WINNIPEG - The provincial government says it will be working more closely with the loved ones of critically ill COVID-19 patients, and paying for caregiver transportation if someone needs to be sent for treatment at an ICU outside of Manitoba.
Acting Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen says he doesn’t want family members to not be aware if clinicians are contemplating moving patients to another facility.
Shared Health says more than three dozen ICU patients have left the province for treatment since May 18. In May, more than 240 COVID-19 patients were admitted to ICUs across Manitoba.
Goertzen says if an ICU patient with COVID-19 is transferred to a facility outside the province, the government will take care of the transportation costs for a caregiver to join them, including the flight, accommodation, and meals during the trip.
Several Canadian Red Cross nurses have finished their orientation at the Health Sciences Centre, and medical lab tech from the Armed Forces are supporting COVID-19 testing efforts, while the air force is helping to transport ICU patients to where they can get treatment.
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