Inside this edition of the Insider:
- Recognizing the frontline teams that continue to step up despite continued pressures.
- Supporting expectant families in our Woman and Child program with a special COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
- Mackenzie Health Foundation signature events are back! Join us at this year’s Strides for Mackenzie Health taking place at Canada’s Wonderland.
Marking one year since opening as a system solution on February 7, 2021
This month marks one year since Mackenzie Health opened Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital exclusively to support the provincial pandemic response during waves two and three of the pandemic on Feb. 7, 2021. To relive how we made history as we opened our second hospital, take a look at this special recap of our first day.
Between February and June 2021, more than 500 COVID-19 patients were transferred to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital from overwhelmed hospitals across the GTA, providing necessary relief to neighbouring hospitals and helping to prevent the health care system from collapse.
Even after opening as a full-service community hospital in June, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital along with Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital has continued to care for a large proportion of the province’s COVID-19 patients.
Our team continues to support patients in the community who come to us for all types of care and we’re now gradually resuming scheduled surgeries and procedures that had been paused in January. Our Emergency Departments at both hospitals remain busy. Our general medicine and critical care units are also often over capacity with patients waiting in the Emergency Department for beds to become available on inpatient units each day. While these continued pressures are challenging, our priority is always delivering safe, quality care.
We are very hopeful that we have seen the peak of this wave and this pandemic. Now that provincial restrictions have begun to ease, we have also eased visitor restrictions at our hospitals. All patients are now permitted one visitor during designated visiting hours with some patients permitted more than one visitor depending on their specific circumstances. We continue to monitor the situation in our community and in our hospitals and will further ease visitor restrictions when it is safe to do so. Please visit the Visitor Information page on our website for details.
It is difficult and upsetting for both families and our staff to have visitor restrictions in place but we need to do what’s best to protect our most vulnerable. We know how important it is for our patients to connect with loved ones. Our teams were able to support more than 1,200 virtual calls between January and early February to ensure patients remained connected with their families. We appreciate our community’s cooperation and patience. Our teams are truly doing all they can.
Protecting our littlest patients and their families
Kelly and Robert got their COVID-19 booster shots at Mackenzie Health’s special vaccine clinic for expectant moms and their partners at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital in February.
Mackenzie Health supports thousands of expectant families each year as they navigate the journey towards welcoming their newborn. During this latest wave of the pandemic, our Woman and Child team hosted a special vaccine clinic for expectant moms and their partners to provide an added layer of protection against COVID-19 for themselves and their babies.
The COVID-19 vaccine has proven to be effective at reducing the severity of illness and preventing countless hospitalizations. It’s safe to take at any time during pregnancy or while breastfeeding if no other underlying health conditions exist.
While many people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms and recover, COVID-19 infection in pregnancy can mean additional challenges for both mom and baby. Risks could include high blood pressure, caesarian delivery, preterm birth, low birth weight and even stillbirth. At Mackenzie Health, because of COVID-19, we have seen more babies needing care in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after they are born.
The Woman and Child team at Mackenzie Health came up with a plan to offer COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the month of February to our expectant moms and their partners and those who have recently given birth in an effort to minimize these risks of complication.
Patients like Kelly and Robert from Vaughan, who are expecting their second baby in the spring, found booking an appointment at our vaccine clinic convenient and easy with an appointment time offered within days. It also gave them an opportunity to get a sneak peek and visit the unit where they’ll be delivering their new arrival.
Join us at Canada’s Wonderland on May 14 for Strides for Mackenzie Health
For the first time in two years, our community will gather together to walk or run in this year’s Strides for Mackenzie Health and we’ll do it on a new route through Canada’s Wonderland! Join us on Saturday, May 14 for a memorable, all-ages 5K walk or run event. Register your family and friends or join a team of Striders to raise funds in support of Mackenzie Health. As an added bonus, when you register, you’ll receive complimentary admission to Canada’s Wonderland to enjoy after you cross the finish line. Don’t miss out on a fun-filled day – register today at mhfstrides.ca.