HSN opening at least 40 additional beds at Daffodil Lodge next month

Sudbury — In response to chronic overcrowding exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in anticipation of flu season, Health Sciences North will open at least 40 additional beds, in semi-private accommodation, on the second and third floors of the Daffodil Lodge Terrace at HSN’s Ramsey Lake Health Centre in January.

Minor renovations estimated at $200,000 will be completed by January. Due to facility restrictions, patients receiving care at the Lodge will be those who can walk with minimal assistance.

HSN has started recruiting for the approximately 55 positions that will be required to operate the 40 additional beds.

“It’s important for us to continue to be proactive and create additional bed capacity to meet the needs of our surgical patients, increased demand during flu season and future COVID-19 hospitalizations,” Dominic Giroux, president and CEO of HSN, said in a news release Monday.

“Since August, we have already opened 29 additional beds at the Ramsey Lake Health Centre including two 12-bed wards. According to Ontario Health, HSN has the highest occupancy percentage in the province, when compared against Ontario hospitals with more than 100 acute beds. This is further evidence that HSN was built too small.”

Hospital built too small

HSN has provided care for an average of 491 admitted patients in November -- with a peak of 515 patients -- in facilities designed for 441 beds. The number of admitted patients does not include the 60 patients receiving care from St. Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre at the Clarion Hotel, established in April as part of HSN’s pandemic surge plans.

Since November, HSN has increased its volumes of surgeries to 110% of historical levels to reduce its surgical waitlist. HSN’s surgical waitlist, which stood at 3,700 patients pre-pandemic, rose to 4,200 patients by September and has since been reduced to 4,000 patients.

The enhanced surgical volume requires HSN to open more beds.

“This is the time of year that we typically experience increased pressure for our limited beds,” said Lisa Smith, vice-president and chief nursing executive at HSN. “We are functioning at over-capacity on most units already and need to create capacity and flow out of our emergency department. Over the last three years, average monthly occupancy at HSN has increased by an additional 23 to 48 patients from November to February.”

The Daffodil Lodge Terrace opened in 1991 to provide accommodation for up to 70 cancer patients travelling for treatment from outside of Sudbury. In the last fiscal year, an average of eight residents stayed at the Lodge daily.

At least two floors of the Daffodil Lodge will function as patient units until the summer of 2022, when 52 new beds will open at the site currently occupied by the Children’s Treatment Centre, which is moving to the Southridge Mall.

Could increase to 60 beds

As required, HSN may increase the number of hospital beds at the Daffodil Lodge to 60 by using the fourth floor.

“With physical distancing requirements, residents at the Lodge are no longer able to socialize and share common experiences with other cancer patients as freely as they used to,” said Maureen McLelland, regional vice-president of Cancer Care and vice-president of social accountability at HSN.

“Since the pandemic started, cancer patients are being discouraged from gathering with others outside their rooms for their own protection, since they are immunocompromised. Common areas and group spaces that were once a refuge for travellers were closed at the Lodge in early March due to the pandemic, and remain closed. As a result, many cancer patients are choosing hotels which offer larger rooms and amenities that are better suited for their needs.”

HSN is working with patients who would usually stay at the lodge, and partnering with local hotels near the hospital that have been underutilized during the pandemic, to ensure a smooth transition for all in January 2021.

The Lodge coordinator will continue to work with patients and families from out of town who typically stay at the Daffodil Lodge, to help them find convenient lodging, the news release said.

The Lodge coordinator will also continue to help patients as they navigate along their care journey while at the cancer centre. This includes helping with transportation between appointments. There will be no change to current processes with how cancer patients access radiation and systemic treatment services or work with the lodge coordinator.

"Current capacity pressures at HSN are exacerbated by the fact that more than 100 long-term beds in the city of Greater Sudbury are currently closed because of provincial directives or infection prevention and control measures due to the pandemic," the release said. "In November, HSN had an average of 34 patients waiting for long-term care placement."