By: Laura Steiner
Halton Healthcare is set to play a big role in the province’s fight against the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a network of hospitals throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) known as the Incident Management System (IMS).
The IMS monitors hospital capacity in real time. The GTA IMS is described as a single regional decision-making body with the authority to move patients between hospitals. “Now more than ever it is important that hospitals work together as one system to ensure we respond to increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in wave 2,” Halton Healthcare President and CEO Denise Hardenne said. Halton’s partners include Trillium Health Partners (THP), William Osler Health System (Osler), and Headwaters Healthcare Centre. Halton Healthcare has accepted 91 patient transfers to-date.
Milton District Hospital has added a 12-bed internal field hospital, which has been operating since June, 2020. Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) opened a 40-bed internal field hospital December 1, 2020. “We were able to build both our internal field hospitals using existing shelled-in space that was built to accommodate future expansion of hospitals,” Hardenne said.
Patient areas are divided by modular walls with a privacy curtain. They are furnished with a bad, over bed table, reading lamp, and visitor chair. “This additional space has been a significant resource to respond to increasing patient volumes during the second and anticipated future waves of the pandemic and we are proud to be able to respond to local capacity needs and support our hospital partners,” Hardenne said.
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