‘We were in the trenches together’: Healthcare staff reflect on bittersweet final day of COVID-19 assessment centre
By day’s end Friday, the COVID-19 assessment clinic at Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) will close, more than three years after opening at the height of the pandemic.
“This moment in time is so special,” Kelly Heron, director of in-patient surgery, said. “We all have an opportunity now to look back as to how far we came.”
Heron was a member of the leadership team that supported the development and operation of WRH’s assessment and vaccination centres.
“We didn't have any of those blueprints or plans. What we had was a team that was dedicated and they all brought their talents and we developed it,” said Heron.
Patty Boucher, unit clerk for the assessment centre, remembers working in the in-patient clinic in March 2020 with, “the management team just going through with clipboards and looking around at things and boom — two days later it was the whole unit was converted into a COVID assessment to treat the public.”
Since then, nearly 191,000 people walked through the clinic at Ouellette campus.
“You'd see people coming in crying. You could feel the fear off of them,” said retired registered practical nurse Shelley Farrand who returned to work to help with pandemic.
“When you work with people for over 30 years, your work family becomes part of your family. And I wanted to be able to help them, as well as our community,” said Farrand.
She would stay on until March 31, 2023, for the assessment centre’s final day.
Farrand told CTV News one of the most motivating parts of working through the pandemic was when hospital CEO David Musyj and members of the executive helped with a drive-thru swab event at St. Clair College.
“You’d see them out in the hot sun, swabbing,” said Farrand. “It makes you feel safe. Like if they're here and they don't have to be, then we're safe. So that's what I liked and I'm grateful for our leadership team.”
Boucher said she never felt unsafe at work, in fact, quite the opposite.
“I felt more secure here at work because we had the PPE because we were so well taken care of. I felt more secure at work than I did out in the public, going for groceries,” said Boucher.
With the assessment centre closing, the staff will now return to the jobs they had and maintained throughout the pandemic, excluding Farrand who will return to retirement.
Farrand said however, “I’d do it again!”
“I’m so glad that everyone can get back to some semblance of normal in their everyday life,” said Heron.
The group agrees it’s a bittersweet moment.
“I think everyone, in whatever department you belong to, said ‘what can we do to help?’” said Heron. “And I feel like this was my part that I could do to help and I couldn't have done it without all the staff.”
“We worked in the trenches together. We laughed together, we cried together, we vented (and) we shared stories. The people I will miss greatly,” said Boucher. “The clinic has run its course and it's time to move on. And I am actually looking forward to moving on to the next step of my career.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca