December 3, 2025
Manitoba Government Expands Virtual Medicine Ward to Support Home Recovery and Reduce Emergency Room Wait Times
The Manitoba government continues to expand its Virtual Medicine Ward program across several Winnipeg hospital sites, allowing more patients to safely receive monitored care at home instead of occupying acute-care beds, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today, adding that by building on innovative models first used during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is becoming a standard option for patients who do not require full in-hospital care.
“Our job is to make sure every Manitoban receives the right care, in the right place, at the right time,” said Asagwara. “The Virtual Medicine Ward is an innovative model based on the clinical principle that, for some patients, being at home means a faster and more fulsome recovery than being in hospital. Continuing its expansion means the appropriate patients can recover at home while our hospitals focus on higher-acuity care. This is a practical step that improves patient flow, improves patient outcomes and eases pressure on emergency departments.”
The phased rollout began in September and is part of the Manitoba government’s strategy to reduce emergency department wait times and improve patient flow across the health system. The program has seen steady growth, with admissions increasing month-over-month, the minister said. To date, it has freed up more than 90 hospital bed days and has capacity to support up to 30 patients at a time, the equivalent of 30 acute-care beds, the minister noted, with patients typically remaining in the program for four to nine days and only a small number requiring a return to hospital.
The Virtual Medicine Ward program provides remote clinical oversight for eligible patients who can be safely monitored at home. This often includes patients with mild to moderate illness including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and COVID-19. These are patients who would otherwise require admission but are clinically stable enough to recover safely at home with daily monitoring. The ward program is commonly used for patients starting new medications that require monitoring or those who may only need a few days of intravenous (IV) antibiotics.
Patients receive daily virtual check-ins from nurses and physicians, remote symptom and vital-sign monitoring through tablets and medical devices, as well as in-home supports such as IV therapy and home oxygen when required. In-home assessments and escalations are supported by Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service’s emergency paramedics in the community. The ward program accepts referrals from emergency departments, urgent care centres and internal medicine units.
A patient who was admitted to the Virtual Medicine Ward program last week described the experience as supportive and efficient.
“The service was really good. I was checked in on and supported every day,” said Vincente Dado. “It was more convenient and efficient than staying in the hospital. The staff and doctors were great, and being able to recover at home helped me feel more comfortable.”
Shared Health hired four nurses to support the expansion, with one additional nursing position and three clerk positions to be filled. Patients have already been referred from Grace Hospital, Concordia Hospital, St. Boniface Hospital and Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, and meetings are underway with Victoria Hospital as expansion continues.
The Virtual Medicine Ward program operates seven days a week with virtual physicians and nurses working from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and paramedics working overnight. The ward program provides patients with the medical equipment they need to be safely discharged such as a pulse oximeter, thermometer or blood pressure cuff.
Manitoba’s expanded Virtual Medicine Ward program is an initiative of the Lower Wait Time and System Improvement Team. It complements the Manitoba government’s other actions underway to reduce ER wait times and improve hospital flow, including improving Health Links-Info Santé triage through physician support, increasing staffed acute-care beds, investing in seven-day-a-week discharge, strengthening in-home and community care capacity, and providing alternative options for evening and weekend primary care at Extended Hours and Minor Injury and Illness Clinics.
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