14 rural Alberta hospitals lost ER service in June 2024

Back in June, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 13 communities in May, 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 June, as well. Sure enough, there were. Here’s what I found.

Sylvan Lake

The first hospital closure announced for June actually was published on 28 May, when AHS announced that they were closing the Sylvan Lake Advanced Ambulatory Care Service.

Actually, it was 5 closures, but only 3 were for June.

Start	End	Duration
14:00, 1 June	22:00, 1 June	8 hours
20:00, 3 June	22:00, 3 June	2 hours
07:30, 4 June	22:00, 4 June	14.5. hours

On the 6th, AHS announced they were shutting down advanced ambulatory care again. This time, they announced just one closure, which would run from 14:00 until 22:00 the following day.

A week later, they announced two more closures. Each one was to begin at 07:30 and end at 15:00, with the first on the 17th and the second on the 24th. However, a later announcement changed the 17th closure to a 24-hour closure.

AHS issued yet another closure notice on the 24th. The closure was supposed to last until 22:00 that evening. There was no start time, but the notice was published at just before 08:30 that morning.

These closures were all due to AHS not hiring enough physicians; although AHS called it “gaps in physician coverage”.

AHS closed down advanced ambulatory care in this community for a combined 77.5 hours last month; although that may vary slightly, given that we don’t know the exact time the closure on the 24th took effect.

This isn’t the first time the community has lost ambulatory care; they lost it for 7 days in August and over the Christmas holidays in 2021; in January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022; in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of last year; and this past January, Februrary, March, April, and May.

This marks 29 months in a row that Sylvan Lake has lost ambulatory care service, not including the regularly scheduled overnight closures

Fairview

The next closure announced for June was actually published at the end on May. On 31 May, AHS noted on their website that the Fairview Health Complex would have no on-site physician coverage in the emergency department for 48 hours, starting at 07:00 on 3 June.

On the 5th, AHS reported that they’d be closing this emergency department once more, beginning at 07:00 on the 6th and lasting for 24 hours.

Just two days later, they announced yet another 24-hour closure. It was scheduled to begin at 07:00 on the 10th.

A week following that, AHS announced 4 additional closures.

Start	End	Hours
07:00, 16 June	07:00, 19 June	72 hours
07:00, 20 June	17:00, 21 June	34 hours
07:00, 24 June	07:00, 26 June	48 hours
07:00, 27 June	07:00, 29 June	48 hours

After another week had passed, AHS announced 3 more closures, which altered the above closures.

Start	End	Hours
07:00, 20 June	07:00, 24 June	96 hours
07:00, 25 June	07:00, 26 June	24 hours
07:00, 27 June	07:00, 29 June	48 hours

So, they added on 3 more days to the original closure that was supposed to begin on the 20th, and they shortened the 24th closure by a day.

That’s a total of 336 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; 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, and twice in May.

Smoky Lake

Also on the 31st of May, AHS declared that they were shutting down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake.

Technically, it was two closures.

Start	End	Hours
08:00, 3 June	17:00, 7 June	105 hours
08:00, 10 June	17:00, 14 June	105 hours

Nearly 2 weeks later, on the 11th, AHS announced 6 more closures for this emergency department.

Start	End	Hours
19:00, 12 June	08:00, 13 June	13 hours
19:00, 13 June	08:00, 14 June	13 hours
19:00, 17 June	08:00, 18 June	13 hours
19:00, 18 June	08:00, 19 June	13 hours
19:00, 19 June	08:00, 20 June	13 hours
19:00, 20 June	08:00, 21 June	13 hours

13 days later, they declared 4 more closures. Each closure was to begin at 19:00 and last for 13 hours. The first closure was scheduled for the 24th, with the 3 other closures beginning on the 25th, 26th, and 27th.

That’s a combined 340 hours for the entire month of June.

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, and May.

