Help will arrive at the children's hospital in Ottawa next week as it continues to see "unprecedented volumes" of young patients suffering from respiratory viruses.
CHEO requested assistance from the Canadian Red Cross to support patient care during respiratory virus season, and a "small team of staff" from the Red Cross will start next week, according to CHEO Chief Nursing Executive Tammy DiGiovanni.
"This will allow some of our redeployed staff to go back to their regular roles and ensure Team CHEO can provide the safe, world-class care that our patients deserve," DiGiovanni said in an email to CTV News Ottawa.
The children's hospital says the Red Cross staff will be in the hospital starting next week. A Canadian Red Cross spokesperson told CTV News Ottawa details on the deployment of staff to CHEO are still being finalized.
CHEO has been seeing a surge in patients with respiratory viruses this fall, forcing the hospital to cancel non-urgent surgeries and procedures, open a second pediatric intensive care unit and redeploy staff from surgical and medical care units.
"It has been all hands-on deck at CHEO this viral season as we have responded to unprecedented volumes due to RSV, the flu and COVID," DiGiovanni said.
CHEO President Alex Munter said the emergency department saw 218 children on Wednesday, with 11 children waiting in the ER for a bed. The critical care and inpatient medicine units are operating at 130 per cent occupancy.
DiGiovanni says CHEO has asked for "extra support" from organizations across the region, including the Canadian Red Cross, to ensure young patients get the care they need.
"We have partnered with several organizations including Roger Neilson House, Ottawa Public Health and local hospitals including The Ottawa Hospital, Pembroke Regional Hospital, Providence Care, Hôpital Montfort, Queensway-Carleton Hospital and Kingston Health Sciences for staff, equipment and accommodating patient transfers," DiGiovanni said.
"We are so grateful to have the support of so many partners across the community right now and continue to remind everyone to follow public health guidance – masks in crowded indoor spaces, get vaccinated, stay home when sick and wash your hands.
"We all have a role to play in protecting our kids and supporting the dedicated health professionals who care for them."
CHEO pediatric respirologist Dr. Tom Kovesi says the respiratory virus season created an "incredibly challenging situation" at the hospital.
"I can tell you here at CHEO, we normally have 41 pediatric beds. We've been running 60 to 70 pediatric patients for the last several weeks, with another 10 to 12 waiting in emerg," Kovesi told CTV News Channel on Sunday.
Dr. Kovesi calls the respiratory virus season "unprecedented."
"We had warnings from Australia that we're going to get an amazing RSV and influenza season, and that's certainly what we're seeing," Kovesi said.
"We're really seeing this sort of evil trio of viruses where there's still quite a bit of COVID, there's lots of RSV, and there's increasing amounts of Influenza A."
Last week, CHEO announced the Ontario government approved new, permanent funding to increase the number of funded 'Level 2' critical care beds from six to 12, and increase the number of 'Level 3' beds from 7 to 13 for children with the most critical illnesses including sepsis.
"This new, permanent funding will allow CHEO to catch up on the growing needs of the population and continue to deliver life-saving care to the region's youngest patients and their families," CHEO said in a statement.
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
A paramedic signing off for duty for the last time got choked up and teary-eyed during his final radio call to colleagues.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday.
Will we see six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Here’s what some of the groundhogs (and one human) have predicted so far, from coast-to-coast.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are extreme cold warnings cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
Police in Sackville, N.B., are investigating after seven children ingested cannabis edibles at a middle school on Wednesday.
An extreme cold warning has been issued across the region, with some saying the arctic air could break record-low temperatures in the Maritimes.
A paralegal firm whose tagline is “we win or it’s free” bribed a Toronto traffic court clerk to change legal records to make it look like they had won, said the clerk in the first time he has testified publicly about the case.
Toronto and most of Ontario are in for a frigid bout of winter weather, according to Environment Canada.
A group of Ontario Greens have put together a counteroffer for Liberals trying to poach their leader.
After an extremely mild month of January, the province is bracing for a blast of arctic air that will move in tonight and last until Saturday. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued extreme cold warnings that covers most of the province with wind chills expected to be between -38 and -42 across the South and -50 across Northern Quebec.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
Medicago's parent company has announced that the Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical company, which developed a vaccine against COVID-19, will cease operations.
An argument between two young children playing outside together escalated to violence when a parent got involved, a North Bay mom says.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is holding a big reveal Friday morning: the winner of a $48 million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw.
The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for 16-year-old Ra'Jah Mohamed, a student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.
One person has died and four others were sent to hospital after a two-vehicle crash in south London Wednesday night. She has since ben identified by her former cheerleading coach as 19-year-old Chloe Mackenzie.
Two-year-old Ella Crosset loved to dance and celebrate Halloween. Her smile lit up a room, and brought joy to so many people. But Ella passed away after a pool accident, and the pain of that loss was incomprehensible — through tragedy however, comes hope.
Environment Canada has lifted a snow squall warning for the London region Thursday evening, but a cold weather alert from the Middlesex-London Health Unit remains in effect. In addition, Grey-Bruce and Huron-Perth remain under snow squall and extreme cold warnings.
New documents show what led to a couple handing out cannabis-infused gummies to children in Winnipeg - and what happened in the hours directly after.
Ducks Unlimited Canada is celebrating World Wetlands Day by highlighting a success story in Niverville, Man.
A mobile home owner could potentially be out thousands of dollars after learning her home might not be insurable.
Police say they’ve arrested multiple people and one person was taken to hospital following reports of an armed robbery at Conestoga Mall on Thursday.
A Kitchener man, who was charged with killing his wife and then blowing up their home in 2018, has been found not criminally responsible.
A blast of cold Arctic air is expected to reach southern Ontario Thursday night paired with possible heavy blowing snow, according to Environment Canada.
Calgary police are investigating after a carjacking at a northeast dealership on Thursday afternoon.
Calgary's Alexandria Loutitt did it again Thursday afternoon, winning gold at the FIS Nordic Jr World Ski Championships in Whistler.
A Calgary pro wrestling legend has passed away.
Aaron Benneweis, 46, has been charged by Saskatoon Police with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor while in a position of trust or authority.
Brian Hodgkinson always knew there was benzene in natural gas — after all, he spent 40 years working with it for SaskPower, then SaskEnergy.
A report written and reviewed by Saskatoon Water is calling on the city to create a warning system, in particular for drivers, when roadways become “dangerously flooded” due to heavy rain.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
The Operation Friendship Seniors Society (OFSS) announced Wednesday that it would be shutting down services at the McCauley Seniors drop-in facility.
Three more Albertans died from influenza in a one-week period, according to the latest data from health officials, while newly reported cases decreased for the 10th week in a row since the peak in mid-November.
A man was found fatally shot in a vehicle on a residential street in Burnaby Thursday afternoon, and homicide investigators have been called to the scene.
Strong winds are expected to arrive Friday afternoon and last until the evening.
Hidden along old logging roads and tucked in near rivers and waterways, are campers who have made Crown land near the Chilliwack River their homes.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
The final details are being chiselled into place at the REAL District in preparation for the second annual Frost Festival taking place Feb. 3 to 12.
The Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative has launched a mental wellness network along with a virtual toolbox full of mental health resources for the agriculture community.
