As of today, Ross Memorial Hospital is phasing in a number of these services. Effective immediately, the following services have been reinstated:

• Diagnostic Imaging Services: including all ultrasounds and CT scans.
• Blood Transfusions
• Operating Room: two operating rooms are now open.
• Laboratory: open for service, however, Ross Memorial may need to refer to private labs if high volumes at the Hospital Lab are experienced.
• Clinics: urology, gynaecology, internal medicine, surgical and pain clinics are open. Only urgent bronchoscopies will be performed.

Effective Wednesday, April 8th, mammography services will be reinstated, as well as the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation programs at 230 Angeline Street South. It is anticipated that on Thursday, April 9th, gastrointestinal tests will resume.

Patients will be contacted with respect to scheduling of procedures.

The Hospital’s Emergency Department remains open. Patients are encouraged, where appropriate, to attend at their family physician’s office or the After Hours Clinic.

As well, Ross Memorial, as per provincial directives, has established an isolation unit in the event that the Hospital will need to admit a case(s) of SARS.

The Hospital remains closed to visitors except for compassionate grounds; for example, critically ill patients, terminally ill patients, children and newborns. Each of these patients is allowed one visitor at a time. Visitors must wear their masks at all times.

The Hospital also remains closed to all volunteers and non-essential individuals.

Ross Memorial will continue to screen all patients, visitors, staff and physicians for SARS, prior to anyone entering the Hospital. All patients and visitors will be required to wear a mask.

Due to the reinstatement of surgical and outpatient services and the screening process of all patients and visitors, patients are asked to arrive early at the Hospital in order to allow time for screening and sign-in/registration.

The Hospital also requests that patients coming to Ross Memorial for surgical or outpatient services, to come on their own. Those patients who require assistance while at the Hospital are requested to bring only one person.

Patients attending the Hospital for surgical or outpatient services must enter and exit at the main Angeline Street North entrance. Patients arriving at the Hospital for emergency care are to enter and exit at the Emergency entrance on Kent Street West.

“All of these directives and actions are being reviewed on a daily basis at frequent meetings of our Administrative and Management Staff, as well as at special meetings of our Medical Advisory Committee,” explains Anthony Vines, President and CEO, Ross Memorial Hospital. “Also, a SARS Ad-hoc Committee, chaired by Dr. Bruno Helt, Clinical Director of Emergency Services, has been established. One of the mandates of this Committee is to ensure that Ross Memorial is prepared in the event that we have suspect or probable SARS patients. If necessary and if deemed appropriate, other measures will be implemented in order to help prevent an occurrence of SARS at our Hospital.”

In the meantime, Ross Memorial has established a special email address for those in the Hospital who are restricted from having visitors. If a family member or a friend would like to send greetings to a patient at Ross Memorial, a message can be forwarded to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text705 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . The patient’s full name and room number must be included in the email in order to ensure delivery to the patient.

“Most people, when in the hospital, like to have visitors. It can be comforting and help the healing process when you are surrounded by people who care about you and are thinking about you in your time of need,” says Holly-Ann Franchi, Communications and Public Relations, Ross Memorial Hospital. “Unfortunately, due to the SARS emergency, we have had to close our doors to most visitors, as well as all of our volunteers. While we recognize that an email message does not replace an actual visit, we hope that this service will help to bridge the communication gap between our patients and their families and friends.”