Field hospital with additional 70 beds at Barrie's RVH is being dismantled and relocated
A multi-million field hospital erected at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) during the height of the pandemic to address patient overload is being dismantled and relocated to its new home.
Since 2020, the 70-bed, pre-engineered PRU admitted medically stable patients with a three-to-five-day stay from across the region to avoid 'hallway health care' while patients infected with COVID-19 were cared for within the health centre.
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The unit was made possible with funding from the Ontario government and was located in RVH's parking lot with an enclosed walkway connecting it to the health centre.
The four-season field hospital recorded 1,231 patients from November 2020 until COVID funding ended in March.
It will now find a new home at CFB Borden to capitalize on "a great opportunity to share surplus resources between government institutions to maximize their service," a release from RVH states.
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, Ont., to open a Pandemic Response Unit. Nov. 20, 2020 (Mike Arsalides/CTV News)
"This structure will help address our needs in Borden and will serve as a symbol of the importance of working together with our local partners for the betterment of our communities and institutions," stated Col. Jonathan Michaud, Commander CFB Borden and Military Personnel Generation Training Group.
The PRU was one of three such units in Ontario, and was built to sustain high winds and heavy snow.
Each element of the field hospital was planned with the future in mind. Hospital equipment and beds have been moved into the health centre to be utilized.
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