The hospital is looking for more space.
A long-term care facility that closed last October was the straw the broke the camel's back when it comes to gridlock at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
Gridlock is generally more common during the winter months when pneumonia and the flu create more patients looking for acute care. After treatment, some patients still need care but don't need to stay at the hospital. But since there's nowhere for them to go, gridlock has occurred several times this year already.
"We put extra beds and stretchers into hallways into alcoves and into sunrooms," hospital executive vice president of patient services Mark Henderson said.
On any given day the hospital has up to 70 people who still need care but not at the hospital. That's left the organization looking for room elsewhere.
It's currently in negotiations with McKellar Place to rent spaces out for acute care patients but nothing has been formalized.
"It's very early stages," Henderson said.
The hospital needs approval from the Ministry of Health and the LHIN, which it will meet with next week to discuss the plan. The move would mean hiring more staff such as nurses and physiotherapists.
