St. Clair College donates medical equipment to help local hospitals in case of COVID-19 influx

Citing a desire to help local hospitals prepare for the possibility that COVID-19 will grow worse in the region, St. Clair College announced on Tuesday that staff have donated 35 hospital beds and eight ventilators, with plans to send over personal protective equipment within the next few days.

According to Dr. Ken Blanchette, associate vice-president academic with St. Clair College, the hospital beds are set for Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, which will coordinate with Windsor Regional Hospital to determine supply needs.

The college has also donated supplies to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance through the college's Chatham-area satellite campus.

"They'd like to prepare for an influx, if it does happen," said Blanchette. "We've responded in kind by pretty much draining our supplies of consumables that we have gloves, masks, things like that.

He added that staff with St. Clair College will likely begin sending over personal protective equipment on Wednesday.

Blanchette said the beds and other medical supplies were previously housed in St. Clair College's Centre for Applied Health Sciences a 100,000 square foot simulation building used by students and staff.

The college is able to provide up to 90 hospital beds if needed, Blanchette said, explaining that there's equipment to spare because students are currently engaged in online learning as a social distancing measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"That leaves the labs and the supplies and the equipment as not being used right now," he said.

Should area hospitals find themselves unable to meet an influx of patients, Blanchette said St. Clair College would be able to provide facilities for "very low-risk levels."

"We do have facilities here to be able to [provide care], but we haven't crossed that bridge yet," he said. "Hopefully Windsor is not hit as bad as what we're seeing across the rest of the globe."

Steve Erwin, manager of corporate communications with Windsor Regional Hospital, said his organization "very much appreciates the donation from this community partner."

As of Tuesday evening, Windsor-Essex has three confirmed cases of COVID-19, while Chatham-Kent has two confirmed cases.