COVID-19 Impacts Perth Emergency Room Services
June 30, 2022
For Immediate Release – Thursday, June 30, 2022
Media Release
RE: COVID-19 Impacts Perth Emergency Room Services
Smiths Falls, ON – In spite of our best efforts to preserve care in the Perth Emergency Department, COVID-19 has placed yet another burden on our fragile staffing situation. Today we learned of a COVID-19 outbreak impacting our Emergency Department Staff. This left the PSFDH team with no other option but to close the Perth Emergency Department effective Saturday, July 2 at 7 a.m. Available staff from the Perth Emergency Department will move to the Smiths Falls Site Emergency Department to support the anticipated increase in patients.
Residents in our catchment area can continue to access emergency care at the Smiths Falls Site located at 60 Cornelia Street West, Smiths Falls or the closest alternate emergency department.
At this time, this temporary emergency department closure will remain in effect until Thursday, July 7, 2022. As our staffing situation stabilizes, we will gradually reopen the Perth Emergency Department. Upon reopening, the Perth Emergency Department will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
We have informed our regional partners such as ambulance services, partner hospitals and public health regarding the upcoming closures.
The Smiths Falls Site Emergency Department continues to be open 24 hrs/day, seven (7) days per week as the reduction to Emergency Department hours impacts only the Perth Emergency Department.
PSFDH team continues to support our staff, and work with them, through this challenging time to ensure safe care for patients and to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for staff and physicians.
The PSFDH team appreciates your understanding and patience and as our staffing complement stabilizes, we will communicate any changes. Updates will be shared via our hospital Facebook page and through local media channels.
Anyone requiring immediate medical help should call 911 and paramedics will get you to the nearest emergency department for care.
Quotes:Gardner Church, Chair, PSFDH Board of Directors:
“The Board of Directors stands by the decision of the PSFDH team as patient, staff and physician safety should never be compromised. We have a commitment to provide safe, high-quality care to our community and to also provide a safe work environment for our staff and physicians.”
Michael Cohen, President & CEO:
“The PSFDH team had a plan in place to continue services to the community but due to the terrible pandemic, PSFDH is no longer able to safely operate our Perth Emergency Department. This decision is the result of the unprecedented times and not a decision that has been taken lightly. Patient care and staff and physician safety remain the top priorities.”
Nancy Shaw, Vice President, Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive:
“Frontline nursing staff have been and continue to work extremely hard throughout the course of the pandemic, and they are tired and not immune to COVID-19 illness. We thank them for their incredible ongoing efforts through the waves of the pandemic to date and also for their caring and commitment to our communities.”
About PSFDH:The Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital (the “Hospital”) is a fully accredited acute care health care organization located on two state-of-the-art sites. The hospital is situated in the heart of the Rideau Canal region and proudly provides health services to more than 60,000 people in the surrounding communities. The hospital delivers a broad range of primary and secondary services and programs such as emergency care, diagnostic imaging, obstetrics, general and specialty surgical services, dialysis as well as laboratory and infection control services.
For more information contact:
Karen Kelly
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital
613-283-2330 ext:1129
www.psfdh.on.ca