How Leamington hospital is trying to manage persistent overcapacity as patient volumes rise

Leamington’s hospital has been operating over capacity and officials are asking for an admission discharge unit. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru reports.

Erie Shores Healthcare continues to operate over capacity, with occupancy levels exceeding 120 per cent for most of the past year — at times reaching as high as 170 per cent, hospital officials say.

“Increased occupancy leads to increased wait times in emerge,” said Rashoo Brar, ESHC’s vice president of operations.

“They are taking a little longer to be seen because we want to ensure the patients who are admitted get to the right bed at the right time. That’s where we have a stopgap.”

To help manage demand, Erie Shores launched an Admission Discharge Unit (ADU) last year to improve patient flow. The unit has helped speed up transfers, reduce bottlenecks, and free up ER beds as much as seven hours earlier.

While the ADU remains unfunded, the hospital is covering the costs internally.

Erie Shores serves patients from across Essex County, including Amherstburg, LaSalle, and Lakeshore, and often takes EMS diversion from Windsor.

EMS calls to Erie Shores Healthcare have surged by 32 per cent compared to 2023, and emergency department admissions to the Leamington hospital have increased by 34 per cent.

Alongside rising patient volumes, the hospital is also managing increased operational costs, including a $1.7 million need to convert rehab beds into acute care spaces.

The challenge isn’t just space. It’s also staffing.

In recent years, ESHC has increased its workforce by 23 per cent to manage demand, but according to documents being presented Wednesday evening to Essex County Council, burnout remains a concern.

The Ontario Health Coalition said that’s an issue being felt across Ontario hospitals.

“It means they have to cover more shifts because they’re short every shift,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.

“It means every time they’re off, they get called in to cover.”

Mehra said Ontario funds hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada, leaving hospitals like Erie Shores under pressure.

“To have a hospital even running at 100 per cent capacity would be an absolute crisis,” she said.

“120 per cent is unheard of. No country in the developed world runs their hospitals this way. It’s unacceptable.”

For now, Erie Shores is managing its capacity challenges internally, but Brar said the situation remains difficult.

“With the ADU’s help, we have improved our patient flow,” Brar said.

“Without it, we would not have been able to manage our community’s needs.”