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After months of residents of the William A. George Extended Care Facility (ECU) being confined to the facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent announcement from the Ministry of Long-Term Care has made it possible for residents to leave the premises for day trips and overnight visits.

At Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC), we continue to review how to best provide our services during this global pandemic. Many outpatient and non-urgent services were suspended in the spring of 2020, and planning has been underway to re-introduce these services in a slow and steady manner. During this time, we want to keep you well-informed and safe; especially as Ontario operates in stage three of re-opening the province under various restrictions.

Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre would like to thank the organizers of the Lac Seul Walleye Cup and the community of Ear Falls for donating fish caught in their annual derby held on the weekend of July 25 – 26th to our hospital’s Traditional Foods Program (Miichim).

As previously announced, SLMHC has seen a recent cluster of positive COVID-19 test results. Early last week, three patients were admitted to hospital for other reasons and tested positive for the virus. This testing was completed as part of our hospital protocol prior to procedures and/or transfer of these patients to other health facilities. Additionally, in the same timeframe we became aware of a positive result among our staff. All protocols for isolation and contact tracing were implemented.

At Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC), we remain thankful that the presence of the COVID-19 virus within the catchment area that we serve has been minimal. This is a direct result of the precautions taken by each community, our organization, as well as our partner organizations in health. At this time, we wish to update the public on new, positive cases in our region and how this is impacting SLMHC.

Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC) received notice of a new positive case of COVID-19 in Sioux Lookout. We understand the individual is self-isolating at this time. The Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) will follow its processes in the coming days.

Last week, staff and doctors at Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC) could be spotted wearing colourful bracelets featuring the message Be Kind. The message is simple, but the gesture behind these bracelets brought joy to so many frontline and behind-the-scenes workers here at SLMHC.

Late last week, the Ontario government announced a proactive surveillance testing initiative to protect residents of long-term care homes across the province. In alignment with this initiative, Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre is implementing a plan to conduct COVID-19 tests on all residents and staff at the William A. George Extended Care Facility.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic announcement, Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC) implemented its full pandemic plan in early March. Since that time, our team has been collaborating with partners at the local, regional, provincial and federal levels to plan for the needs of everyone we serve.

As we enter the Easter long weekend, we hope you are doing well and want to remind everyone that visitor restrictions remain in place at SLMHC’s hospital site and the William A. George Extended Care site (ECU)…

Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC) is working with the Ministry of Health, Northwestern Health Unit and Ontario Health North to develop a COVID-19 assessment site on the SLMHC health campus.

Update on COVID-19 at SLMHC. Click here to view the latest news and message from our President and CEO, Heather Lee.