Jewish General’s ICU near full capacity with patients
The intensive-care unit of the Jewish General Hospital is approaching full capacity with COVID-19 patients as the highly contagious novel coronavirus spreads through the city and province.
The Côte-des-neiges hospital was treating 23 patients with the pandemic respiratory illness on Wednesday. Of that number, a dozen were in the ICU, most of them on ventilators.
“We’re approaching our ICU capacity, but we’re not there yet,” Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, executive director of the centre-west health authority in charge of the Jewish General, told the Montreal Gazette.
“But when we do (reach capacity), we have a plan to scale. (The ICU) was built to scale to 36 patients, and if we need to, we can call on other intensive-care beds that are in Pavilion K to go up to 53. If we need to go beyond that, we have a plan to scale beyond 53.”
“At the moment — because it changes day to day — as of right now I think we have things well in hand,” Rosenberg added. “I wouldn’t alarm anybody needlessly. I think the next 48 hours will be quite telling in terms of how many more cases are diagnosed.”
Although the Jewish General has been designated as a COVID-19 treatment centre, patients at the Mcgill University Health Centre who have tested positive for the coronavirus are being treated at the MUHC rather than being sent to the Jewish, an MUHC spokesperson said.
The Quebec Health Ministry has devised a three-phase plan to deal with the COVID-19 surge. Initially, four hospitals, including the Jewish General, were designated as COVID-19 treatment centres. Over the weekend, however, the government activated Phase 2.
Under the second phase, COVID-19 patients in need of hospitalization at the MUHC and the Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal (CHUM) are now being treated at those institutions rather than being transferred to the Jewish General. Under Phase 3, more hospitals will be enlisted for the treatment of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Montreal public health authorities acknowledged there is now community transmission of the SARS-COV-2 virus in the city. As of Wednesday, the province reported 1,339 cases, up from 94 only a week earlier.
Rosenberg said the dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in Quebec reflects, partly, the fact that many more people are being tested. But that’s not the whole story, he conceded. “Up until a few days ago, there was no documented community transmission, but now there almost certainly is community transmission. That’s sort of an unknown.”
Montreal is by far the epicentre of COVID -19 cases in the province, with a total of 603, up from 439 the day before. Premier François Legault noted that an outbreak (affecting five patients) has occurred at a seniors’ residence in Montreal’s north-end.
To date, the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec (LSPQ) and hospital labs have conducted a cumulative total of 30,978 tests, up from 15,768 Tuesday. That represents an increase of 96.4 per cent. In contrast, the number of COVID-19 cases climbed by 32.1 per cent from the day before.
Initially, the LSPQ carried out COVID-19 tests exclusively, but it started allowing some hospitals to test a week ago to reduce its backlog.
Since March 1, Urgences-santé paramedics have transported 674 suspected COVID-19 patients to Montreal-area hospitals, spokesperson Sylvain Lafrance said.
“What I can confirm is that when we have a suspected COVID call, he (or she) will be transported to the nearest available hospital,” Lafrance said.
Meanwhile, authorities reported that a total of 2,976 people showed up for COVID-19 testing in Montreal on Tuesday. Of that number, 2,441 were actually tested while 535 individuals were not because they did not meet the criteria of the government.
Glenn J. Nashen, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS du Centre-ouestde-l’île-de-montréal, noted that two COVID -19 patients who were initially being treated in the JGH’S ICU are no longer on ventilators.
“Other centres in Quebec are now admitting COVID -19 patients, but they are beginning to fill, as well,” Nashen said in an email. “Plans are underway to increase our capacity to care for critically ill patients.
“We are pleased to note that two of our severely ill patients are now ... beginning their recovery.”
The JGH is now setting up a second COVID -19 ward, a source told the Gazette.
The hospital was chosen as a COVID-19 treatment centre for two reasons: its highly regarded reputation in medical circles and the little-known fact that its Pavilion K, which opened in 2016, was designed to deal with a pandemic. It has negative-pressure single rooms to prevent viruses from escaping.