Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) is a unique community hospital (a sub-acute facility) offering services in Mental Health & Addictions; Rehabilitative Care; Complex Medical and Palliative Care; and Children and Youth Mental Health. HDGH also offers a unique blend of services including but not limited to community and home based services in Windsor, Ontario. The hospital transitioned from Pandemic Planning to instituting an Incident Management Response Team for COVID-19. It involved patient and family advisors—the PFAC Chair and the patient advisor who sits on the Governing Board and consulted with their ethicist. The PFAs assisted in planning a "No visitor" policy (with the exception for patients who are at end of life) and developing a letter and FAQ sheet given to every inpatient.

The PFAC is also helping HDGH staff to establish a "Family Support Team" which aims to virtually connect patients to and facilitate connections with their families. As Hôtel-Dieu Grace clinics have been closed due to COVID-19, 20 clinical social workers will form the Family Support Team. They will ask unit managers and front-line staff about which patients might want a visit. The role of these social workers is to be companions and facilitators of communication with families (helping patients use technology to communicate and obtaining consent for each to call to a family member). An 8-hour training was provided to these social workers to prepare them for their new role and for working safely on an inpatient unit. PFAC members are participating via teleconference in planning efforts for the “Family Support Team.” There is also a PFAC member on HDGH’s Operations Incident Management Response (IMR) group, Ethics IMR group, and Regional PFAC group.

The PFAC group is presently scripting an email message for all staff; thanking them for all they do in caring for our vulnerable patient population and to also providing some words of encouragement. They are also creating some messaging for our current patients and families; acknowledging the difficulties they must be going through with not being able to support their loved ones in person and to offer support as peers.