Trillium Health Partners (THP) has started construction of a temporary Pandemic Response Unit on the grounds of Mississauga Hospital to be able to care for more patients in response to COVID-19. The modular unit is being assembled as part of THP’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan to increase capacity for a potential influx of positive COVID-19 patients the hospital anticipates they may be admitting in the weeks ahead. Based on Public Health Ontario projections and the experience of others worldwide, THP is preparing over 1000 patient care spaces in the event they are required to care for the community.

The unit, which is being design-built by BLT Construction Services and supplied by Alberta-based Sprung Structures, can hold up to 80-plus patients and will be situated on Mississauga Hospital’s south parking lot. The unit is expected to be complete and ready with appropriate supplies and equipment by end of April. Given the rapidly changing environment, the hospital is examining the current modelling from Public Health Ontario to determine whether the unit will be intended for patients with or without COVID-19 or logistics.

THP also has the ability to start construction on two more Pandemic Response Units in the event it needs to respond to surging patient volumes. Combined, all three units would provide capacity for as many as 270 additional care spaces. Decisions about adding further units will be based on patient demand over the coming weeks.

The plan to build Pandemic Response Units comes on the heels of other actions the hospital is taking as part of its COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan including the addition of upwards of 100 in-patient care spaces created by temporarily closing Queensway Health Centre’s Urgent Care Centre and 36 new critical care beds across the Credit Valley Hospital and Mississauga Hospital. Including the Queensway announcement, to date THP has created about 650 additional care spaces to meet patient demand.

“To protect our community and our people, we have been rapidly ramping up our COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan and taking every action possible to ensure we have the resources available if and when we see a surge in demand for patient care,” said Michelle DiEmanuele, President and CEO, Trillium Health Partners. “The Premier of Ontario said that all of the interventions that have been put in place have had an impact. Again, we are urging everyone to please stay home and practice good social distancing – actions that will be ever more important to reduce the numbers of patients needing hospital care.”

As part of its COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan, over the last two months THP has also postponed all non-essential services and elective surgeries, moved to a temporary no-visitor policy, opened COVID-19 Assessment Centres to support testing, added virtual care options for patients, and enhanced its active screening and health and safety measures across the hospital.

Quick Facts:

• Public Health Ontario estimates there could be between 12,000 to 80,000 cases province-wide within 30 days

• THP currently has 1,398 beds across three sites including 100 critical care beds

• Additional patient care spaces will be operationalized as demand for services grows
  
  Across all our sites, our Emergency Departments and the Urgent Care Centre visits have dropped from a daily average of over 750 to approximately 300 over the last 5 days
  
  THP has tested 405 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date

• 50 patients are currently receiving inpatient care

To meet the expected demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers at the hospital, Trillium Health Partners Foundation has launched a donation drive to encourage the community to donate N95 and surgical masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, isolation gowns, health care-grade disinfectant wipes and baby monitors. For more information, visit trilliumgiving.ca/donate-ppe/

For more information about THP’s Pandemic Response Plan, please visit www.thp.ca