Our staff and physicians follow meticulous hand hygiene practices. As you have heard from Public Health officials, frequent and careful hand hygiene is one of the most important ways to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

Virtual care appointments continue to be an important way to connect patients with their care teams. Learn more about Digital Health at St. Mary's.

• We will do everything possible to keep your appointment once it is scheduled.
• It’s possible that appointments could change – the hospital needs to take care of emergency and urgent cases.
• COVID-19 is not over, and we will need to alter services if there is an increase in COVID-19 patients in our hospital.

We understand the important role family and loved ones have in supporting our patients. In these times, it is necessary to protect the well-being of all patients by limiting traffic in and out of the hospital and practicing physical distancing.

Patients may want to receive personal items such as clothing, toiletries or other essential items for their care. We ONLY accept the following personal items due to infection control reasons for our patients and staff:

• Clean glasses, hearing aids, dentures and medical devices. NEW Toiletries only.
• NEW Grooming items only – toothbrushes, combs, hair brushes, razors.
• Personal items – books, magazines, puzzle books, family photos, etc.
• Electronics such as tablets and cell phones.
• Clean clothes for patient’s imminent discharge.
• *Medications if requested by the healthcare team.
• *Please speak with the healthcare team if there are any dietary concerns. Food/drink or medications drop-off must be coordinated in advance with the healthcare team otherwise these items will not be accepted.

Please visit our Planning Your Stay page for full details on what to expect when being admitted to hospital or coming to the Emergency Department.

You or your family member has been hospitalized with COVID-19. We know that this can be a concerning diagnosis and can sometimes result in a serious illness requiring intensive care.  When a loved one is sick, it can be a very stressful time for everyone. Our staff are doing everything that we can to provide high-quality, compassionate, dignified, and respectful care.

As a hospital, we rely on the best and most current evidence available to address COVID-19 and its many health impacts. Our medical professionals have years of educational and professional expertise and training and look to research and studies that are trusted, approved and uphold our strict standards of care.

We understand that there are many different opinions that although can appear credible, may not be scientifically proven. Please note that, as regulated health care workers that are licensed to practice by an external college, we cannot prescribe or administer “investigational” or otherwise unproven medications, such as ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.

We are, as always, guided by the best and most recent peer reviewed evidence. The Ontario Science table has provided substantial guidance for health care workers and the public in this regard. 

We also want to take the opportunity to share the benefits of vaccination against COVID-19. Throughout the past two years, we have witnessed the fact that those with vaccinations have far fewer serious complications than those who choose not to be vaccinated. 

For the most part, COVID is a disease that people make a good recovery from, although the recovery can be slow. What is just as important as the medications is having a support team focused on recovery rather than taking valuable time to argue and debate. For this reason, we hope you respect our expertise and time and allow us to continue to focus on providing the best care we can.