Eastern Ontario hospitals create regional patient flow strategy to ensure safe access to care

This is a joint message from Ontario Health East – Champlain District’s Clinical Care Coordination Centre, on behalf of the hospitals of Eastern Ontario.

OTTAWA – April 3, 2020 – As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve locally, Eastern Ontario hospitals are working together to create a regional patient flow strategy to care for patients.

Patient flow across the region will be coordinated by a single command centre. Hospitals will transfer COVID-19 positive patients who need acute or critical care to a select number of designated hospitals that have units for COVID-19 positive patients. Patients who do not require this level of care will be transferred out of acute and critical care hospitals to the most appropriate hospital setting.

Planning includes centres that provide specialized areas of care including mental health, pediatric, cardiac, services to seniors and complex continuing care. A set of consistent and equitable guidelines and processes will be applied throughout the region.

Evaluating patient flow as a region will allow hospitals to maintain access for patient care across the care continuum and ensure that no area of the health system becomes overwhelmed by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Ontario government has released the most recent projections on the COVID-19 situation in the province. Hospitals in the region are reviewing these projections in order to adjust planning for patient flow accordingly, and ensure that the region is prepared. Further updates will be provided as they become available.

Work is being done for the next level of planning, which will add more bed capacity to prepare for the anticipated surge, including by working with partners regarding patients who can be transferred to alternate levels of care.

A COVID-19 care clinic led by the Queensway Carleton Hospital is planned to open in west Ottawa on Monday, April 6 to support the region’s health system. A second care clinic — led by Hôpital Montfort — can be activated by Ontario Health at any time, based on the volume of patients.

Hospitals involved in the Eastern Ontario regional patient flow strategy:

• Almonte General Hospital
• Arnprior Regional Hospital
• Bruyère
• Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital
• CHEO
• Cornwall Community Hospital
• Deep River and District Hospital
• Glengarry Memorial Hospital
• Hawkesbury and District General Hospital
• Kemptville District Hospital
• Hôpital Montfort
• Pembroke Regional Hospital
• Queensway Carleton Hospital
• Renfrew Victoria Hospital
• Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
• St. Francis Memorial Hospital
• St. Joseph Medical Centre
• The Ottawa Hospital
• University of Ottawa Heart Institute
• Winchester District Memorial Hospital

We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the hospital staff members providing frontline care and support services who have risen to the challenge of preparing for and responding to COVID-19.

All residents of Eastern Ontario can help us #plankthecurve: stay home, practice physical distancing, and wash your hands regularly. We are in this together.

More information on COVID-19 in Ottawa can be found on Ottawa Public Health’s website.

Media contact

media@cheo.on.ca

 

About CHEO

Based in Canada’s capital, CHEO is a globally renowned health institution with a mission to provide exceptional care and support to children, youth and their families. Opening our doors in 1974, we offer a full range of specialized pediatric care and services to children from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut. Our site is home to a hospital, a children’s treatment centre, a school, a research institute, and is affiliated with the University of Ottawa as an academic health science centre. Named Canada’s best health-care employer by Forbes in 2024 and 2025, we are home to more than 6,500 staff, clinicians, scientists and researchers, as well as volunteers – all of whom work together to help children and youth achieve their best lives.