'No rhyme nor reason' to COVID-19, say staff inside Guelph ICU

Registered practical nurse Jess Kearney never expected to work in the intensive care unit at Guelph General Hospital.

But as hospitals across the province cope with a surge in COVID-19 patients, she's among the many healthcare workers who've found themselves pulled from other hospital units to help care for critically ill patients. 

"It's a very different side of the pandemic that I have ever seen," said Kearney, who previously worked in day surgery. 

"This was my first time actually seeing COVID positive patients, so it's scary to say the least."

Intensivist Dr. Marcello Schmidt believes Guelph and Wellington County were insulated from the pandemic for a period of time.

He noted many people live farther apart from one another than they do in larger, urban centres and are less likely to take public transit. 

'Busier every day'

But in the last two weeks, he told CBC News the pandemic has been "catching up."

"We are getting busier every day," said Schmidt. 

While the hospital is accepting patients from the Greater Toronto Area, Schmidt said many are from Guelph and Wellington County. The patients are also younger than in earlier waves of the pandemic, he said. 

"Many of them, their whole family is infected," he said. Some catch COVID-19 at work, bring it home and infect their parents — who in turn are those who wind up in ICU. 

Young patients on life support

Nurse Jenny Maggiolo wishes more people could see the inside of the ICU and understand her reality. 

"It's very powerful when you see people who are young, in their 30s and 40s, and they're on life support," said Maggiolo.

"Even our healthy people are getting quite sick. COVID — there's no rhyme nor reason to it."

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital can fluctuate day-to-day and hour-by-hour.

As of Thursday, the hospital had 11 patients in ICU, seven of whom had COVID and one who was suspected to have COVID. Seven COVID patients were being treated in the hospital's medicine unit. 

Four critically ill patients who did not have COVID were also being treated in the hospital's post-anesthetic care unit. 

It isn't just COVID-19 patients putting pressure on Guelph General Hospital. ICU director Lisa Roszel said the hospital is once again seeing close to normal patient volumes in the emergency department. They also continue to perform some surgeries that can't be put off any longer.

During the third wave, COVID-19 patients have also been staying longer than at earlier points in the pandemic. 

"Just last week we discharged our last patient from the second wave out of our ICU," she said, noting their average ICU length of stay is typically about five days. 

Last goodbyes

Roszel said healthcare workers are tired as they face down what will likely be another "hard few weeks" of the pandemic.  

"We have to come in every day and possibly do Facetime videos with young patients who have young kids at home saying their last goodbyes," said Roszel. "We don't want to have to continue to do this."

At this stage, Roszel said the best way people can support ICU staff is to resist pandemic fatigue and to keep following public health guidelines as closely as possible. 

"If we can get as many people vaccinated, wearing the masks, following the recommendations from public health, it's the best thing we can do to get to the other side."