Chatham-Kent’s hospital is making a vaccination plea to the public as capacity limits of critical care beds continue to be strained.
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance said on Wednesday that 13 patients with COVID-19 are being treated for COVID-19 in critical care beds. Of those, 12 are not vaccinated.
“These figures speak for themselves. There’s a much higher risk of getting seriously sick and requiring ventilation and critical care for unvaccinated people,” said Dr. Pervez Faruqi, CKHA’s Chief of Staff.
According to CKHA, seven of the eight patients in the ICU have COVID-19 and all seven are unvaccinated. As well, in the hospital’s Progressive Care Unit, six patients have COVID-19 and five are unvaccinated.
There were a total of 30 patients at CKHA who have tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. Of those, 22 are unvaccinated.
“The staff and physicians at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance have provided exceptional care throughout the last 18 months. We have also appreciated the support of the community,” said Lori Marshall, CKHA’s president and CEO. “The best thing that the community can do to help us, to help every single one of the people who work here, whether they are a nurse or a physician… is to become vaccinated.”
Marshall also urged everyone to continue following the current COVID-19 public health guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.
The hospital was forced to transfer two ICU patients to another hospital in London after ICU capacity hit 100.7 per cent on Tuesday.
The hospital’s ICU occupancy sat at 80 per cent on Wednesday, while the medical, surgical, and critical care beds were 94.8 per cent filled. The Progressive Care Unit’s capacity sits at 91.7 per cent.