Physician grateful for support of community

All hospital staff doing tremendous job these days, Dr. David Paterson says.

The many displays of appreciation for front-line workers during this crisis are very apparent and heartwarming.

These people are literally putting their lives at risk and are indeed thankful for your support.

The entire staff of our hospitals is doing an outstanding job. In addition to nurses, respiratory therapists, physio, occupational therapists, dietitians, radiology, clerks, lab techs — the list goes on — there are also many groups of physicians working along the front line, as well.

In addition to Emergency, Intensive Care Unit, anesthetists, internal medicine and its many subspecialties (i.e. neurology, endocrinology, cardiology etc.), surgeons of all types, pediatricians, obstetricians/gynecologists, psychiatrists, gastroenterologists and other physicians, family doctors are also deeply involved.

Most family doctors today do not go to the hospital at all.

Those that do, must apply for active hospital privileges. The applications are submitted yearly. Proof of ongoing medical education, state of health and any outstanding medical or legal liabilities must be provided.

Proof of appropriate liability insurance, attendance at monthly department meetings, quarterly general staff meetings and voluntary membership on any of the multiple committees are also required.

These added significant responsibilities do impact the amount of office practice that can be provided and therefore is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Payment for hospital work is separate from office work, so we are definitely compensated.

Of those family doctors that have privileges, the majority also volunteer to be “hospitalists.”

Since so many family doctors don’t admit to hospital, their patients are usually assigned to a hospitalist. There are three teams of hospitalists per week at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Metropolitan campus and four teams at Ouellette campus.

We have about 30 physicians total (mostly family doctors, but also several internal medicine specialists, as well as palliative care physicians). These doctors usually do a full week at a time — starting at 7 a.m. on Friday continually until

7 a.m. the following Friday.

At that time, a “handover” meeting takes place with the incoming physician on call. The week includes being in the hospital daily for care of their patient list (usually between 15-30 people), as well as being on call 24 hours a day for new admissions, transfers from other services or to address any problems that may arise.

Responsibilities also include the examination and care of the majority of newborns during their week on duty.

This group of doctors is highly motivated and is extremely supportive of each other.

The chief of our department is Dr. Marguerite Chevalier — who has been an excellent and seemingly tireless leader.

One member of our team recently came up with the suggestion of a “COVID buddy” system — each one of us has been paired randomly with another during this stressful time.

This is meant to be another layer in our support system and has been warmly embraced. The morale is high and it is a pleasure to be involved with such a group.

Of course there are many others on the front line — all with stories to tell. Hopefully some of these experiences will also be shared with you.

Thank you again to the community for your wonderful support.

Dr. David J. Paterson, Windsor