12 Alberta hospitals lost ER service in September

Last month, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 15 communities in August, 11 14 which lost their emergency department.

This is a continuation of similar closures throughout 2021, starting in May of that year. And it’s driven primarily by a lack of physicians in the communities.

I dug through all the news releases that AHS issued last month to find out if there were any closures in September, as well. Sure enough, there were.

Here’s what I found.

Lac La Biche

The first September closure actually came in August. On 26August, AHS announced they were closing the emergency department at the Lac La Biche – William J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre.

It was actually an announcement for 5 closures, although the first closures took place in August. The two closures were on the 3rd and 4th of September, each beginning at 16:00 and lasting for 16 hours.

Start	End	Hours
16:00, 1 September	08:00, 2 September	16 hours
16:00, 6 September	08:00, 7 September	16 hours
16:00, 9 September	08:00, 10 September	16 hours
		48 hours

On the 10th, AHS announced three more closures for Lac La Biche. Each was to begin at 16:00 and last for 16 hours. The first was to start on the 10th, followed by the 11th and the 13th.

Combined, Lac La Biche was without their emergency department for 96 hours in September.

All the closures were a result of the AHS’s “inability to secure physician coverage”.

Nursing staff were on hand for triage and assessments during all closures, but those needing emergency care were referred to emergency departments in other communities in the region.

The community lost their emergency department three times back in June of 2022, once the subsequent August; several times in 2023, including twice in both March and April, three times in May, twice in June, five times in both July and August, once in September, twice in October, four times in November, and seven times in December. AHS also closed it 6 times this past January, 7 times this past February, 3 times this past April, 12 times this past May, and 6 times this past August.

In May 2022, Lac La Biche also lost “obstetrical and surgical services for an undetermined period”.

Swan Hills

Another September emergency room closure announced in August was for the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre, which was posted on 29 August.

The first September closure started on 31 August but spanned into the first 7 hours of 1 September, followed by a second closure starting at 19:00 on the 1st and last 12 hours.

This was a combined loss of 19 hours during the entire month.

Swan Hills also lost ER service in January, February, May, July, and December of 2022; June, August, and November of last year; and January, April, June, and August of this year.

Fairview

The next closure announcement for September actually came towards the end of August, when AHS noted on their website that the Fairview Health Complex would have no on-site physician coverage in the emergency department.

The closure was supposed to start on 3 September and last 24 hours, until 07:00 on the the morning of the 4th.

On the 5th, AHS reported that they’d be closing this emergency department twice more. Each closure would begin at 07:00 each morning and last for 24 hours, with the first starting on the 6th and the second on the 9th.

On the 11th, they announced another closure. This was to begin at 07:00 on the 12th and last for 48 hours.

Two days later, they said they were closing Fairview’s emergency department again. It was also to last for 48 hours, starting at 07:00 on the 16th.

Then, on the 19th, they announced another 3 closures.

Start	End	Hours
07:00, 20 September	07:00, 21 September	24 hours
07:00, 23 September	07:00, 24 September	24 hours
07:00, 25 September	07:00, 28 September	72 hours
		120 hours

However, on the 26th, they announced that they had found coverage for the final 24 hours.

On the 27th, AHS announced the final closure for September. It was actually an announcement for 5 closures, but most of them would occur in October. The September portion of these closures began at 07:00 on the 30th and lasted for 19 hours.

That’s a combined 235 hours without their ER last month.

In all cases, the closures were result of AHS’s being unable “to secure physician coverage”.

Nurses were in the emergency department, however providing triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities, as needed.

The Fairview ER was shut down several times in 2021, including in May, June, July, and November; twice in January 2022; once last October, and 3 times last November and December; and 6 times this past February, twice in March, 4 times in April, twice in May, 10 times in June, 9 times in July, and 6 times in August.

Elk Point

The first closure announcement actually made in September occurred on the 3rd, this time for the emergency department at the Elk Point Healthcare Centre. Actually, it was for 4 closures.

Start	End	Duration
08:00, 4 September	08:00, 5 September	24 hours
08:00, 11 September	08:00, 12 September	24 hours
08:00, 18 September	08:00, 19 September	24 hours
08:00, 25 September	08:00, 26 September	24 hours

These closures were all a result of AHS having insufficient levels of physicians.

Combined, Elk Point lost its emergency department for 96 hours in August.

As well, on the 25th, AHS announced that for the foreseeable future, they’d be closing the emergency department in Elk Point for 25 hours starting at 07:00 every Wednesday.

The community lost its emergency department several times in 2021, in June, July, August, September, October, and November, as well as August, September, and October 2022; January and February of last year; and May, June, and August of this year.

Rocky Mountain House

Also on the 3rd, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre. It was to start at 18:00 that night and last until 07:00 the following morning, for a total of 13 hours.

That brought to 13 the total hours that the community lost its emergency department in September.

Like so many others, this closure were due to a “gap in physician coverage”.

The community lost their emergency department for brief periods in May 2021; June, July, August, and October 2023; and January, February, April, May, June, and July 2024. They also lost acute care beds in July 2021 and obstetric services in January 2022.

Spirit River

AHS announced on the 5th that they planned to close the emergency department at the Central Peace Health Complex in Spirit River.

