MEDIA RELEASE
Kingston, ON – March 16, 2020 – Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is limiting the entrances patients, families and staff members use to enter its hospital sites in response to COVID-19, the new coronavirus. At each of the approved entrances, people will be screened and should be prepared to answer questions related to travel history and health symptoms.
Starting Monday, March 16, patients and families will be restricted to the following entrances:
Kingston General Hospital site
With the exceptions below, all patients and families should enter through the main Kidd/Davies entrance on Stuart Street
Patients of the Cancer Centre, Renal/Kidney Program and the Mental Health and Addiction Program, and their families, should enter through the King Street entrance
Patients needing the Emergency Department can still use that entrance
Hotel Dieu Hospital site
With the exceptions below, all patients and families should enter through the main 166 Brock Street entrance
Ears, Nose and Throat Clinic patients can continue to use the Murray Building entrance
Patients with mobility aids may continue to use the entrance at the Access Bus drop-off point
Patients needing the Urgent Care Centre can still use that entrance
These precautionary steps are necessary to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, and are in addition to the action KHSC took on March 14, to limit the number of people each hospital patient has with them to one person at a time. Families and visitors who are unwell are asked to avoid visiting or accompanying patients at both hospital sites.
Exceptions to family presence restrictions may be made on compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis for vulnerable populations, including patients in palliative care. Patients and loved ones should speak to their care teams about this.
For up-to-date recommendations on precautions, screening, self-isolation, travel advice and public gatherings, please consult the Public Health Ontario website at www.publichealthontario.ca.
