Innovating during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on healthcare organizations throughout Canada, including Covenant. It has brought opportunities for us to learn from, and think critically about, healthcare challenges and to come up with solutions. From new processes and procedures for keeping everyone safe to creative ways to support seniors and offer mental health services, we’ve seen a surge in innovations in the care we provide our patients, residents and communities. 

“Our staff are can-do people. You give them a set of issues and they will find ways to support the people they're caring for,” says Sheli Murphy, senior operating officer, Covenant Care and Covenant Living.

Many of these innovations have required collaboration between Covenant teams, across our sites, with other organizations and with our communities. And new collaborations born of the pandemic have been essential for supporting patients and residents.

• Read more: Finding solutions together: New collaborations help healthcare teams meet pandemic challenges

Here, we highlight some innovations that have occurred across our organization.

Developing new processes and procedures

The past 18 months have brought important lessons about protecting staff and patients in the hospital setting. In response, our teams have adapted surgical procedures and developed new technical skills, protocols and processes to keep people safe.

• Read more:
  • Hospital staff use baby monitors to communicate: Misericordia operating room adds two-way technology to enhance safety
  • Simulations integral to developing protocols for COVID-19 patients

Supporting seniors

The pandemic’s impact has been acutely felt by our seniors. Its challenges have prompted our staff to develop creative approaches to providing therapy and assessments and to use new technology to keep the seniors in our continuing care centres safe, active and engaged with their loved ones and communities.

• Read more:
  • Getting creative about staying active: How innovative therapy benefits seniors’ mental and physical health
  • Finding the right fit: Virtual assessment sizes up resident for new wheelchair
  • Technology pilot helps residents stay active and connected

Offering mental health services

During the pandemic, our teams have seen increasing addiction and mental health issues among vulnerable youth and others in our communities. They’ve met the need for support by providing new therapy programs and innovating virtual and telephone services.

• Read more:
  • Addiction and mental health supports for South Asian community: Covenant Health leads an initiative to help those struggling from the impact of COVID-19
  • Supporting youth through the pandemic: Clinics find alternative ways to provide teens with mental health services during COVID-19
  • Group therapy goes online: Mental health patients connect through Zoom