ESTEVAN - Some patients were turned away from St. Joseph's Hospital Wednesday morning, as it was on lockdown due to two serious incidents that occurred in the community early that day.
Hospital executive director Candace Kopec said the limited information they received from the police as the situation began in the morning made them take serious measures to ensure the safety of staff, patients in their care and the community.
"That emergency response procedure was in response to a safety threat in the community," Kopec said. "We didn't have all of the information, so in talking briefly to police, the decision was quickly made to lock all doors until we had adequate information to assess the situation."
The first patient, who was injured and bleeding, was brought into the hospital just after 6:30 a.m. Karie Ann Guillas of Estevan died at the hospital at about 9:30 a.m.
After the altercation at the police station, the suspect, Justice Guillas, and an Estevan Police Service member were both rushed to the hospital at about 9:30 a.m. While the staff was providing all necessary care for the patients with serious trauma, they also were reacting as the situation was unfolding.
"I don't think I can comment on [when exactly the decision was made to go on lockdown] just due to the ongoing investigation. All we can probably say is it was made when the Estevan Police Service came to our facility," Kopec said. "We got information and direction from them, and then we made that decision."
With a lack of clarity on the situation, the hospital went on full lockdown and was preparing to have the intercom doors blocked, Kopec explained. But soon, it was determined there was no longer a threat to the community. They continued to keep all doors secured and monitored, which meant all other doors remained locked and they controlled traffic coming in through the front door.
"We reduced the traffic because many departments had below baseline staffing, as they were responding to the emergency situation," Kopec explained.
She noted that all patients in their care received all the care they required, and they were still able to provide some essential outpatient care.
"The outpatient services, such as x-ray, CT and dialysis were going on that day. We were able to maintain staffing levels, so if someone presented to the front door, and they said that was the service they were coming for, we directed them to the service," Kopec said.
During public or other emergencies, the hospital gets support from the emergency management specialists with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and there is a protocol they have to follow for that, Kopec said. But since the situation wasn't clear, the decision was made to proceed with the lockdown, yet still trying to help patients in need of timely care.
"We didn't want to impact care to anyone in the community, so we still assessed the needs and redirected people where we needed to," Kopec said.
She noted that they communicated the situation to the staff, debriefed afterwards and ensured the employees had resources to overcome the stress from that day.
"When you work in health, staff are often involved in unfortunate situations. So, their mental well-being is something that we assess and look for how they can get support. That assessment is done on a fairly regular basis," Kopec said.
Protective services with SHA came down during the emergency and provided the hospital with further directions. They determined that the lockdown could be over, and the hospital could return to regular operations in the early afternoon.
"We have an incredible health-care team who responded to the situation and I'm thankful for that incredible team," Kopec said.
