ED Muskoka Physicians - Living the Dream

Peds appendix/ultrasound

Hey team,

Whoever was involved in challenges to get ultrasound this past weekend for a three year old with suspected appendicitis please text me! I can’t figure out patient name . Nothing bad just need to work through from ultrasound side of things please.

thanks!

travel

Hey gang,

Anyone travel within the last 14 days out of country….the new isolation guidelines that came out today do apply…

give me a call or text if you have and I will walk you through it!

!

conference call

call in number for conference calls – for ED group

always the same 705-704-9984

PIN 0001255

communication

Hi all, good group chat this am. Sorry if you couldn’t make it.

If you have questions please ask one of us that was on the call (Evan, Kelly, Deb, Emma, Adam, Heather, Nelson, Jeff, Mike, Kirsten, Stacey) as we can share group brain with you.

Tuesday – heads up – a patient with COVID intubation sim – Dr Jewell and Dr Smith…!! Great SIM . Thank you both in advance.

Allyson Snelling just resent the simcoe muskoka update and the MAHC community test site info about again this am to the emails she has for all Md’s. If you didn’t; get from her please contact with what email you want on these…then you should get all future updates.

Just spoke to Allyson some are easy fixes and some are not.

MD conference call

COVID CHAT for MAHC ED docs tomorrow at 8:30 am.

call 705-704-9984

pin:0001255

Intention is to discuss our updated local plan, answer questions of each other about the covid 8 update from MAHC and community test sites info just sent out. Most of us are Type A ( hint , hint) and no one has all the answers or do we need to micro manage others but lets brainstorm, feel we are all on the same page, and support each other and our care of our community and our nurses/teams, etc. Max time 30 mins.

Update

So – although I am signed out as director the next 9 days I just cancelled our family trip to the USA. Bummer. I know a couple of you who have done the same.

So many of us will be around when we weren’t gonna be before.

Hard times for us all. But safety is likely in numbers for our groups as some of us may get sick and not be able to work. Hopefully not…but likely. And if we aren’t leaving the country then no automatic quarantine or risk of being caught in another country.

Please is you feel sick consider calling me ( or the acting director) to plan what to do with some support. Please be ready as the back up doctor . Also if we are dropping like flies I will be reaching out to community MD’s to back up us and the hospital.

We need to be healthy as a team and help each other ( insert group hug here with a one meter distance between each of us for social isolation)!

I propose we start having “opt in” conference calls as a way to ask questions of each other as MD’s and see what is happening on the front line ( practical stuff ). More info to come.

Hep A

Final update on Hep A issue in Muskoka as public health information I circulated and Liz sent out to all Muskoka Md’s…

If you have questions about a patient in front of you around this issue and need help Angela Hollingshead is happy o help. She has had lots of discussions with public health around this…

ED MAHC COVID 19

Just thought I would send out a couple practical things…

  1. keep reading updates from MAHC , OMA, latest in NEJM, etc as you feel you can to keep up to date with COVID 19 – the media is over the top in lots of ways so just be careful your sources. Some restrictions of public events may be driven by political or “non – science” reasons.
  2. MAHC is gonna try and focus future communications on operational/MAHC and community based efforts as I have asked for more practical frontline guidelines and aid as this is what we need.
  3. limit visitors in ER – this should be enforced at all times
  4. hospital entry screening – starting – as in communication today
  5. If patient being sent to the ER for swab by public health this doesn’t mean they need to be seen by a doctor. If nursing worried about patient then we should see them. I also suggest we offer to see the patient and nursing ask the patient that and chart it…. So far my N of 5 have all declined.
  6. community test sites on the horizon – I’m told – they are awaiting “approval my public health” and then this will be communicated out.
  7. testing at MD discretion …hard to know who to test – travel history and illness is recommended but if was at a conference? or an NBA game this week? Just keep in mind we have limited tests in Ontario and we are still waiting pandemic planning guidance…hopefully this is coming soon.
  8. Donning and doffing update /refresher by Angela Hollingshead (occupational health) at anytime…just give her a call. You could even mock up an intubation scenario with RT/Angela and others if you want to do! If you want me to organize let me know.

suture/instruments

Hi all,

Friendly reminder… don’t throw out equipment that can be cleaned !! ( reusable suture kits, fine instrument trays, etc)

We are loosing instruments left, right and centre!!! Some for sure to the garbage!!

Also – based on the plastics session yesterday – I have asked for 3, 4,5 vicryl rapide in both sites all the time and more derma bond if you plan to use as a dressing!!

I will put my plastics protocol book in SMMH ER tonight as a reference book for anyone to use! Perhaps one of the other docs want to put theirs in HDMH ER?

NEW ED MD

Dr Tony Duarte is planning to join the HDMH group on the regular schedule ( to do 8-10 nights per month primarily) starting July 2020! He’s moving too Ontario! Tony is an experienced ER MD making the move from North Carolina.

Tony is happy to help in SMMH as able too! Is been years since he worked there but he is happy to help .