Nursing placements halted at Windsor Regional Hospital after positive COVID-19 tests

Windsor Regional Hospital is suspending nursing student placements after four University of Windsor nursing students and one St. Clair College nursing student tested positive for COVID-19.

All clinical placements on floors where the students were working are also on hiatus until further notice — with the exception of Schulich School of Medicine clinical placements. 

"I'm hoping that it's just going to be these five impacted students, but you honestly never know," said Erika Vitale, director of infection prevention and control at WRH.

According to the hospital, none of the students got the virus from their time at the hospital and had been working in the following units: 

• The 7West and 6East units at the Ouellette campus on Nov. 3 and Nov. 6
• The 8North unit at the Metropolitan Campus on Nov. 3
• The 6North unit at Metropolitan Campus on Nov. 2.  

Vitale said the students' placement had them at WRH one day a week. She added that the students were wearing Personal Protective Equipment on these shifts and would typically only see one to two patients per shift.

Alternatives to placements for students

Waseem Habash, vice-president academic at St. Clair College, said the infected student at his college developed symptoms on Wednesday, got a test on Thursday, and then contacted the school of nursing when their test came back positive Saturday.

In spite of symptoms, the student showed up to a lab on the campus on Friday.

Habash said he thinks Windsor Regional Hospital made the right call in suspending student placements.

"It's important to make sure we protect the patients of the hospital, and protect their staff, our staff, and we will make up the time for the students that missed the clinical [placement] over the next two weeks," he said.

Habash said he estimates the move will affect between 100 to 120 students at his college over two weeks and in the meantime they will provide alternative modes of learning.

"What we're going to do with those students is they're going to come in, and we'll work with them in the lab to make sure they get some skills that they might need," he said. "We'll look at the outcomes at the end of the semester and see if they need additional times for clinical, and we will arrange that with the hospital."

Vitale, from Windsor Regional Hospital, said the situation goes to show that healthcare workers and students need to be extra cautious.

"We have all gone into healthcare for a reason, and usually it's for the greater good," she said. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, so sometimes we can't have that party, we can't have that get together, we shouldn't be out together."

"We have to make those sacrifices because we're here to take care of our patients."

The hospital said it is taking additional measures to keep patients safe: It has stopped all movement of patients from the floors the students were on, with the exception of patients being discharged from the hospital. It has also recommended testing for 28 people who had direct contact with the infected students, and has committed to providing testing for anyone who thinks they may have been in contact.