With concern growing over the novel coronavirus, Windsor Regional Hospital has said the new mega-hospital would be able to easily handle outbreaks.
The New York Times reports the number of infections in China has surpassed 40,000 and the death toll in that country is 908. There are a total of 15 Canadian cases including seven in the country and eight onboard a cruise ship off the coast of Japan.
At the moment, WRH's two Windsor campuses don't have the same outbreak containment capability that the acute-care hospital will have, according to hospital president and CEO David Musyj. He said last week that the key is air handling.
"Right now, short of the negative pressure rooms, we don't have that ability," said Musyj. "So if there's a virus that's circulating, an airborne virus in this particular area, it can get to the third floor or the fifth floor without any issues whatsoever because we're pretty much on the same air-handling system."
The new acute-care hospital will follow the virus containment protocol that is currently being put into new hospitals across the province, with the focal point being the air-handling system.
"Once we go to one site, we can segregate the different air-handling systems," said Musyj. "Arguably, you could have an outbreak on the pediatric ward, and it won't affect the adult wards, and you can continue running the hospital."
Musyj also wanted to calm the concerns raised by some residents that having just one hospital may make an outbreak worse.
"Actually, where we are now, even at two sites, if we had something like that, we're not equipped to handle something like that, to that extreme," said Musyj.
The novel coronavirus is a prime example of the kind of outbreak that may affect a hospital system. However, Musyj said regardless of the type of outbreak, the new acute-care hospital will still function normally.
The planning for the mega-hospital continues, despite a desire by a local grass-roots group to appeal a decision on the location made by a provincial tribunal. The group CAMPP (Citizens for An Accountable Mega-Hospital Planning Process) announced in December that it would request a leave for appeal. A decision on that has not been made.
Barring any snags, Musyj previously stated that he hoped the new hospital would be ready by 2025.
