14 Alberta communities lost ER service in Nov.

At the beginning of November, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut services at hospitals in 12 communities in October, 11 of 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 November, as well. Sure enough, there were. Here’s what I found.

Milk River

The first closure was actually announced on Halloween, when the community of Milk River received a closure notice that AHS were closing the emergency department at the Milk River Health Centre that morning and reopen at 08:00 on 1 November.

So, Milk River was without ER service during the first 8 hours of the month. However, the very next day, AHS said that they were closing the emergency department “until further notice”. That was short lived though because they reported that they planned to reopen it as of 08:00 on the 3rd.

However, AHS made another closure announcement about 2.5 weeks later, when they said they were shutting it down from 16:00 on the 22nd until 17:00 on the 24th. That’s a total of 49 hours.

The Milk River ER was shut down yet again at 19:00 on the 28th. The closure lasted for 12 hours.

Finally, on the last day of the month, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department until 07:00 on the 1st of December. The closure began at 19:00, so the town lost its ER for the final 5 hours of the month.

Because the closures at the beginning of the month had no start times, it’s hard to know the total hours this emergency department was closed last month, but it was more than 100 hours.

These closures were due to insufficient staffing levels of physicians.

Nursing staff were on site in both cases to provide care for long-term care residents, and EMS were redirected to Raymond or Lethbridge.

Milk River also lost their ER in February, May, September, October, and December of last year, as well as January, February, May, July, August, September, and October of this year.

Smoky Lake

The first closure announced in November was when AHS declared they were closing down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake.

This was supposed to be a 47-hour closure beginning at 19:00 on the 1st and lasting until 08:00 in the morning of the 3rd.

A week and a half later, on the 10th, AHS announced two more closures for this emergency department. The first was a 13-hour closure scheduled to start at 19:00 on the 14th, while the second was to start at 19:00 on the 15th and last for 37 hours.

Just a week after that, they announced three more 13-hour closures, which were each scheduled to start at 19:00, with the first on the 20th, followed by the 21st, and ending with one on the 22nd. However, the ended up finding physician coverage at the last minute and kept the ER open during this time.

On the 24th, AHS announced another three 13-hour closures. Again, each would begin at 19:00, with the first kicking off on the 27th, the second on the 28th, and the final one on the 29th.

That’s a combined 136 hours for the entire month of November.

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 closed down for part of one day last April, August, and September, as well as this past March, June, July, August, September, and October.

Pincher Creek

On the 2nd, AHS announced that they were closing down the emergency department at the Pincher Creek Health Centre.

The 12-hour closure was scheduled to begin at 19:30 that night, and the emergency department was to open for regualr 24-hour service the following morning at 07:30,

Of course, this closure was a result of AHS not having staffed a sufficient number of physicians for this hospital.

During the temporary closure, nursing staff will remain on-site to provide care for inpatients.

Patients needing emergency care were redirected to hospitals in Cardston, Crowsnest Pass, Fort Macleod, or Lethbridge.

Pincher Creek also lost its emergency department this past July.

Fairview

Also on the 2nd, Alberta Health Services noted on their website that the Fairview Health Complex would have no on-site physician coverage in the emergency department for 12 hours

The closure was scheduled to begin at 07:00 the following morning.

Less than a week later, on the 6th, AHS reported that they’d be closing this emergency department again. This announcement was actually for three 13-hour closures, each running from 19:00 until 08:00 the following morning. The first was to start on the 6th, followed by one on the 7th, and finishing with one on the 8th.

Just 4 days later, AHS announced yet another closure for this ER. This was scheduled to begin at 07:00 and last for 24 hours.

At the end of November (29th), AHS reported that they were closing this emergency department once again, this time for 48 hours, beginning at 07:00 on the 20th.

That’s a total of 92 hours without their ER last month.

In both 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, as well as twice in January 2022, and once this past October.

