Mackenzie Health Insider: Working together in unprecedented times

Working together in unprecedented times

We are all facing changes to our everyday routines as people around the world are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At Mackenzie Health, we continue to ensure the safety and well-being of our patients and staff based on guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health and our public health partners.

Although much of our focus has been on providing care to patients amid this pandemic, construction work has continued at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital and more departments are nearing completion. We have never needed this hospital more than we do now. The additional capacity it will create will allow us to care for even more members of our growing community.

We truly appreciate how our community partners have stepped up in so many ways to support Mackenzie Health. The need has never been greater.

These updates and more in the latest Insider.

Creating capacity to support our COVID-19 effort

We’re so appreciative of the efforts of all of our staff, including Kris (above) as she screens patients and essential visitors at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital to ensure the safety of our staff and patients.

Mackenzie Health is committed to keeping our patients, staff, donors and community informed as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We expect to be treating more patients affected by COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks, and in response, there are a number of things we’ve done to help ensure we have the capacity to respond.

Creating acute and critical care capacity

Over the past few weeks, we have reduced non-emergent clinical activity in the hospital, postponing some elective and surgical procedures, to successfully create some additional capacity for acute care and critical care beds if and when we need them. We continue to look for additional ways to create capacity.

Mackenzie Health COVID-19 Assessment Centre

On March 16, we opened a dedicated COVID-19 Assessment Centre in our temporarily vacated Day Surgery space to help ease pressures being experienced by the Emergency Department (ED) teams coordinating the testing and assessment of suspected COVID-19 cases. Since that time, the Assessment Centre at Mackenzie Health has been successful in reducing capacity pressures so that our ED teams can remain focused on treating patients who come to us with urgent care needs.

A dedicated COVID-19 inpatient unit

We have created a dedicated unit for admitted patients who have tested positive for COVID-19. Ensuring that all patients affected by COVID-19 are in the same unit being treated by the same clinical team helps to keep our staff safe and minimizes capacity pressures felt by our Emergency Department and inpatient care teams. This dedicated unit will also help decrease the demand on supplies by reserving key materials, including the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), for those treating COVID-19 patients.

Another dedicated Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

In addition to our existing 30-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), we have created an additional 15 critical care beds to prepare for the expected surge in patients in the days and weeks ahead.  This expansion to 45 beds will allow us the flexibility to keep positive COVID-19 patients who require the specialized care of our critical care teams in the same space in a further effort to keep our staff safe.

New visitor policy

We made the difficult decision to only allow essential visitors into Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and our offsite locations to ensure the continued health and safety of our patients and staff. We know how important it is for patients to be surrounded by their families while they’re in hospital. To help patients and families stay connected, we’ve made all cable, internet and phone access free on bedside tablets. Free Wi-Fi is also available so patients can video chat with their loved ones from their own devices.  

Mackenzie Health Foundation has seen an outpouring of support from our community. They’ve received countless messages from individuals, families and businesses across the community asking how they can help our physicians, nurses and health care workers through the COVID-19 pandemic.

We’ve established a COVID-19 Response Fund so that donors can support the hospital’s most urgent needs throughout this pandemic.  

Community leaders and businesses, like Longo’s and the Gulshan & Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation, have stepped up in support of these efforts by donating matching gifts so donations have double the impact! Donations can be made online at https://www.mackenziehealthfoundation.ca/covid19-response/

We’ve received countless messages of support for our health care workers – these messages of thanks
were attached to donated boxes of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Our community has also generously donated approved medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). While we are grateful for all offers of support, the risk of spreading COVID-19 to our staff, physicians and patients is too great so Mackenzie Health and the Foundation can no longer accept any food or drink donations delivered to the hospital. However, we want to make sure there are other ways for you show your appreciation to our health care workers. We’re working with donors who are interested in doing something to directly show support of our front-line staff to find a solution that works. If you’re looking for a way to help, please contact foundation@mackenziehealth.ca.  

Continued progress at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital

The triage area inside Magna Emergency at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital will feature five separate triage bays with glass windows and hand hygiene sinks.

While we have prioritized our efforts on containing the spread of COVID-19, we also know how important it is that we continue our work on Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital so our community can have increased access to health care as soon as possible. Construction has continued, and we are happy to share that there are certain departments that are almost complete, including Magna Emergency, the Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) department and the pharmacy.

Magna Emergency
We have one of the busiest emergency departments in Ontario and once Magna Emergency at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital opens, it will help alleviate our capacity pressures and be a tangible solution to hallway medicine. The 37,000 square foot, state-of-the-art space will support thousands of patient visits per year, doubling access to emergency care for southwest York Region. With our two full-service emergency departments, we’ll be able to deliver the urgent and emergent care our growing and aging community deserves — when, where and how they need it most.

Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR)

The Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) department plays a key role in maintaining the highest standard in patient safety by providing clean and sterile medical and surgical supplies and equipment to patient care areas all over the hospital. The MDR team at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital is currently able to sterilize more than 5,000 items a day and once the department at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital opens, the number of items the teams will be able to sterilize will only increase.

The pharmacy of the future

Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital will also be home to the pharmacy of the future and it will include robots to complement our skilled team of pharmacists and technicians. The new 12,000-square-foot pharmacy on the third floor of Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital will serve as the central production site for both Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, and serve hundreds of patients with necessary medications each day.

Promenade Shopping Centre partners splurge with $5M

From left: Simon Serruya and Michael Serruya, the Serruya family; Fred Darvish, President, Liberty Development; Latif Fazel, Chief Executive Officer, Liberty Development; Michael Uster, Senior Vice President, Liberty Development; Brendan Murphy, Vice President, Liberty Development; Marco Filice, Senior Vice President, Liberty Development.

Promenade Shopping Centre partners Liberty Development Corporation and the Serruya family know that no community is complete without a main street. On March 2, Liberty Development and the Serruya family announced a $5-million gift to help build and equip Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital. In recognition of this transformational gift, Main Street will be named Promenade Main Street and act as the main corridor for patients and visitors travelling across the hospital. With a patient registration area, retail and food services, spiritual care, a public library, “green” walls and courtyard views, the Promenade Main Street will be an integral part of the ultimate patient experience at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital.

“The Liberty Development Corporation and Serruya family gift helps further Mackenzie Health’s commitment to creating positive patient experiences, right from the moment patients enter our doors,” says Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO, Mackenzie Health. “The Main Street will be a central space for patients, staff and visitors and will be bright, inviting and fully accessible. We’re grateful for the support and look forward to a continued relationship.”

Thank you, Liberty Development and the Serruya family!

Coming soon

Now more than ever it’s important for us to come together to ensure a healthy future for our shared community. With that in mind, we have made the necessary decision to postpone our spring events until the fall. Please visit the event websites for the latest news and updates.

Even though we can’t be physically together right now, the generosity of our community has inspired us to create an event that helps you help us during the COVID-19 health crisis. Power Hour is a fitness challenge that you can do from home until April 17^th in support of the COVID-19 Response Fund. Every part of this challenge is virtual – from the workouts you do to the way you raise funds – so you can practice social distancing and make a difference at the same time. It’s not too late to register!