See where Ornge has moved Ontario patients to avoid hospital COVID-19 overflow

Ornge andlocal paramedic services have transferred more than 2,100 patientssince the start of the year, under orders to keep intensive-care units at Ontario hospitals from overflowing.

Sick, intubated COVID-19 patients have been putinto ambulances, helicopters and planes, and rushed from one Ontario hospital to another with more capacity. Patientshave been moved as far asToronto to Thunder Bay, a distance of 1,400 kilometres.

• Scroll down to see list of hospitalswhere patients were transferred to and from

As of May 12, Ornge an air ambulance and ground transportation service responsiblefor transferring some of the sickestpatients reports itandlocal paramedic services had moved2,134 patients, going over the topwith thepeak of the third wave. In April, 1,133patients were transferred, while 333 have already been moved in May.

"The volume of these patients is what is very different right now," saysDr. Bruce Sawadsky,Ornge'schief medical officer. "It's a bit like a symphony. Everything has to flow together perfectly."

That involves a suite of ventilators, infusion pumps andmonitors. Sawadsky typically does administrative work. Butall the demand means he's had to assist with patient transfers too, somethinghe would typically never do.

The bulk of the transfers are happening from hard-hit hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Brampton Civic Hospital, andEtobicoke General and Humber River in North Yorktop the list,transferring out hundreds of patients each.

The below data represents transfers made by Ornge and local paramedic services, ordered tohospitals since January. The numbers also do not includeregular Ornge transports.

Though dominated by the GTA, smaller regions are represented further down the list, includingBarrie's RoyalVictoria Regional Health Centre,Windsor Regional Hospital's Met Campus andThunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Notably, eight patients were transferred from a mine,500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

• This paramedic worked a week of 12-hour shifts to help keep Ontario's ICUs from overflowing

Orngesaysthe majority of these transfers have tested positive for COVID-19, but non-COVID-19patients get transferred too.

"It's a difficult task," saidSawadsky. "These patients are not easy. They are critically ill they require very high amounts of oxygen."

Ontario Health told CBCan additional1,383 patients, requiringacute and alternate levels of care were also transferred during the third wave between March 1to May 3, 2021. It would not provide a breakdown of where patients were transferred to and from.

Where are patients sent?

Vaughan'snewCortellucci Hospital has accepted the most patient transfers, given it is dedicated to COVID-19 right now. That's followed by Halton Healthcare Services in Oakville and Kingston General Hospital further afield.

Renate Ilse, Kingston Health Sciences Centre'svice-president of patient care, gets the daily email, telling her how many sick patients are being transferred her way and the number of hours her team hasto prepare.

"We basically take anything that we get told to take," she said. "Anybody that is kind of quiet, quieter, helps out."

Hospitals have helped in Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Sudbury. Even smaller hospitals have taken on patients too, like Owen Sound Regional Hospital, BrockvilleGeneral Hospital andRoss Memorial Hospital in Lindsay.

• Ontario transfers dozens more COVID-19 patients as GTA ICUs buckle under 3rd wave

Though transfers come daily, Ilse said there's stillanxiety. Kingston's COVID-19 rate has stayed relatively low, so some are wary about the virus knowingly being brought into their region.

"People worry constantly."

Sick patients move between Ontario hospitals

3 years ago

Duration 0:17

Ornge ambulance whizzes down highway, transferring patients to keep hospitals from bursting.

She's not aware of any virus spread that's happened between other staff and patients in hospital, and saidaccepting patients is Kingston's way of helping out the harder-hit Toronto area.

Currently, Kingston is looking after 16 COVID-19 patients from outside its area and five locals.

"If the situation were reversed, we would hope that the GTA would reach out and help us."

Who makes transfer decisions?

That falls on ateam called the Critical Care COVID-19 Command Centre,like mission control for ICUsand hospitals in the province.

It meets daily, monitoring vitals on hospital capacity, and deciding who and who doesn't have space for patients. That meansmaking sure there's wiggle room left for non-COVID-19 emergencies heart attacks, strokes, car accidents.

The command centre tells hospitals how many patients need to be transported to maintain or create capacity.

Hospitals don't need a patient or their decision-maker'sconsent before they are transferred. This isnew protocol introduced in April under emergency order to avoidoverwhelmingmedical facilities. It has been extended until at least June 2, as Premier Doug Ford extended the stay-at-home order Thursday.

• Ontario to keep stay-at-home order until 'at least' June 2, Ford says

Sawadskysaidfamilies have largely been understanding of this policy.

"You just have to think about the next person in your community that may have another critical illness," he said. "They need to have the ability to care for that patient, and if wedon't move them out, then they can't."

The Ontario Ministry of Health says if a patient isready to be discharged, the receiving hospital has been told to help arrange "safe transportation home." Itexplicitly says the transfer home shouldn't cost thepatient anything.

Ilse said her out-of-town patients have been grateful.

"No complaints about getting shipped to Kingston. Just happy that they've recovered and had a good outcome."