Hello, Boozhou, Bonjour.

As we go into this Family Day long weekend, I want to take a moment to acknowledge some facts that need to be shared at a time when society seems to be embracing the “we need to learn to live with it” narrative related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While I can appreciate the desire for the public to move on with their lives – a feeling we all share – the fact is you have all been “living with it” for two years now. There have been no breaks. Our doors have never closed as you have been going 24/7 for two full years now, living with COVID-19 up close and personal – seeing the tragedy and the struggles without a protective bubble from it. I have had conversations with many of you and I’ve heard loud and clear that you’re tired and frustrated with the entire situation and I can’t fault you for that. Your efforts, struggles, and sacrifices are deserving of our respect and utter appreciation.

I also want to emphasize that we are still in the thick of it. We are not seeing the same reduction in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, stable human resource capacity or test positivity declines. Our COVID-19 unit remains exceptionally busy with over 30 patients on it daily, with staff working exceptionally hard to provide care– a clear indication that this is still very much an active issue in the communities we serve despite the narrative we are seeing. Compounding this issue is we currently have 114 staff off work. And, while all this is happening, our Emergency Department volumes have been higher than they have been during most of the pandemic.

I know it can be frustrating coping with this and then watching the provincial or national news and seeing a trend down and what appears to be a celebratory and victorious mood. I recently did a series of media interviews and emphasized our current situation to ensure they understood the reality check that is your reality at work these days – and how our Hospital and region is an outlier in Ontario when it comes to ongoing case trends.

I will admit that opening everything up and lowering restrictions worries me given our high case counts. We anticipate further ICU admissions potentially – and while we are prepared with surge plans in place including continued redeployment, there is some cause for concern.

With the lifting of provincial Directive 2, we have now been enabling the resumption of non-urgent / non emergent surgeries and procedures, working toward returning to 70% of 2019 volumes during this first phase. I want to reassure you that this is a gradual resumption which recognizes the realities of our local situation. That said, we have increased our surgical and procedural volumes in some areas such as Endoscopy, Diagnostics, Cardiac Catheterizations, and other outpatient surgery / procedures to the 70% phased resumption target.

I know you have all made major family and personal sacrifices the past two years to be able to serve our communities. So, even if you have to work this weekend, please take some time to celebrate your strength and the strength of your families on Family Day. And, again, thank you for your continued hard work and compassion in the face of adversity.

As always, I welcome comments on this blog or any other matter. You can reach me at: crockerelr@tbh.net

Rhonda