Beaverlodge

The next community to get a closure was Beaverlodge, near Grande Prairie. AHS announced on the 2nd that they’d be shutting down their emergency department the following day.

The closure was to begin at 07:00 on the 3rd and last for 9 hours.

As with the Smoky Lake and Fairview closures, these closures were a result of AHS’s inability to hire enough doctors. Nurses were on hand for triage and assessment.

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

Hardisty

The following day, on the 3rd, AHS said they were closing the emergency department at the Hardisty Health Centre.

They didn’t specify which hours the closure would run but that it would be closed from 6 November until 10 November.

The cause was “a gap in physician coverage”.

Nursing staff were on hand for assessment and triage.

Coronation

Also announced on the 3rd of November was the closure of the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre.

However, AHS’s announcement was technically for 4 closures:

Start	End	Length
6 November, 08:00	7 November, 08:00	24 hours
9 November, 08:00	10 November, noon	28 hours
13 November, 08:00	14 November, 08:00	24 hours
16 November, 08:00	17 November, noon	28 hours

Two weeks later, on the 17th, AHS announced 5 more closures of the ER in Coronation.

Start	End	Length
20 November, 08:00	21 November, 08:00	24 hours
23 November, 08:00	24 November, noon	28 hours
27 November, 08:00	28 November, 08:00	24 hours
30 November, 08:00	30 November, midnight	16 hours

That’s a combined loss of 196 hours during the month of November.

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 this past April, May, June, July, September, and October.

Lac La Biche

Also on the 3rd, AHS said that they were closing down the emergency department at the Lac La Biche – William J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre.

The announcement was for two closures, actually. The first was to begin at 16:00 on 5 November and last for 16 hours. The second was a set of overnight closures, running from 21:00 until 08:00 every night, from 6 November until 11 November. However, they later announced that they found coverage for the first of the latter closures, running from the 6th to the 7th.

AHS posted more closures on their website for Lac La Biche on the 10th. The first one was to begin at 19:00 on the 12th and last for 13 hours, and the second was a 16-hour closure scheduled to stat at 16:00 on the 15th.

A week and a half later (on the 20th), they announced 3 more closures. Each would start at 16:00 and last for 16 hours. The first was scheduled for the 21st, followed by the 22nd, and finishing with the 23rd.

Just 4 days later (on the 24th), they announced another two 16-hour closures, the first to start at 16:00 on the 27th, followed by 16:00 on the 29th.

Combined, Lac La Biche was without their emergency department for 169 hours in November.

Both closures were both 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, twice in both past March and April, three times this past May, twice this past June, five times in both July and August, once this past September, and twice in October. Last May, Lac La Biche also lost “obstetrical and surgical services for an undetermined period”.

Ponoka

On the 6th, AHS announced two closures for the emergency department at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre.

The first closure was to start at 18:00 later that day and last until 08:00 the following morning. The second one was scheduled to begin at 17:00 on the 8th and last for 15 hours.

On the 10th, they announced another closure for this emergency department. It was scheduled to run from 17:00 that evening until 08:00 the following morning.

A little over a week later, on the 18th, AHS said that they planned to close the Ponoka emergency department yet again. This closure was to run from 08:00 that morning until 17:00 that night. Later that day, they announced a similar closure—08:00 until 17:00—but for the following day, the 19th.

Combined, the community was without its emergency department for 62 hours in November.

As expected, the closures were a result of the AHS not hiring enough physicians to provide adequate coverage in this emergency department.

EMS calls in Ponoka were to be re-routed to facilities in Wetaskiwin, Lacombe, or Red Deer.

Ponoka lost its emergency department 4 times this past August and 5 times this past September.

Lacombe

Speaking of Lacombe, however, AHS announced on the 8th that they planned to close the emergency department at the Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre the next day. The 9-hour closure was scheduled to run from 08:00 until 17:00 on the 9th.

The closure, like so many others, was due to AHS not having enough physicians to fully staff the emergency department.