Elk Point

Alberta Health Services announced another closure on 31 May, this time for the emergency department at the Elk Point Healthcare Centre.

Like the closures announced for Fairview and Smoky Lake, this closure was to last for over 24 hours and span several days. It was scheduled to begin at 08:00 on the 3rd and end at 08:00 on the 6th, for a total of 72 hours.

This closure were a result of AHS having insufficient levels of physicians.

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 of this year.

Bassano

Another closure announced on 31 May was for the community of Bassano, when AHS declared they they were closing the emergency department at the Bassano Health Centre. The closure was to begin at 08:00 on 3 June and end at 17:00 on 6 June.

That’s a combined 81 hours.

Bassano’s emergency department also saw closures in May, August, September, and December of 2023, as well as a closure this past January.

Milk River

The first announcement published in June was for the emergency department at the Milk River Health Centre.

On the 2nd, AHS announced they were closing the emergency department at the Milk River Health Centre. They didn’t specify what time the closure began, other than it was effective immediately. The meta data in the HTML code of the announcement, however, said that the article was published at 11:30. The closure was to end at 08:00 the following morning. If the closure was effective as of the posting time, then the closure was for about 20.5 hours.

It’s difficult to calculate the actual total number of hours this emergency department was closed, given that one announcement didn’t include a specific start time. We do know, however, that it was at least a combined 60 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 2022, as well as January, February, May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of last year and January of this year.

Beaverlodge

AHS announced a closure at the Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital on the 4th, and it was set to begin at 08:00 the following day and last for 48 hours.

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

Beaverlodge’s emergency department saw closures in May, July, August, November, and December 2022; January, March, May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023; and March and April 2024.

Stettler

The following day, on the 5th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre.

They didn’t indicate what time the closure would take effect; although, the announcement was published on their website just after 08:30 that morning. It was supposed to last until 08:00 the following morning.

Less than a week later, on the 10th, AHS announced two more closures for this emergency department.

Start	End	Hours
08:00, 11 June	08:00, 12 June	24 hours
17:00, 13 June	08:00, 14 June	15 hours

An announcement made on the 13th, however, indicated that AHS had found coverage for the second closure.

That was shortlived though, as AHS issued another closure notice less than a week later, on the 19th. It was to begin at 08:00 the following morning and last for 9 hours.

That wasn’t the last one. They announced another closure on the 25th. It was to start at 17:00 that evening and last until 08:00 the next morning.

Unsurprisingly, these closures was because of “unexpected gaps in staffing coverage”.

Nursing staff were on site for assessments and triage, and EMS were redirected to facilities in Lacombe, Red Deer, and Drumheller.

That’s a combined 71 hours that the community was without its emergency department in June; although that could also vary given that the first closure announcement had no start time listed.

Stettler had a 24-hour closure in May, June, and August of 2021, as well as a daytime closure in September 2022 and closures in April and December of 2023.

Fort Macleod

Also on the 5th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Fort Macleod Health Centre.

They didn’t say when the closure began, but it was supposed to last until 07:00 on the 6th. The notice was published around 12:30 in the afternoon on the 5th however, so it possibly was for 18.5 hours.

A week later, on the 12th, AHS announced another closure, this one for 24 hours, beginning at 08:00 on the 13th. They issued another closure the following week, on the 18th, but it was to last for 48 hours, as of 08:00 on the 20th.

These closures were 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.

The emergency department in Fort Macleod was closed for a combined 90.5 hours, give or take, depending on when the closure on the 5th actually began.

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

Swan Hills

On the 7th of June, AHS announced that the emergency department at the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre would be closed three times over the following week.

Each closure would start at 19:00 that morning and would last for 12 hours. The first was scheduled for the 7th, followed by closures on the

This time, the closures were because AHS hadn’t hired enough nurses for this hospital.

Toward the end of the month, on the 26th, AHS reported that they’d be closing the emergency department 5 more times. Each closure would begin at 19:00—starting with the 26th—and last 12 hours, lasting until 1 July. The June portion of the closure works out to be 49 hours.

