Hospital CEO drives across U.S. border to secure medication for ICU patient amid COVID-19

Driving across the border to retrieve medication fromMichigan isn't a typical part ofWindsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj'sjob, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"You do what you got todo. It's [an] unprecedented world that we're living in and again the focus is on the patient," he told CBC News.

Musyj said thaton Sunday, a hospital pharmacistcalled him and said there was a patient who urgently needed medication. However,the closest place that had the doses the patient needed was the University ofMichigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Musyj would not disclose the name of the medication, citing patient privacy, but said there was only one other dose at an Ontario hospital and his hospitalneeded several.

The pharmacist said they were more than willing to drive to the U.S. personally, but wanted to ensure they would make it back into Canada and asked if they would then have to quarantine, Musyj recounted.

Normally, a trip like this would be out of the norm for the hospital, but not nearly as uncertain,Musyj said. Border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic had both Musyj and the pharmacist unclear on the rules with a patient in such dire circumstances.

WATCH |Hospital CEO talks about his trip:

Hospital CEO crosses U.S. border to get medicine for patient

4 years ago

Duration 0:34

Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj drove to Ann Arbor, Mich., to pick up medication for an ICU patient, as there wasn't enough stock available in Ontario. The doctor is now subject to quarantine back in Canada, but hopes for an exemption.

As a dual citizen,Musyj said he knew he'd have less trouble making it through customsso he volunteered to go instead.

"The last thing we wanted to do was send someone who gets stopped at the border and gets sent back and we lose valuable time," he said.

He said he told the pharmacist: "[The] hospital's going to survive without me physically being there. We need you more than me."

In total, Musyj said it took two hours to make the return trip.

"It was eerieat the United States border," he said, noting that he had no trouble getting across.But it was when he tried to re-enterCanada that he hit bumps in the road.

He was stopped and questioned, during which he said herecalled telling the border agents,"You can do whatever you want with me, but this medication has got to get to the hospital."

They said he'd be allowed to cross into the country, but because he was under quarantine, once he got onto Canadian soil the most he could do was slowly drive by the hospital and have hospital staff grab the medication from his car window.

He said he did just that and has been in quarantine ever since.

Quarantine exemptions for medication needed: Musyj

Musyj said the whole experience emphasized the need for him and his staff to be able to make these sorts of trips.

This is the first time this has happened since the pandemic began Musyj saideven before COVID-19 it was a rare occurrence but he wants to make sure they're prepared in a pinch.

"The fact that it happened once means it can happen again," he said.

As a result, Musyj said he's brought this situation to the attention of Windsor-Tecumseh LiberalMP Irek Kusmierczykso that they can work on getting some type of pre-approval and quarantine exemptionshouldthe hospital ever need to do this again.

At this time, while the federal government's mandatory isolation rules docontain medical exemptions, the rulesdon't explicitly say a person can be exempt from quarantine for bringing medication into Canada.

Musyj said from the orders he's read, he believes he would qualify but is in talks with Kusmierczykto confirm.

Kusmierczyk's officetold CBC staff are working on this "unique situation" and have flagged the case to Minister of Health Patty Hajdu.