KDH Emergency Department to reopen as planned after six-night closure

KEMPTVILLE, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 –  The Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) Emergency Department will resume 24-hour operations on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 as planned.

The hospital had announced on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 that its Emergency Department would be closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for six nights as a result of a staffing shortage.

“I am very pleased  to announce that our staffing situation has stabilized and we can once again ensure that all employees and physicians have a safe work environment and our patients can receive safe care – care that they have come to expect from KDH,” said Frank Vassallo, KDH’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We are grateful to our community for their patience during the temporary partial closure,” he added.

Vassallo stated that KDH continues to monitor staffing levels and is taking  steps to prevent future closures, including actively recruiting new nurses, working with temporary staffing agencies, and evaluating different staffing strategies and alternate models of care.

“With that being said,” Vassallo added, “it’s important to remember that these are unprecedented and fluid times relative to health human resources; as such, future ED closures could occur even in the face of extraordinary efforts to keep the department open 24/7.”

KDH was one of four eastern Ontario hospitals to experience an emergency department closure over the Labour Day weekend: Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria and Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital both closed their emergency departments overnight on Saturday, and Almonte General Hospital was closed on Monday night.

ABOUT KEMPTVILLE DISTRICT HOSPITAL  

Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) is a 40-bed acute care hospital located in the rapidly growing Eastern Ontario municipality of North Grenville, 40 minutes south of Ottawa. We provide emergency care, inpatient care, advanced orthopaedic surgery (as a satellite of The Ottawa Hospital), Convalescent Care, Interim Long-Term Care, Day Surgery, Diagnostic Imaging, an ever-growing list of outpatient clinics, and education and wellness programming including Diabetes Education and Support. Committed to advancing our mission of Building Healthier Communities, we are an integrated health services organization with deep partnerships in our community and region. With our partners in the Ottawa West Four Rivers Ontario Health Team, we are collaborating on a new model of health care delivery that puts patients, families and caregivers at the centre of the healthcare system. For more information, visit www.kdh.on.ca

Media contact:

Jenny Read, Communications Officer

613.258.6133 x 223 | jread@kdh.on.ca