The Northern Lights Regional Health Centre is in need of additional staff to help with the increase in COVID-19 patients.

That’s according to a letter sent out from management at the hospital which notes they’re seeing a rise in residents being admitted to acute care and ICU due to the virus.

They didn’t clarify how many cases they’re currently dealing with, though the province claims 53 individuals across the north zone are in the hospital.

Due to the high number of patients, the NLRHC is working to postpone elective surgeries and non-urgent appointments.

“Our Day Surgery unit is getting ready to flip into six in-patient beds, should the need arise,” read the letter. “We are anticipating that this will last 3-6 weeks although regular review will be occurring.”

Right now, they’re working on bringing in additional staff and students to support bedside teams.

They’ll also be redeploying staff to areas with the biggest need.

“We know that this puts strain on all our departments, physicians, and staff. We prepared for this last year and, although it looks different now, we can rely on those plans to support our work together.”