A quiet night in for linguist Ron Wulf was the beginning of a long health journey that included a stroke, a brain tumour and awake brain surgery. He credits the staff at The Ottawa Hospital and his love for language for helping him recover and is sharing his experience with the medical community.

Volunteers are providing compassionate care and a helping hand at The Ottawa Hospital’s new Virtual Information Desk – the first of its kind in hospitals across Canada.

University student Adrianna Forrest can keep her every-three-month doctor appointments when she is away at school thanks to virtual care.

Thanks to some ingenuity, teamwork and an old IV stand, some patients can now have hands-free video chats with their families.

A tablet helped Sandra Deevy and her family see and speak to their mother, 90-year-old Joan Khan, as she was receiving care at The Ottawa Hospital for COVID-19. They said the video chats were the next best thing to being at the bedside.

The Ottawa Hospital normally sees about 37,000 outpatients a month. With the province’s guidance to ramp down non-urgent procedures and clinics, half of these non-urgent appointments are being done virtually – right from the patient’s phone or tablet. Not only does this mean more convenience for patients, but also fewer patients having to visit the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.