OTTAWA -- The Queensway Carleton Hospital has expanded its off-site unit at a Kanata hotel.

On Thursday, the west-end hospital opened an additional floor at its off-site unit at the Fairfield Inn & Suites.  The Fairfield Inn off-site unit is designed for "Alternate Level of Care" patients -- those whose acute care needs have been met but who cannot return home for a variety of reasons.

Over 120 patients have stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites since it first opened last April.

The move to expand its off-site unit at the hotel on Terry Fox Drive comes as the Queensway Carleton Hospital is currently operating at 105 per cent capacity.

"Expanding bed capacity at Fairfield allows our main site to maintain acute care services," says Dr. Robert Nichols, Chief of Geriatrics at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. 

Last April, the Queensway Carleton Hospital opened 28 beds at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Terry Fox Drive in Kanata, which was closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Queensway Carleton Hospital says on average, most patients admitted to Fairfield stay for about 94 days. Four patients who were admitted during the first two days of it opening last spring are still receiving care at the Fairfield Inn & Suites.

No patients have tested positive for COVID-19 since the off-site unit opened at the hotel.