Red Cross staff to help CHEO get through respiratory virus season

Ottawa's children's hospital says it will accept staffing help from theCanadian Red Crossas it continues to facea surge in young patients suffering from respiratory viruses.

CHEO has been over capacity for weeksand has responded byopening a second pediatric ICU and asking nearby adult hospitals to accept teenagepatients.

In an email, Tammy DeGiovanni, senior vice-president and chief nursing executive at CHEO, said the hospital hasasked for "extra support" fromorganizations across the region to ensure children get necessary care through theflu, RSV andCOVID-19 seasons.

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The partnership with theCanadianRed Crosswill provide the hospitala small team of staff to supportits own clinical teams, DeGiovanni said.

"This will allow some of our deployed staff to get back to their regular roles," she said.

The Red Cross said in an email it would provide "small teams of personnel to support hospital staff and allow them to focus on clinical tasks."

Although the Red Cross didnot have a firm start date for the workers, CHEO said they would be on the jobas early as next week.

Similar story elsewhere

The partnership is the latest example of pediatric hospitals across the countrytakingmeasures to maintain services as patient levels surge including the closure of a pediatric hospice in Calgary and the cancellationof surgeries at Newfoundland and Labrador's children's hospital.

Calgary's Rotary Flames Househas pausedits services and discharged all of its respite patients so that staff can be redeployed to Alberta Children's Hospital.

The hospice provides palliative, respiteand end-of-life care for children andgrief support for parents. Its staff have been dispatched to the children's hospital due to a surge in respiratory viruses.

TheJaneway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, meanwhile,was forced to cancel some routine surgeries and appointments due to a waveof sick children.

The situation has led some of Canada's top doctors to call on provincial governments to bring back mask mandates.