The Pembroke Regional Hospital is sharing a message of reassurance that it is safe to come to the hospital after it was established that a member of its health care team contracted alaboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19. 

“This is the third member of our health care team who has tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic,but we want to assure our community that our hospital is still a safe place to come to when you are in need of our services due to the safety measures we have in place to protect our patients, visitors, staff and physicians,” said PRH President and CEO Pierre Noel, adding that any patients who would have been at risk of exposure from this case would already have been contacted. 

Mr. Noel said the current case is unrelated to the previous two staff cases, which have since been cleared. He noted the hospital is in the process of completing a thorough investigation and is working closely with its Occupational Health and Safety Department and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit (RCDHU) to complete contact tracing. Anyone who has been deemed to be a close contact of the positive case has already been directed to self-isolate and testing has been completed or is in process.

“The safety of those in our care and of our health care team remains our top priority and the Pembroke Regional Hospital continues to be a safe place to come to in order to access any necessary health care services,” Mr. Noel said.  

The hospital maintains strict safety measures in order toprevent the spread of COVID-19. These include organization-wide use of personal protective equipment, diligent hand hygiene and physical distancing practices, as well as guidanceand protocols when physical distancing in shared spaces is not possible