It's been quite a year for everyone and those working and living at Waypoint Cenre for Mental Health Care are no exception.
Hospital president and CEO Carol Lambie has been a the helm of the Penetanguishene hospital since 2009, but likely has never experienced a year quite like this one. She says she's thankful for her staff's dedication and commitment while dealing with the ongoing global health crises known as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just over 12 months since it all began, Lambie reflected on a year like no other with MidlandToday.
How do you feel the hospital has managed during the pandemic?
It hasn’t been easy for our patients and staff with all of the changes, safety precautions and restrictions in place, but I am truly inspired by our team and the dedication and commitment they have.
We went into the pandemic with well established Infection Prevention and Control processes and a team who has supported other outbreaks which made a difference. While the changes were rapid, people pulled together to quickly establish screening at our entrances, add additional housekeeping throughout our buildings and figure out how to have staff work from home to reduce traffic in and out of the hospital.
We also were very fortunate to have space for a dedicated isolation care unit for all new admissions and suspect or positive cases of COVID-19. In the community, staff also shifted very quickly to using virtual technology and telephone for outpatient and community visits.
How steep a learning curve has there been?
Like all hospitals, Waypoint has always had a pandemic plan.
That being said, we hadn’t needed it, and we did learn a lot which has meant improvements to the plan. We were regularly impressed by how flexible and adapting staff were to the changes that were needed, sometimes multiple times in one day.
The variant of concern in our most recent outbreak did pose new challenges, but we were well supported by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and our partners. During the last year, we have been making adjustments regularly and I don’t think we are finished learning yet, with concerns for a stronger third wave, and also the roll out of the vaccine.
Editor's note: Waypoint declared a COVID-19 outbreak on the Horizon Program for geriatric psychiatry that's located in the Bayfield Building Jan. 22 in consultation with the health unit. The outbreak ended March 3, but not before resulting in seven deaths. A previous outbreak at the hospital's Awenda Program (forensic units) was contained to two patients and one staff testing positive. It was declared over Jan. 23. Since the pandemic began, Waypoint has reported 21 positive patient cases, 31 positive staff cases and seven deaths.
Are you satisfied with the way the hospital handled the outbreaks?
It’s inspiring to see how our staff have adjusted and despite a drastic shift in our daily lives and how much has been asked of them, they’ve been able to continue to provide essential mental health care and continue to be innovative and compassionate with patients and families, even behind all the masks and gowns, and restrictions in place.
The outbreak was difficult and we were so sad that it included the loss of some patients, but the staff worked hard to control the spread even isolating from their families, and we did not see further transmission outside of the program at Waypoint thanks to their efforts.
Besides the outbreak, what have been some of the biggest challenges?
Even before the onset of the pandemic, psychological health and wellness was a focus at our hospital and it continues to be. Things have changed so much in how we go about our daily lives and we want to make sure that our staff are looked after to keep them healthy and also allow them to continue to care for patients.
With four other hospitals across the province, we established the COVID Frontline Wellness program to provide coping and wellness support for frontline workers – this includes any role – from direct patient care and patient/client support services to environmental and food services, administrative or management - affected by the pandemic whether from a hospital, health care or residential setting, or first responder service and is available to our staff.
Helping staff with wellness and burnout remains a focus, as they work hard to care for our patients who have also had new challenges since the pandemic began.
How do you feel staff has managed during this uncertain time?
The pandemic has been hard on everyone and particularly in hospitals and long-term care.
Our work lives have changed dramatically, leaders and staff are working long hours, some of our staff have had changes in schedules and have been redeployed to other programs to ensure we have adequate staffing, but our staff have been amazing and really risen to the challenge.
Our own research study in partnership with Georgian College shows that while staff are tired and the pandemic is taking its toll, they also remain focused on the wellbeing of patients and the toll it’s taken on them. We remain focused on staff wellness and in the next few months will be looking at how we can further address burnout and support them.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I would just reiterate our thanks to our staff for their commitment and dedication and also share words of gratitude to their families, our community and partners for their support and words of encouragement. We also are so thankful for the many donations that have been received to recognize our patients and staff during this last year.
