A statement from York Region hospital CEOs on COVID-19
We have reached a tipping point in our efforts to manage COVID-19-related volumes at our hospitals — Mackenzie Health, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Southlake Regional Health Centre. After seeing a significant increase over the last week in the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospitals, we are concerned about how this may impact access to care like scheduled surgeries for all patients across our communities.
We are counting on our communities to help keep our staff, physicians and volunteers safe so they can continue to care for everyone who relies on us for care, for COVID-related illness as well as non-COVID-related illnesses and emergencies. While we have seen strong collaboration among health-care organizations across York Region to help prepare for and manage the second wave of COVID-19 thus far, what we need now more than ever is support from our communities to be vigilant in following public health guidance aimed at slowing the spread.
Our staff, physicians and volunteers are doing everything they can to continue providing exemplary care to patients and their families, but the mounting pressure from COVID-19 is taking a toll on many. For them and for everyone, as a community we must do better.
We are asking that you always wear a mask in public and when you cannot physically distance, and avoid social gatherings. We know that the greatest potential for this virus to spread is when people interact in groups of any size, so in order to slow the spread, we must avoid these interactions. We recognize that avoiding social gatherings, especially during the holidays, is a personal sacrifice but we need to do whatever we can to help protect our entire community and maintain access to our health-care services.
We also want to thank our communities for their efforts over the last several months in recognizing our hospital teams with words of encouragement that have come in the form of cards, posters, donations and drive-by celebrations. It has meant the world to our health-care workers — we are all in this together.
Altaf Stationwala
President and CEO, Mackenzie Health
Jo-anne Marr
President and CEO, Markham Stouffville Hospital
Arden Krystal
President and CEO, Southlake Regional Health Centre
