Adedokun Waliyu 
Ottawa Hospital emergency physicians will be covering shifts in the Kemptville hospital’s emergency department this summer, to ensure the community will continue to have access to emergency care.
The emergency department at the Kemptville hospital. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)The emergency department at the Kemptville hospital. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottaw
Ottawa Hospital emergency physicians will be covering shifts in the Kemptville hospital’s emergency department this summer, to ensure the community will continue to have access to emergency care.
The Ottawa Hospital and the Kemptville District Hospital have announced the two hospitals will work together to support emergency services in Kemptville through the summer.
“Like a number of other hospitals across the country, KDH has been dealing with the possibility of some reduction in our emergency services due to the shortage of physicians working in rural Emergency Departments,” Frank Vassalo, CEO of the Kemptville District Hospital, said in a statement.
“That is why we are so thankful to be able to collaborate with partners like The Ottawa Hospital. “Partnerships like this ensure that all patients will continue to receive high-quality, timely and consistent care, no matter where they are.”
The Ottawa Hospital and its Emergency Physician group will work with the Kemptville District Hospital to coordinate and help support emergency services in the community south of Ottawa over the next few months.
In the coming months, the Ottawa Hospital and Kemptville hospital plan to implement an integrated service delivery model for the emergency department.
“This model will ensure that patients accessing the KDH Emergency Department will have seamless and consistent care for the future,” the Ottawa Hospital said in a statement.
Both hospitals insist patients will not notice any difference in care at the Kemptville emergency department this summer.
“Our hospitals have worked together for many years, collaborating on ways to improve access to care for patients throughout our region,” Cameron Love, The Ottawa Hospital President and CEO said. “This partnership is another step in that approach, as we look at more ways to ensure patients receive the care they need.”
In 2017, the two hospitals created an “innovative partnership” in orthopedic surgery, which saw surgeons from both hospitals perform joint replacement procedures at the Kemptville District Hospital operating facilities.
