Weatherhaven in Brockville Helps Fight Covid With MHUs
Weatherhaven has been helping governments and companies with shelters and temporary hospital solutions in some of the most remote and logistically challenging areas of the world for four decades. Their newest partnership with the Government of Canada is a testament to Weatherhaven’s reputation as the leading provider of portable shelters and medical facilities.
This partnership is the latest in ongoing efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Weatherhaven helped the government deploy two mobile health units (MHUs) in the hardest hit regions of Ontario to relieve overcrowded and strained hospitals, while helping the province provide more resources where they were needed most.
State-of-the-Art Solutions for Enhanced Health Care
The state-of-the-art units were tested in Brockville in December 2020 and then quickly deployed in the Greater Toronto Area, where COVID-19 cases surged. Each MHU was able to provide up to 100 additional beds, in addition to medical supplies, equipment, and washroom facilities. The self-contained units were supported by large generators for power and once erected, were each about the size of a football field. The MHUs function as a normal hospital, with the same services and equipment, and they were designed, built and equipped by Weatherhaven in partnership with ATCO Ltd.
The MHUs were designed to help move non-critical care patients out of the ICU to free up those resources for those who truly needed it. Intensive care units were more than overburdened: in fact, from January 2020 to March 2021, more than 1 in 5 hospital stays involved an admission to the ICU. The province provided the staff for the MHUs in order to relieve the strain on local front-line workers. At a point in the pandemic where ICU beds were almost completely filled by COVID-19 cases, these MHUs could not have come at a better time.
The MHUs were planned to be in use until the beginning of May depending on the COVID-19 case situation, but were extended for two additional months to continue to fight a surge in cases.
The SLCEDC and Weatherhaven
The ability for the province to temporarily increase hospital capacity in hot spots was critical to the success of fighting the pandemic, and it could not have been done without Weatherhaven’s rapid response and expertise. This partnership was an immediate and much needed success, and the SLCEDC was there to support Weatherhaven in this venture and many others:
“We have helped Weatherhaven with government advocacy work,” says Charles Mignault , SLCEDC Commissioner. “We’ve supported their sourcing of supply chain partners across eastern Ontario and have helped them with workforce challenges – identifying labour market data, local wage rates and recruitment support to help them expand their operations.”
Weatherhaven Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Founded in 1981, Weatherhaven started out helping mining and expedition industries with shelter in hard-to-reach locations. The Canadian owned and operated company has since grown tremendously, working with commercial, medical, and military agencies to provide complex custom solutions.
Fighting COVID-19 among a surge in cases and overcrowded hospitals meant thinking outside the box and finding ways to get the province the support it desperately needed. Weatherhaven was there to support the government and provide invaluable resources and expert knowledge at a critical point in the pandemic.
Weatherhaven’s ongoing support to the Government of Canada’s Mobile Health Unit Initiative involves designing, storing, transporting and launching mobile health units where they’re needed, whether it’s an urban or remote setting and in any climate needed. These MHUs can be deployed in a number of days for an unparalleled rapid response that the government can use wherever and whenever it’s needed in Canada.
Weatherhaven to date has provided medical facilities that are in use in over 17 countries worldwide to help fight COVID-19. Construction on site can be completed in as little as three days, making these health care facilities a significant asset and tool in battling the pandemic.
Learn more about Weatherhaven and their groundbreaking COVID-19 field hospitals here.
More About the SLCEDC
The St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Commission (SLCEDC) is focused on the attraction of new industrial and commercial employers to the region, increasing the quantity and quality of job opportunities for our residents along with assisting our existing business to expand. Working collaboratively with partners to help them reach their expansion and retention goals, the SLCEDC bases its success on performance and principles.
