Sarnia health-care providers prepare for busy holiday season

Local health-care providers are offering some tips for people to avoid unnecessarily bottle-necking emergency rooms during the holiday season.

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“As the rate of respiratory illness continues to climb in the community, local health-care partners are coming together to ensure residents have sufficient access to care,” said Nadine Neve, executive lead of the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team, in a release .

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“We all have a shared goal of taking some pressure off of the already strained hospital and avoiding unnecessary trips to local emergency departments,” she said.

Tips include consulting primary care providers and pharmacists first, refilling prescriptions before the Christmas holidays, and visiting urgentcareontario.ca for virtual care, or agefriendlysarnialambton.ca for mental health or addiction supports.

Bluewater Health has been facing more COVID-19 admissions compared to this time last year, and fewer flu admissions, infection prevention and control manager Helen Shaw said in a written statement Tuesday.

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“The hospital is not currently being overwhelmed by respiratory admissions,” she said.

That’s been different in other years, when Bluewater Health has run at more than 100 per cent capacity and emergency room wait times have suffered with nowhere for newly admitted patients to go.

Typically, Bluewater Health also puts some elective procedures and clinics on hold for about 10 days to give staff a break, officials have said.

Most years, the days directly after Christmas and New Year’s holidays stand out for seasonal surge, Bluewater Health vice-president Lisa Regan said last January.

Also avoid visiting loved ones in hospital if feeling unwell during the holidays, and please wear a mask if visiting for an appointment, Shaw said.

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Public health officials also encourage people to stay up to date with vaccines, including for COVID-19 and influenzastay home when sick, wear masks 10 days from symptom onset, practice good hand hygiene and regularly clean surfaces.

“Vaccination is especially important for those ages 65 and older or who are at higher risk of severe disease or outcomes,” said Karalyn Dueck, Lambton’s medical officer of health, in a release.

“Vaccination is a key line of defense in the fight against respiratory illness,” she said, with health protection supervisor Crystal Palleschi adding it’s not too late to get vaccines at participating pharmacies and health-care providers’ offices.

For more information, visit getthevaccine.ca.

There had been two COVID deaths and 231 confirmed cases so far this respiratory season, and two influenza cases, all as of Dec. 3, according to public health’s seasonal infectious diseases tracker.

There were two active outbreaks, as of Dec. 15, at long-term care homes in Sarnia and Petrolia.

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