This was a combined loss of 85 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 and April of this year.

Drayton Valley

On 9 June, Drayton Valley found out that they were losing their emergency department, when AHS announced they planned to close it for 32 hours, starting at midnight between the 10th and 11th.

However, the following day, they reported that they were able to find coverage for part of the closure. The emergency department was scheduled to reopen for 10.5 hours, beginning at 09:00 on the 11th. That reduced the total closure length to 21.5 hours.

Towards the end of the month, on the 28th, they announced a second closure, to begin at 07:30 on the 30th and last until 08:00 on 1 July. The June portion of the closure was 16.5 hours.

These closure, like so many others over the past two years, was because of insufficient physician coverage.

Nurses were to be on hand for triage and assessment purposes, but they were also available for emergency first aid, if needed.

EMS calls were rerouted to facilities in Devon, Leduc, Rimbey, and Stony Plain.

Drayton Valley was without their emergency department for a combined 38 hours in June.

AHS had closed this emergency department three times before, back in September 2022 and July 2023, as well as in April and May 2024.

Ponoka

That following day, on the 10th, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre.

It was actually an announcement for two closures. Both were scheduled to begin at 17:00 and last for 15 hours, with the first starting on the 10th and the second on the 12th. An announcement made just two days later, however, said they found coverage for the second closure, so total closure times was 15 hours, not 30.

Even so, they announced just the next day, on the 13th, one more closure: from 16:00 until 22:00 that evening. Then they announced another closure the day after that, running from 10:00 until 17:00 on the 14th.

Another announcement later day indicated one more closure that weekend, but a subsequent notice said they found coverage for that closure.

That brings the combined closure time in June to 28 hours for Ponoka’s emergency department.

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 last August, 5 times last September, and 3 times last November, and once last December.

Rocky Mountain House

On the 13th, AHS announced that the ER in Rocky Mountain House would be closed twice that week.

The first closure was to begin at 07:00 the following morning and run for 11 hours. The second closure was to run from 18:00 on the 15th until 07:00 on the 16th. A later announcement, however, said that they found coverage for the second closure.

On the 24th, AHS issued another closure for Rocky Mountain House, which was set to begin at 18:00 that evening and last until 07:00 the following morning.

The next day, they published yet another closure notice. This one was supposed to begin at 18:00 that evening (the 25th) and last until 07:00 on the 27th.

That brought to 6 the total hours that the community lost its emergency department in June.

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, and May 2024. They also lost acute care beds in July 2021 and obstetric services in January 2022.

Picture Butte

On the 21st, AHS issued a closure notice for the Piyami Health Centre in Picture Butte. This was for they ambulatory clinic, though, not the emergency department.

The ambulatory clinic was closed for 5 hours, from 10:00 to 15:00, on the 22nd.

This is the first time AHS has closed a department in this hospital since I began tracking Alberta hospital closures in May 2021.

Hinton

Alberta Health Services announced on 24 June that they were closing the emergency department at the Hinton Health Centre.

The announcement actually included 4 closures. Each one was to begin at 23:00 and last for 8 hours, beginning on the 24th and followed by closures on the 25th, 26th, and 30th.

The June portion of those closures came to a combined 25 hours.

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

This is only the second time AHS has closed this emergency department since I began tracking Alberta hospital closures in May 2021. The previous closure was in May.

Grande Cache

Alberta Health Services announced on 26 June that they were closing the emergency department at the Grande Cache Community Health Complex for 9 hours, beginning at 08:00 the following day.

Unsurprisingly, AHS blamed the closure on their “inability to secure physician coverage”.

EMS were scheduled to be rerouted to Hinton or Grande Prairie, if needed, during the closure.

This is the first time AHS has closed this emergency department since I began tracking Alberta hospital closures in May 2021.