In the final weeks of summer, the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) in London, ON experienced severe flooding in the London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP), leaving its patients with limited space to receive treatment.
The flood primarily impacted the planning equipment, which stopped the LRCP from performing Computed Tomography (CT) unit scans on cancer patients. The water also spread to the primary radiation area where patients were treated.
“Once we learned that patients from LRCP needed our help, we immediately began planning,” said Sara Kaune, clinical manger, education of radiation treatment program. Every oncology staff member was happy to work the weekend. “I was so proud of how quickly the team was able to step-up and provide the care the patients required."
Within 48 hours after that moment, the oncology team were preparing for the arrival of the LRCP patients.
“Some patients had never travelled to the Kitchener-Waterloo (KW) area, and venturing so far from home concerned them. To ease their stress, the Grand River Hospital (GRH) oncology staff were on the phone with LRCP patients and giving directions. Our staff even provided hand-drawn maps to patients so they could find their way to the Grand River Hospital KW campus” Kaune added.
GRH oncology staff also had to perform the at-door screening as the patients arrived, since there were no screeners scheduled for that weekend. Dr. Kuk added his own special touch, by painting a colourful welcome sign to hang in the Cancer Centre, welcoming the LRCP patients.
The GRH and LRCP information technology (IT) staff and oncology teams began collaborating to create a secured file transfer system for patient records and documents. The LRCP oncology team also began transporting pieces of equipment to-and-from KW and London.
In total, the Cancer Centre CT simulated up to 13 patients a day, amounting to 76 patients total.
“I’m most proud of my staff for adapting so quickly to a new process,” says Kaune. “They made the families feel so comfortable. When all was said and done, we received a letter from an LRCP care-partner explaining how impressed their Father was with the care received from Dr. Ding and the oncologists on staff that weekend, also mentioning the hand-painted signs and flowers in the Radiation Centre.”
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I want to take a moment to let you know how impressed my Father was when he arrived at your Cancer Centre on Saturday. When he returned to the car, he couldn't speak highly enough of the facility itself, and of Dr. Ding and the other oncology team members that he met. He specifically mentioned the flowers and sign that welcomed London patients to your centre; what a wonderful touch.
As a healthcare provider, I recognize how precious our time off is and I am in awe of my fellow healthcare heroes who gave up their days off to put patient care first, making it possible for you to open your doors to these displaced patients.
My Dad is only beginning his cancer journey but this experience has reaffirmed his confidence in our healthcare system and I am eternally grateful to the team at Grand River Hospital for that.
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