The Jewish General Hospital (JGH) is now one of four hospitals in the province that are designated by the government to treat patients with the coronavirus.
More than 50 healthcare professionals gathered inside JGH at the end of February to table safety measures that would be put into place if a patient with the illness is admitted.
The highly secure treatment area, a wing that opened in 2016, was designed to deal with virus outbreaks of this sort.
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To date, only one case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the province, according to the Gouvernement du Québec website.
“The JGH is one of four hospitals in Quebec — and one of two in Montreal, along with the Sainte Justine Hospital — that have been designated by the Ministry of Health and Social Services to treat patients with the coronavirus,” reads a post from the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal Facebook page. “The JGH’s Pavilion K, which opened in 2016, contains isolation areas that were specifically designed for patients with highly infectious diseases.”
The hospital’s three-hour discussion gave 20 key participants an opportunity to describe how each respective department would deal with an influx of COVID-19-diagnosed patients.
Jewish General Hospital
The quarantined area was engineered with the ventilation designed to handle virus outbreaks, according to Chief of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Yves Longtin.
“Our hospital is very well prepared to handle the coronavirus,” said Dr. Marc Afilalo, Chief of Emergency Services. “Based on what I saw here today, I can confidently say that my expectations were exceeded. Everyone is obviously very committed to working closely together.”
Health officials recommend anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms who have recently travelled to call 811, where a nurse will assess your condition.
The hospital’s news report concluded with Dr. Afilalo expressing the hope that no one would become ill and require hospitalization. “But the potential is there and we have to be prepared, even if we get more patients than we expected.”