Medical Director, Quality & Safety
Hospital Medicine Division Head

As Sinai Health’s Division Head of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Soong helps transition patients from acute care to rehabilitation services at Bridgepoint Active Healthcare. During the pandemic, Bridgepoint increased capacity to accept patient transfers not just from Mount Sinai Hospital, but from acute care hospitals across the GTA, easing pressure in parts of the city hardest hit by COVID-19. Between December 2020 and the end of February 2021, Bridgepoint accepted more than 100 of these types of patient transfers — more than any other post-acute care facility in Ontario.

“We had a pretty robust process in place already to move patients across the system, from acute care to rehabilitation, creating seamless transitions. And when COVID-19 came, we were able to build on that foundation. 

“Throughout the pandemic, Bridgepoint has accepted more non-traditional patients — meaning not just rehab patients. We typically have specific criteria for admission, but during COVID-19, we said anybody who no longer requires acute care can be moved here. And that created capacity in acute care hospitals across the region. 

“I’m so proud of the Bridgepoint team — stepping up to do what was needed, to do the job with zero complaints and no hesitation. We knew some regions in Ontario were harder hit than others and, as a result, some hospitals were harder hit. At Bridgepoint, there was never any sense of, ‘We can’t take these patients.’ 

“I think that’s huge – we’re the little engine that could! Most people, from a health-system perspective, don’t think of post-acute care as very sexy. But rehab and complex continuing care was the hero in this situation. Without us offloading the acute care hospitals, the system may not have been able to function efficiently. 

“It really feels like a family here, and that’s likely part of the reason why we saw the response we did — everybody’s in it together.”