To our Friends and Neighbours across Durham Region,
As COVID-19 is expected to affect our community, it’s important to share with you directly what Lakeridge Health is doing to ensure you and your family’s safety.
Keeping patients, families, our team and the entire Lakeridge Health community safe is our top priority and we are taking many steps to ensure we are as ready as we can be for this outbreak.
In order to keep everyone safe, there are many new processes and procedures that have been put in place in recent days, and more that will be necessary in the future.
Everyone is being screened
To protect patients, families and our teams we are screening everyone entering our hospitals and clinics. This is to ensure people who may be at risk of having the virus are identified and receive a proper medical assessment and care. Redirecting those who screen positive not only protects the individual, but also all of our patients and staff within our hospitals and clinics. Ultimately, this diligence protects everyone within the Lakeridge Health community.
Rigorous cleaning
Our rigorous infection control procedures across all of our hospital and community locations have been further enhanced. The disinfectant that we use at our hospitals destroys COVID-19 on any surface. All facilities are meticulously cleaned and regularly inspected for infection control.
We are limiting visitors and the public
We are limiting the number of visitors across all of our hospitals. In keeping with limited social interactions amongst vulnerable populations, we are allowing two visitors at a time in inpatient areas, and one visitor with a patient in the emergency room. We understand this is difficult, however it is necessary to try and stem the spread of the outbreak.
We are also closing off our food courts to the public who are not patients, or visiting a patient, for the next while.
Don’t visit if ill
To support the health and wellness of patients, please do not come to the hospital if you are feeling unwell. Our team will ask you to leave, which will be difficult for everyone. Please exercise restraint and good judgement and do not visit if you are feeling unwell. We thank you in advance.
Supporting our community partners
Lakeridge Health leaders are working with public health authorities, all levels of government and our local community health and social service partners to plan for community assessment and testing sites. And we are putting plans in place to support our communities as circumstances change.
Stay informed
To support education and awareness of how to support you and your family to be safe we have added important information to our website. Since personal protection is key to stopping the spread of this virus, we are helping to educate the public about self-screening. Visit our COVID-19 web page for information about how to stay safe Lakeridge Health COVID-19 web page.
By taking these steps, Lakeridge Health is preparing to respond to an outbreak. It will be important that all of us take the steps necessary to keep ourselves, our families, our co-workers and community safe.
All of us can take some easy steps to protect ourselves and others. The best protection is to wash our hands many times a day or use alcohol-based sanitizer. When we are unwell, stay home. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough and sneeze and avoid touching your face.
And, very importantly, stay calm and take reasonable precautions to support your safety.
At Lakeridge Health, we are confident our ongoing efforts to prepare for COVID-19 will enable us to continue to deliver outstanding care and support our communities over the coming days, weeks and years to come.
Yours in health,
Susan deRyk, Interim President and CEO
Dr. Tony Stone, Chief of Staff
