The COVID-19 outbreak at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) is no longer in place.
The outbreak that was declared on the third and fourth floors of the Rehabilitation tower on November 29 has been rescinded by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit effective Friday.
"I can't even begin to tell you how much relief myself and the team at Hotel-Dieu Grace are feeling that the first time since November 29, that's quite a few days and weeks, that we are no longer in an outbreak situation.," said CEO, Janice Kaffer.
She says one of the most challenging parts of the outbreak was the number of staff it took off the roster.
"38 staff that this outbreak impacted 38 of our HDGH team members," she says. "I think their morale has been pretty solid although stressed," she says. "I think they're all very stressed."
When it comes to timing, Kaffer says it couldn't have been better.
"We're in a bit of a crunch in terms of hospital beds now so coming out of outbreak allows us unlimited admissions again to all of our units in the hospital, so that's very good news," she says "So we will continue to be able to admit COVID positive patients to be able to assist our acute care partners from both Windsor Regional Hospital and Erie Shores Healthcare."
At the end of the outbreak, a total of 38 employees, 20 patients, one physician and two students all tested positive for COVID-19. Sadly, three patients associated with the outbreak passed away.
Kaffer says as Windsor-Essex continues to see broad community spread of COVID-19, staff remain vigilant and are actively taking measures to respond to the pandemic across the hospital programs & services and in the broader community.