With Covid numbers on the rise at the Chatham-Kent Health alliance, CEO Lori Marshall wants to assure everyone they are always very careful.
“While every staff member coming into the hospital and every physician coming into the hospital doe a daily screen before they arrive at the hospital,” Marshall says. “We do twice-daily screening in the outbreak unit. We do additional things to make sure stay on top of this.”
As of Thursday’s update from CKHA, the COVID outbreak in the Medicine Unit includes four patients currently in hospital and one individual who had already been discharged.
Staff were all swabbed on the day the outbreak was declared, 50 test results that have come back are all negative.
Right now there are 4 staff self-isolating, 2 are unrelated to the outbreak at the hospital, 2 are close contacts with outbreak patients, although they have tested negative for the virus.
Marshall says caring for patients during a pandemic comes with multiple levels of precautions, including full PPE, droplet and contact precautions, and enhanced cleaning. CKHA officials also continue working with Chatham-Kent Public Health on contact tracing.
But on top of the health and safety piece, Marshall says an outbreak is very stressful for the staff.
“We have continued through the pandemic, and certainly reinforce when we get into this kind of situation, that we do provide hotel accommodations for any staff or physicians who would choose to isolate away from their families.”
