On January 10, the COVID-19 outbreak declared January 4 on Unit 5A of the St. Paul’s Heart Centre was extended to include Unit 5B and the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU).
St. Paul’s Hospital remains open to safely receive and care for all individuals who require urgent and emergent care. At this time, there is no impact to other areas of St. Paul’s Hospital. Patients are urged not to delay in seeking care to avoid exacerbating their conditions.
Patient care and services are being maintained in the areas of the Heart Centre that are not affected by the outbreaks.
Providence Health Care’s Pandemic Response team is working closely with Public Health to ensure appropriate precautions are in place for everyone’s safety.
The affected units are closed to new admissions and transfers at this time. All visitation has been suspended until the outbreak measures have been lifted, except for compassionate (end-of-life) visits.
As a provincial referral site for cardiac care, St. Paul’s Hospital/Providence Health Care continues to work with its regional and provincial partners, including Cardiac Services BC, to maintain access to cardiac care for patients and families.
As with any outbreak in this region, strict infection prevention and control protocols have been immediately implemented on 5B and CSICU to prevent further spread of the virus.
These include:
- Careful monitoring of patients, staff and physicians – with screeners at the hospital entrance
- Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of all high-touch surfaces
- Self-monitoring or self-isolation of staff/physicians as required
- Droplet and Contact precautions and testing of any patients who may have had contact with positive cases
The care and safety of our patients and staff remains the utmost priority of Providence Health Care. Updates will be provided as more information is gathered.
Contact:
Ann Gibbon
Providence Health Care
agibbon@providencehealth.bc.ca
