MUHC designated as coronavirus hospitalization centre

The Mcgill University Health Centre is now a designated COVID -19 hospitalization centre, and the Cité médicale Lachine has been designated the West Island’s first COVID-19 Follow-up Clinic (CDE).

Lachine clinic visits are by appointment only for people who have received a COVID -19 diagnosis and want a doctor to re-evaluate their status, and for people with mild symptoms who think they might have the coronavirus and need to be tested. The list of symptoms pointing to a possible COVID-19 infection continues to expand beyond fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing, to include flu-like symptoms such as vomiting and nausea.

“We’re ‘learning live,’ ” Teresa Mack said of the expanding symptoms list. Mack, the associate director of professional services for the West Island health authority CIUSSS de l’ouest-de-l’île-demontréal, said the health sector continues to draw knowledge from the research done in countries that were hit by COVID -19 before North America.

To request a doctor’s appointment, call 1-877-644-4545. A nurse will then call you and ask a series of questions to evaluate your medical needs. If deemed necessary, a doctor will then call you for a phone consultation. Based on the consultation, the doctor will decide whether you should come to the clinic for an exam and/or testing.

At the clinic, strict protocols are in place for the donning and doffing of protective equipment, as well as the staggering of appointments to reduce contact between patients.

The follow-up clinic is meant to complement the testing offered by the Beaconsfield testing centre, which opened last month. The Beaconsfield centre’s mandate has shifted to prioritize the testing of people working on the front lines in the health care or essential services sectors.

The MUHC, specifically the Montreal General Hospital and the Glen site (adult sections), is entering Phase 3 of the COVID -19 Provincial Contingency Plan

In Montreal:

Jewish General Hospital

■

Ste-justine Hospital

■

(pediatric cases)

Sacré-coeur Hospital

■

Maisonneuve-rosemont

■

Hospital

Centre hospitalier de

■ l’université de Montréal

Montreal General Hospital ■

MUHC Glen Site

■

(adult sections)

In Laval:

Cité-de-la-santé Hospital ■

In Lanaudière:

Pierre-legardeur Hospital ■ in Terrebonne

In the Montérégie:

Charles-lemoyne Hospital ■ in Longueuil

Pierre-boucher Hospital

■ in Longueuil

In Quebec City:

Institut universitaire de

■ cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec

Centre mère-enfant soleil ■

(pediatrics)

In the Eastern Townships:

Chus-fleurimont

■

(adult and pediatric cases) In the Mauricie region:

Centre hospitalier de

■

Trois-rivières

for hospital centres, Dr. Pierre Gfeller, MUHC president and executive director, announced on Friday.

This designation by the Ministry of Health and Social Services allows the MUHC to accept the transfer of patients with COVID-19 from other institutions.

The MUHC was able to significantly increase its care capacity for COVID-19 patients over the past six weeks. It will be able to open 156 intensive-care beds plus several hundred additional beds if necessary.