Nurses, of course, were on hand for assessments and triage.

EMS were rerouted to Red Deer, Stettler, and—ironically—Ponoka.

This isn’t the first time Lacombe lost their emergency department. AHS closed it in February 2022 as well.

Spirit River

AHS announced on the 10th that they planned to close the emergency department at the Central Peace Health Complex in Spirit River overnight.

The closure would last 22.5 hours starting at 11:30 that morning, and continue until 10:00 the following morning.

This closure were 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 and also experienced closure last April, June, and December. It also lost its ER twice this past August and once in September.

Sylvan Lake

On the 16th of November, AHS announced that they were closing the Sylvan Lake Advanced Ambulatory Care Service the following day.

The closure was scheduled to begin at 14:00 and last for 8 hours, until 22:00, when the the department normally shuts down for the day

Four days later, AHS announced 2 more ambulatory care closures:

• 21 November, 07:30–15:00
• 24 November, 14:00–22:00

That’s a combined loss of 23.5 hours during the month of November.

Keep in mind, that ambulatory care service is available at the Sylvan Lake Community Health Centre between 07:30 and 22:00 under normal circumstances. It is typically not a 24-hour service.

The closures were due to AHS not being able to hire enough physicians.

This isn’t the first time the community has lost ambulatory care; they lost it for 7 days in August 2021, over the Christmas holidays in 2021, as well as January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of last year, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October of this year.

Bassano

AHS announced on the 22nd that they were closing the emergency department at the Bassano Health Centre twice that week.

Both closures were to begin at 17:00 and last until 08:00 the following morning, with the first beginning on the 22nd and the second on the 23rd.

Once again, AHS blamed the closure on “a lack of physician coverage”, which means they hadn’t hired enough physicians to properly staff the emergency department.

Nurses were on site to provide care for long-term and acute care, and EMS were redirected to Brooks, which is about 50 kilometres to the southeast.

Bassano’s emergency department also saw closures in May, August, September, and November of 2022.

Grimshaw/Berwyn

AHS made a closure announcement at the end of November for the emergency department at the Grimshaw/Berwyn and District Health Centre.

This was technically an extension, however, as this closure has been in place since 1 November of last year and was announced last Halloween.

Every night since then, starting at 21:00, the emergency department has been closed for 12 hours. AHS blames insufficient numbers of nurses in the area.

On 27 January, AHS announced they were extending the overnight closures for another two months, until the end of July. This will be 5 months straight with no overnight ER services, assuming AHS doesn’t issue another extension.

However, on 28 April, 3 months before that extension was to expire, AHS announced they were extending the closure for another month, until the end of this past August.

And with the arrival of 31 August, they released yet another extension, pushing the end of this closure out another 3 months, until the end of November.

As the new deadline approached, however, they realized that they still wouldn’t have enough registered nurses on hand, so they extended the overnight closure once again.

This time, however, there was no end date included in the announcement. Instead, AHS said that this emergency department “will remain on these temporary hours until further notice”.

Temporary hours? Thousands of residents serviced by this hospital have been without overnight emergency department service for over a year. That’s a long time to be just temporary.

EMS were to be rerouted to Peace River (25 km), Fairview (58 km), Manning (83 km), McLennan (100 km), or Spirit River (112 km), as needed.

Grimshaw lost its emergency department last July, August, and September, too, before the extended closure began.

Swan Hills

On the last day of November, AHS announced that the emergency department at the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre would be closed for four 12-hour periods.

Each closure would start at 19:00 and end the following morning at 07:00. The first one was scheduled for the 20th, followed by one in each of the first 3 days of December.

The closure is because AHS hadn’t hired enough nurses for this hospital, leading to a “lack of available registered nursing staff and an inability to secure temporary coverage”.

EMS were to be rerouted to surrounding communities.

Swan Hills also lost ER service in January, February, May, July, and December of last year, as well as June and August of this year.