Health-care officials and community members gathered virtually Tuesday to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic and look to the future.
Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) hosted an event called Fireside Forum: What’s Next? It began with hospital president and CEO Carmine Stumpo looking back at the response to the pandemic.
In the early days, “we knew that COVID testing was an essential part of what we could offer to contain the virus,” he said.
So, officials managed to accelerate, allowing for results within hours instead of days.
By the second wave, Stumpo said, local health-care professionals were advising the province about how to deploy rapid testing.
OSMH was also called into a number of homes to help out prior to a vaccine being available. It oversaw operations at Roberta Place, a long-term care home in Barrie, during a deadly outbreak.
That was “a very challenging situation to support what turned out to be the first major outbreak of a COVID variant,” Stumpo said.
“It was probably one of the most challenging scenarios throughout our COVID experience, through waves 1, 2 and 3.”
He praised the work of hospital staff, the Couchiching Ontario Health Team and other partners who worked together to open an immunization clinic at Rotary Place and pop-up clinics in a number of communities.
Those efforts have been paying off. In the Couchiching area, which includes Orillia and surrounding municipalities, more than 80 per cent of the population has received a single dose of the vaccine, while more than 63 per cent has received a second dose. That is above the regional average.
The ripple effects of the pandemic can be seen in some statistics shared during Tuesday’s presentation.
From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, the hospital’s annual operating budget increased by $8 million, which included funding for pandemic response efforts.
There was a decrease in emergency visits, acute patient days and surgical procedures during that time.
The pandemic also led to a sharp decline in volunteers.
From April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, there were 325 volunteers and they contributed 41,824 hours. During the same time period from 2020 to 2021, there were 22 volunteers who logged a collective 2,517 hours, which included time spent at the COVID-19 assessment centre.
Volunteer numbers are growing again.
“We’re thrilled to have them back. The place is not the same (without them),” Stumpo said.
Dr. Kim McIntosh, physician lead with the Couchiching Ontario Health Team, spoke of that group’s efforts during the pandemic. It created a retirement home working group, a primary care leadership table and a long-term care working group. She expects the groups will remain in place, post-pandemic.
The entire team at OSMH was also recognized Tuesday.
“What we ended up seeing (in response to the pandemic) was a whole lot of capability — capability in ways that we didn’t think was possible,” said Debbie Singh, chief human resources officer.
Chief financial officer Tom Roberts discussed the plans to build a new hospital.
With the projected population growth in the area in the coming years, OSMH is expecting there will be a 40 per cent increase in the demand for beds over the next 15 years.
Roberts noted the cost of major repairs and upgrades required at OSMH is equal to the local share of the cost of building a new hospital.
Also, one in four beds does not currently meet the standards to provide for a private room with a dedicated washroom.
While OSMH is at the mercy of the province, Roberts is hopeful the hospital can get provincial support to move the project forward “in the near future,” though that process can take years.
The pandemic, he said, “has only increased the urgency for a new build.”
During the open forum, one person asked when COVID would go away.
“I don’t know that there is a simple answer, but thinking about the effectiveness of vaccination and our high vaccination rate in this area … I anticipate seeing fewer cases of COVID ...” McIntosh said, adding those who are vaccinated but still contract the virus will have milder symptoms, leading to less stress on the hospital.
Coronavirus has “been around forever,” she said, and there will be ongoing mutations, but with new mRNA technology, she has “great trust that a vaccine will be developed in response to” other variants that come along.
“We will still have coronavirus, just like we still have influenza,” she said, but added she believes another pandemic can be prevented.
Viruses are “smart,” McIntosh said, but humans are, too.
“It is an ongoing battle, but I think we’re winning, as humans,” she said.
In the chat function during Tuesday’s Zoom forum, one person asked if OSMH would be requiring all employees to be vaccinated.
“OSMH is strongly encouraging vaccinations for the entire team and we have seen a great response,” Stumpo wrote in response. “Mandating vaccinations is a larger policy decision that should be consistently applied across the province.”
Poll questions were presented throughout the forum. The first asked the nearly 60 registered participants what their connection to OSMH was. Most indicated they were OSMH team members, followed closely by “grateful family/patient.”
The next poll asked what group needs more focus at OSMH. Fifty-three per cent voted for mental health and addictions. That group was followed by frail seniors (30 per cent) and marginalized and vulnerable, including those experiencing homelessness (13 per cent).
When asked what word best signifies the OSMH experience, “professional” and “community” were tied at 29 per cent, with “compassionate” at 27 per cent.
The final poll question asked participants what benefits of a new hospital they were most interested in hearing about. Eighty-two per cent voted for increased capacity to meet the needs of a growing community, while 14 per cent chose energy efficiency and four per cent chose improved accessibility. No one voted for improved infection controls.
