A message from Osler’s Interim President and CEO, Dr. Frank Martino

At Osler, we recognize many in the community we serve are concerned about their health and the health of loved ones. We want you to know we are here for you. Osler is well prepared to deal with the challenges ahead and is committed to providing safe, quality health care as well as reliable information – even as the situation surrounding COVID-19 evolves.

In times like these, we truly appreciate how important it is that we continue to rise to our vision of delivering patient-inspired health care without boundaries. We are working closely with our national, provincial and local health care partners to stay abreast of the ever-changing developments. We are making necessary changes across our sites to ensure we are continuing to deliver the safest care possible. And, we are providing our staff and physicians with the supports they need to ensure their continued health and safety.

Each day, we are learning more about this virus and we are working with the best evidence-based information available to inform the choices we make. Rest assured that we are taking every precaution to ensure our hospitals remain a safe place to receive care. We have opened a COVID-19 Assessment Centre at our Peel Memorial site, enhanced cleaning practices and safety precautions across our sites, and enacted active screening of all staff, physicians and outpatients – including implementing a new ‘no visitors’ policy across our sites. We understand that these changes are challenging, especially when you have a loved one in the hospital. But know that we deeply appreciate your help and support in protecting those who are most vulnerable.

We know many patients may be concerned in light of the recent government directive to scale down on non-urgent surgeries, ambulatory appointments and procedures. This is being done so that health care staff and physicians can better prepare and preserve capacity for possible cases that require hospital care. The entire organization appreciate this community’s support and cooperation as we work to protect those who are most vulnerable.

Working behind-the-scenes are thousands of members of Osler staff, physicians and volunteers who have rallied together to serve this community in an unprecedented way. We are so proud of our staff, physicians, and volunteers, and hope you take pride in the outstanding care team at your community hospital.

We sincerely thank you for your cooperation during this challenging time. We are so grateful to be part of this caring community.