within our local facilities to deliver care without having to move to community spaces.”
“These should be thought of as stand-up primary health care centres,” added Dr. Kevin Wasko, Senior Physician with integrated Rural Health “They’re everyday services that people who are on isolation or who have tested positive for Covid-19 can go to be assessed. They are not places where people will be staying long-term. It is being done to ensure there is separation so that other people who need everyday health services are not being exposed to patients who carry a risk.”
As the Southeast Integrated Care Centre will be a non-Covid-19 facility, no Covid-19 cases will be admitted for any reason, so some of the everyday health needs of people with Covid-19 in Moosomin will be met at the testing station, which is already operating.
“There are no field hospitals being set up in rural Saskatchewan,” Earnshaw emphasized.
Field hospitals are being set up in Regina and Saskatoon, in Regina at Evraz Place and in Saskatoon at Merlis Belsher Place
Precautions for integrated health care facilities
Earnshaw said that precautions will be put in place in facilities that include both a long-term care component and an acute care side that will be admitting Covid-19 patients.
“Our long-term care facilities house our most vulnerable patients, those most at risk for having serious outcomes with Covid-19,” Earnshaw said.
“We really are working on making sure our staff working in our long-term care facilities are cohorted and are using best practices in infection prevention and control.
“We are keeping the services separate, we are caring for people in place and we are helping our staff be focused on one side or the other, and we are using really good screening every day for our employees. We are practising social distancing, hand hygiene, all of the pieces we know are really important.”
Importance of social distancing stressed
Earnshaw added that the most important thing for people to do is to be meticulous with hand-washing and social distancing.
“The most important thing we can do is to adhere to the public health measures. That’s our best defence. Stay home, social distance, wash your hands, and you can really reduce the potential spread,” she said.
