'An absolute surge': Omicron wallops York Region hospitals

Mackenzie Health in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, hardest hit by COVID-19

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 11, 2022
Kim Zarzour

“We need your help.”

The top brass at York Region’s three local hospitals have a message for you: the Omicron tsunami has arrived, and it’s going to take teamwork from the entire community to make it through.

Over the last few days, Mackenzie Health, Southlake and Oak Valley health centres have faced unprecedented hits to staffing and COVID-19 admissions.

“There’s no two ways about it; over the last three or four days, we’ve seen an absolute surge,” said Mackenzie Health president and CEO Altaf Stationwala.

Like the other two local hospitals, Stationwala said his health centre has experienced a dramatic increase in admissions and a troubling increase in staff absences due to the coronavirus.

The CEOs are calling on the community to help with precautions, kindness and hope that there may be light at the end of the tunnel -- as early as next month.

Mackenzie Health has the largest COVID-19 patient burden in the region, Stationwala says.

The Vaughan and Richmond Hill hospitals have seen a dramatic surge, and as of Jan. 10, there were 130 COVID-19 patients admitted (up from 105 Jan. 7), with 18 of those in ICU.

At the Richmond Hill hospital, two COVID-19-positive patients were on a ventilator and 25 patients were under investigation for COVID-19.

At the Vaughan location, four COVID-19-positive patients were on a ventilator and 41 patients were suspected having  COVID-19.

Stationwala said many of these cases may be appearing in those admitted for other reasons -- a heart attack or broken leg, for example.

Hospital staff are calling in sick more than ever -- a jump from about 20 of the hospital’s 3,000 employees absent last week to more than 100 this week.

The directive issued by the provincial government pausing non-urgent surgeries should help, but Stationwala acknowledged it has caused “huge angst and frustration” -- especially for those who’ve had their procedures delayed in previous waves.

The change to visitation policies has also been hard, he said.

“We've put a lot of resources into virtual Zoom calls with family members and we redeployed staff onto the unit so that there can be that contact, but it's still not ideal. We ask the community for some patience and understanding. This is nothing that we wanted to do, but it's the reality of where we are today.”

Health care workers are driven by passion and commitment but they, too, are reeling with the pace of change, he said, and discouraged, because like most of us, they thought 2022 would be better.

“I have to be honest, they're tired. We've asked many staff to come back from vacation when they were exhausted from the first four waves.”

But there is a bright light, he added.

Data shows Omicron illnesses are not as severe. Patients are not in hospital as long, nor requiring as many significant interventions; fewer are entering ICU requiring intubation and ventilators, there’s less need for oxygen supplements, and they’re able to leave hospital faster and not readmitted as often, he said.

Still, with COVID everywhere and more patients being admitted -- that’s where the community can help, he said.

“We can blunt the curve by adhering to the public health measures that have been put in place in this modified Stage 2. It’s very, very clear that contacts spread the virus. And vaccines work, 100 per cent, despite what others may think ... If you're under-vaccinated or not vaccinated, you tend to end up in ICU.”

So get your three doses as soon as you’re able, he said, and store up your patience with front-line staff.

“I know people are frustrated ... We’re always short-staffed and nothing goes as fast as anyone would like. But we are trying our very, very best.

“Public health measures won’t really have an effect until a couple of weeks from now,” he added. “Everything we’ve seen from other jurisdictions shows this Omicron variant rises and falls quickly.

“I’m hoping that we see a peak within the next week or two ... and after that, everything will look very different.”