Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie. The urgent care centre is temporarily closing to redeploy personnel to the region’s emergency departments. Photo credit: Google Maps
Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre temporarily closing
Effective Thursday, Jan. 6 at 11 p.m. the Urgent Care Centre in Fort Erie will temporarily shut its doors in order for Niagara Health to redeploy personnel to the region’s emergency departments.
The decision is part of a larger plan to temporarily prioritize care for patients who need critical, emergency and acute care services because of the escalating impact of the Omicron variant on Niagara Health’s patient volumes and staffing levels. Over 350 staff members are currently off work due to self-isolation rules.
“Temporarily closing the Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre was a decision that was not taken lightly,” said Bunny Alexander, chair of the Niagara Health board of directors. “The Board of Directors and Senior Leadership agreed that we need to take this step to address staffing shortages and maintain essential services for the high volumes of patients in our community needing emergency care. Other hospitals throughout the province have taken similar measures throughout the pandemic.”
Niagara’s three emergency departments in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, and Welland are open 24/7 and see approximately 400 patients every day.
“This wave of the pandemic is beyond anything we have experienced. We have exhausted all options, and the temporary closure of the Urgent Care Centre is a measure of last resort,” said Lynn Guerriero, Niagara Health president and CEO. “Our healthcare teams continue to provide care to our patients with professionalism and compassion. Our Urgent Care team members have a unique set of skills that are urgently needed in our Emergency Departments, and we are grateful for their commitment to Niagara.”
The Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre remains open.
Niagara College extends online learning until end of February
Prior to the winter break, Niagara College announced a temporary shift of some program elements to online delivery until Jan. 28. However, according to a recent message from President Sean Kennedy, the college is extending that date to Feb. 25, the last day of classes before the mid-term break.
“Current and projected trends require us to adapt our operations once again as we prioritize the safety of our learning environment and workplace, while ensuring that students have the opportunity to achieve the learning outcomes in their programs – including essential and required practical elements,” said Kennedy.
“While we are hopeful that the second half of the term will allow for an increase in on-campus learning, that decision will depend on the available data and government and public health guidance and direction at the time.”
Practical labs and essential program elements that can’t be completed remotely will continue to be delivered on-campus as planned with enhanced health and safety measures in place.
The latest message from Brock University on Jan. 2 said that the school still intends to resume in-person learning on Jan. 31.
Renewed restrictions shut down one of Niagara’s largest employers
As part of Ontario’s return to a modified ‘Stage 2’ of reopening, Niagara Casinos – which operates both the Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, and employs some 4,000 people – closed to the public on Wednesday.
“Since re-opening, Niagara Casinos has welcomed back our guests and associates with their health and safety being our top priority. We are working diligently with the OLG, and can confirm that we are in the process of an orderly shutdown of all our operations,” said Niagara Casinos president Richard Taylor in a press release on Jan. 3.
The casinos were closed for 16 months between March 2020 and July 2021 due to previous restrictions.
Under the government’s new health measures, Charitable Gaming (cGaming) Centres – bingo halls and the like – also closed.
The measures will be in place until at least Jan. 26, 2022.
OHL reaffirms commitment to finishing current season
In a statement released Wednesday morning, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) said that its board of governors has reaffirmed its commitment to continue the 2021-22 season, despite recent restrictions imposed by the provincial government.
According to the league, the OHL is currently in conversation with government and public health and will have further updates “in the very near future.”
A week ago, OHL arenas had their capacities capped at 1,000. The province’s return to a ‘modified Step 2’ prohibits fans entirely.
The St. Catharines-based Niagara IceDogs said that all ticket holders will be provided with a credit for the games where fans are not allowed to attend. Credit will be added to their respective accounts and can be applied to games later this season, playoff tickets and/or towards 2022-2023 tickets.
While spectators will not be allowed inside Meridian Centre for at least the next three weeks, IceDogs fans can catch the games on YourTV Niagara, or listen live with Giant FM and Country 89.
Stelco set to purchase minority stake in Hamilton Ti-Cats, Forge FC
Over the weekend, it was announced that Hamilton steelmaker Stelco has executed agreements with the current owners of Hamilton Sports Group for the purchase of a 40 per cent equity interest in the entities that own the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger Cats and the CPL’s Forge FC. The deal also includes the master lease of Tim Hortons Field, the modern 23,000 seat multipurpose stadium where the teams compete.
The existing ownership group will retain majority ownership of HSG and continue to manage the teams.
“Stelco remains committed to the city of Hamilton, the province of Ontario and the country of Canada by providing excellent career opportunities to its employees in the Hamilton area and by continually giving back to the community,” said Stelco executive chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum, who became a small minority owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in 2019.
“In continuance of those values, Stelco is thrilled to partner with Hamilton Sports Group and the entire Tiger-Cats and Forge FC organizations. They put a tremendous product on the field in both sports, and represent Hamilton proudly, much like Stelco.”
The transaction is subject to certain conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
Canadians to get 140 million additional rapid tests this month
In the federal government’s first COVID-19 press conference of the new year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said provinces and territories will receive “quadruple” the number of rapid tests this month than they did last, as cases related to the Omicron variant continue to rise.
“Our responsibility as a federal government is to make sure that there are enough rapid tests…the provinces will make determinations and hopefully they will learn from each other and share best practices in terms of what is working well in one place or another,” Trudeau said.
According to Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, the 140 million rapid tests will be distributed based on population.
“As requested by our provincial and territorial colleagues, these tests will be allocated…on a per capita basis,” Duclos said.
“Deliveries are already well underway and we will keep you updated as often as possible.”
