(March 5, 2025)<\/p>\n
By: Sanjay Maru, CTV News<\/p>\n
Erie Shores Healthcare continues to operate over capacity, with occupancy levels exceeding 120 per cent for most of the past year \u2014 at times reaching as high as 170 per cent, hospital officials say.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreased occupancy leads to increased wait times in emerge,\u201d said Rashoo Brar, ESHC\u2019s vice president of operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are taking a little longer to be seen because we want to ensure the patients who are admitted get to the right bed at the right time. That\u2019s where we have a stopgap.\u201d<\/p>\n
To help manage demand, Erie Shores launched an Admission Discharge Unit (ADU) last year to improve patient flow. The unit has helped speed up transfers, reduce bottlenecks, and free up ER beds as much as seven hours earlier.<\/p>\n
While the ADU remains unfunded, the hospital is covering the costs internally.<\/p>\n
Erie Shores serves patients from across Essex County, including Amherstburg, LaSalle, and Lakeshore, and often takes EMS diversion from Windsor.<\/p>\n
EMS calls to Erie Shores Healthcare have surged by 32 per cent compared to 2023, and emergency department admissions to the Leamington hospital have increased by 34 per cent.<\/p>\n
Alongside rising patient volumes, the hospital is also managing increased operational costs, including a $1.7 million need to convert rehab beds into acute care spaces.<\/p>\n
The challenge isn\u2019t just space. It\u2019s also staffing.<\/p>\n
In recent years, ESHC has increased its workforce by 23 per cent to manage demand, but according to documents being presented Wednesday evening to Essex County Council, burnout remains a concern.<\/p>\n
The Ontario Health Coalition said that\u2019s an issue being felt across Ontario hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means they have to cover more shifts because they\u2019re short every shift,\u201d said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means every time they\u2019re off, they get called in to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehra said Ontario funds hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada, leaving hospitals like Erie Shores under pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have a hospital even running at 100 per cent capacity would be an absolute crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201c120 per cent is unheard of. No country in the developed world runs their hospitals this way. It\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Erie Shores is managing its capacity challenges internally, but Brar said the situation remains difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the ADU\u2019s help, we have improved our patient flow,\u201d Brar said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout it, we would not have been able to manage our community\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n