Preparations are underway to convert the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound into a 75-bed temporary hospital.
Grey Bruce Health Services president and CEO Gary Sims says the hospital organization was mandated by the Ministry of Health earlier this week to look for off-site facilities that could be converted into non-traditional hospital spaces. After visiting several sites in the region, Sims says the Bayshore Community Centre was identified as the best location for a non-traditional hospital.
The city has been working on the site to help get it ready for Grey Bruce Health Services, Sims explains, while the hospital organization has had several teams examine the property to look at how to best convert it.
“It’s an unfortunate step to even have to take it, but a precautionary one,” says Sims. “We believe it needs to be done before we need it, because it will take time to move the resources and set the place up so it can activate properly.”
Sims says Grey Bruce Health Services is to have the non-traditional hospital in Owen Sound ready by April 16. When it actually becomes active will depend on when the need arises for additional capacity.
“The idea would be if the (Owen Sound Regional Hospital) were to become over 100 per cent or 110 per cent occupancy, that is when we would look to activate that non-traditional site,” explains Sims.
Sims notes right now occupancy at the Owen Sound Hospital sits below 50 per cent.
The temporary hospital at Bayshore Community Centre has to be set up as a “higher-end” centre, Sims notes. He explains it has to have an on-site lab and be capable of managing and treating patients with services such as oxygen, suction, x-ray and ultrasound.
There has been no determination made yet as to whether the non-traditional hospital site in Owen Sound will serve — if and when it comes online — as a dedicated centre for COVID-19 patients.
“If they were to be (COVID-19) patients it would likely be all COVID patients, with the idea they’re recovering and then ready to go and self-isolate at home and be managed in the community,” explains Sims. “If they were to be a different type of patient that is not a COVID patient, then we’d look at a different structure of management for them.”
“Right now we haven’t truly defined it,” continues Sims. “But, we’re ready for either scenario.”
Sims notes other measures have also been taken to add additional capacity at Grey Bruce Health Services to prepare for a potential increase of COVID-19 cases in the region.
A dedicated Respiratory Surge Unit has been created at the Owen Sound Hospital, beds have been added to the Intensive Care and Medicine Units and the Ambulatory Care area has been redesigned to handle up to 150 assessments for COVID-19 per 12-hour shift.