The closure would last 24 hours starting at 08:00 that morning, and continue until 08:00 the following morning.

This closure was a result of AHS not having enough physicians in Spirit River.

Nurses were, of course, on hand for triage and assessment purposes only.

Spirit River also lost its emergency department for 24 hours in August 2021, as well as during closures in April, June, and December of 2022. It also lost its ER twice in August, once in September, and once in November of 2023. Finally, AHS closed the ER this past January and July, too.

Hinton

Another closure announced on the 5th was for the emergency department at the Hinton Health Centre. It was to start at 21:00 that evening and last for 10 hours, ending at 07:00 the following morning.

That wasn’t the only closure, however. Just 4 days later, AHS announced 3 more closures, each running from 21:00 until 07:00 the following morning. The first closure was to begin on the 9th, with the other two closure starting on each of the next two days.

A week and a half later, on the 19th, AHS said they were closing this emergency department once more. This one was also for 10 hours, beginning at 21:00 that evening.

Finally, they announced another 10-hour closure on the 26th, which was supposed to begin at 21:00 that evening.

The September portion of those closures came to a combined 60 hours.

EMS were scheduled to be rerouted to Jasper or Edson, if needed, during the closure.

This is only the third time AHS has closed this emergency department since I began tracking Alberta hospital closures in May 2021. The previous closures were in May, July, and August.

Smoky Lake

On 11 September, AHS declared that they were shutting down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake.

Technically, it was 3 closures.

Start	End	Hours
19:00, 12 September	08:00, 13 September	13 hours
19:00, 19 September	08:00, 20 September	13 hours
19:00, 26 September	08:00, 27 September	13 hours
		39 hours

The next day, however, they updated the announcement to say that each closure would actually begin at 16:00, adding a combined 9 hours to the closures in September.

That’s a combined 48 hours for the entire month of September.

Like so many others, these closures were a result of AHS not having staffed a sufficient number of physicians for this hospital.

Nursing staff were on site, however, to conduct triage and assessments. EMS was rerouted to health facilities in surrounding communities.

This isn’t the first time that Smoky Lake has lost its emergency department either. It was also closed in April, August, and September 2022; March, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2023; and this past January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August.

Beaverlodge

On the 12th, AHS said that they’d be shutting down the emergency department at Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital between 07:00 and 19:00 the next day, for a total of 12 hours.

This closure were a result of AHS’s inability to hire enough physicians.

Beaverlodge’s emergency department saw closures last May, July, August, November, and December, too, as well as this past January, March, May, June, and August.

Boyle

AHS published an announcement on the 18th saying that they were closing the emergency department at the Boyle Healthcare Centre 3 times over the next week. Each closure was scheduled to run from 09:00 each morning, lasting until 20:00 the same day.

The first closure was scheduled for the 20th, followed by closures on the 21st and 22nd; however, the next day, they reported that they found coverage for the second and third closures.

A little over a week later, on the 26th, AHS announced two more closures for Boyle’s emergency department. Each closer was to begin at 09:00 and last for 12 hours, with the first occurring on the 28th and the second on the 29th.

These closures were a result of AHS not hiring enough physicians.

Boyle lost its emergency department for a total of 57 hours in September.

Boyle’s emergency department was also closed in June 2021; April and June of 2022; August and December 2023; and May and August 2024.

Coronation

AHS announced a closure on the 19th of September. This time for the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre.

In the announcement, AHS said they planned to shut down the emergency department for 4 hours: from 08:00 until noon on 20 September.

A week later, they announced a similar 4-hour closure for the 27th.

These is in addition to another announcement made back in March, when AHS said they planned to shut down emergency department twice a week until further notice. The first closure was to be for 24 hours, beginning at 08:00 every Monday morning, and the second closure was for 28 hours beginning at 08:00 on Thursday mornings.

I have yet to see an announcement saying that they have cancelled this closure yet.

For September, that came to 232 combined hours, plus the two 4-hour closures, for a total of 240 hours.

These closures were due to AHS’s inability to have sufficient staffing levels of physicians, or as they called it: “gaps in physician coverage”.

Nursing staff were on hand for first aid and triage to other facilities in the region.

EMS were to be rerouted to hospitals in Castor (35 km), Hanna (90 km), and Stettler (95 km).

Coronation also lost their emergency department just last April, May, June, July, September, October, November, and December, as well as this past January, February, and March, of course.

Fort Macleod

The final community to lose their emergency department in September was Fort Macleod. AHS announced the closure on the 20th.

The announcement didn’t indicate what time the closure began; although the announcement was published just before 08:00 that morning. It was supposed to end at 16:00 that evening. Assuming that the closure was effective when it was published, then the closure lasted for a little more than 8 hours.

This closure was due to AHS’s inability to hire enough doctors to keep staffing levels sufficient.

EMS were to be redirected to Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, and patients needing emergency care were instructed to go to Cardston, Lethbridge, or Pincher Creek.

Nurses were on site but only to provide care to long-term patients.

Fort Macleod was also without emergency department services in September and December 2023, as well as April, May, July, and August 2024.

Keep in mind that these are just the closures announced in September. It doesn’t include communities with extended closures, such as Grimshaw, where AHS closed their emergency department in November 2022 and still hasn’t reopened it.