In June, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 15 communities in April, 12 of which lost their emergency department.
This is a continuation of similar closures starting in May 2021. 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 last month, as well. Sure enough, there were.
Here’s what I found.
Redwater
The first June closure announcement actually came in May. On the 27th, AHS stated that the emergency department at the Redwater Health Centre would have no physician on site for the following times.
| Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4 June, 08:00 | 6 June, 08:00 | 48 hours |
| 11 June, 08:00 | 12 June, 08:00 | 24 hours |
| 17 June, 08:00 | 18 June, 08:00 | 24 hours |
| 19 June, 08:00 | 20 June, 08:00 | 24 hours |
| 25 June, 08:00 | 26 June, 08:00 | 24 hours |
| 144 hours |
There was a May closure as well, but I am listing only the June portion of the closures.
Nurses were on site at the emergency department to triage and assess patients, as well as to refer them to facilities in other communities.
This was the fourth time since since I began tracking closures in May 2021 that this community has had its emergency department closed. The other times were this past January, April, and May.
Swan Hills
The next closure announcement also occurred in May, when on the 28th, AHS posted on their website that the healthcare centre had been evacuated and closed as of the 26th because of wildfire activity in the area. It didn’t reopen until the first week of June, and even then, it was just for emergency department and outpatient services.
The June portion of that closure was 103 hours.
Inpatient services for this hospital did not open until the 17th.
All of these closures, except for the wildfire-related one, were caused by AHS having “a lack of clinical personnel”.
Swan Hills also lost ER service in January, February, May, July, and December of 2022; June, August, and November of 2023; January, April, June, August, September, October, and December of 2024; and January and May 2025.
Fort Vermilion
AHS announced on the 29th of May that the emergency department at St. Theresa General Hospital in Fort Vermilion would have no emergency department for 8 hours every night for 12 days, starting that evening. Each closure would begin at midnight and end at 08:00 the next morning.
These closures were a result of AHS’s “inability to secure physician coverage”.
The June portion of these closures totalled 80 hours.
This isn’t the first time that the emergency department at this hospital has been affected by closures. AHS also closed it in July 2021, April 2023, and, of course, May 2025.
Hinton
The next June closure announced in May was for the emergency department at the Hinton Health Centre. The announcement included 8 closures over the first week or so in June.
| Start | End | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 1 June | 07:00, 2 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 2 June | 07:00, 3 June | 10 hours |
| 13:00, 3 June | 07:00, 4June | 18 hours |
| 21:00, 4 June | 07:00, 5 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 5 June | 07:00, 6 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 6 June | 07:00, 7 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 7 June | 07:00, 8 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 8 June | 07:00, 9 June | 10 hours |
| 88 hours |
Technically, they said that it would “be without onsite physician coverage”, not that it would be explicitly closed.
The following week, on the 9th, they announced another 7 closures for this community.
| Start | End | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 9 June | 07:00, 10 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 10 June | 07:00, 11 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 11 June | 07:00, 12 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 12 June | 07:00, 13 June | 10 hours |
| 13:00, 13 June | 07:00, 14 June | 18 hours |
| 21:00, 14 June | 07:00, 15 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 15 June | 07:00, 16 June | 10 hours |
| 78 hours |
On the 17th, AHS posted about 6 more emergency department closures.
| Start | End | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 13:00, 17 June | 07:00, 18 June | 18 hours |
| 21:00, 18 June | 07:00, 19 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 19 June | 07:00, 20 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 20 June | 07:00, 21 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 21 June | 07:00, 22 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 22 June | 07:00, 23 June | 10 hours |
| 68 hours |
The final closures of the month were announced on the 23rd.
| Start | End | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 23 June | 07:00, 24 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 24 June | 07:00, 25 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 25 June | 07:00, 26 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 26 June | 07:00, 27 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 27 June | 07:00, 28 June | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 29 June | 07:00, 30 June | 10 hours |
| 60 hours |
All of these closures were a result of AHS not having hired a sufficient number of physicians, or what they called “a clinical personnel shortage and an inability to secure temporary coverage”.
The community lost their emergency room for a combined 294 hours in June.
This emergency department also experienced closures in May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of last year, and January, April, and May of this year.
Coronation
The first closure announced in June was when AHS said they were planning to close the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre.
In the announcement, AHS said they planned to shut down the department once in June and twice in July. The June closure was to last from 08:00 until noon on the 13th.
On top of that, they said earlier this year that effective 5 February they were going to close down the department for 24 hours starting at 08:00 every Thursday for the foreseeable future. That announcement also said that the emergency department would be closed every weekend, from noon on Friday until 08:00 the following Monday.
This has since been adjusted to closed between 08:00 on Thursdays until 08:00 on Fridays, and again between noon on Fridays and 08:00 on Saturdays.
For June, that came to 176 combined hours.
When you add that to the closure on the 13th, we get a combined total of 180 hours.
These closures were due to AHS’s inability to have sufficient staffing levels of physicians, or as they called it: “gaps in clinical personnel coverage”.
Nursing staff were on hand to assess patients and provide limited care. Anyone needing further care were redirected to Castor, Hannah, or Stettler.
Coronation also lost their emergency department in April, May, June, July, September, October, November, and December 2022; January, February, March, October, and December 2024; and January and May 2025.
Hardisty
On the 4th, AHS said they were closing the emergency department at the Hardisty Health Centre.
The closure was to begin at 17:00 on the 16th and not end until 07:00 on the 25th. That’s a total of 132 hours without an emergency department when you factor in that they are usually open only between 07:00 and 17:00 on weekdays.
The cause was “a gap in physician coverage”.
Nursing staff were on hand for assessment and triage. They were also available for first aid, where needed, and were to refer patients to alternate care facilities in surrounding communities, including Killam and Wainwright.
Hardisty also lost their emergency department in November and December 2023 and August and December 2024.
Fort Macleod
On the 5th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department in the Fort Macleod Health Centre for 12 hours, beginning at 19:00 that evening.
Fort Macleod was also without emergency department services in September and December 2023; April, May, July, August, October, and December 2024; and January, April, and May 2025.
Lacombe
AHS announced on the 6th that they planned to close the emergency department at the Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre. The announcement was for two closures:
| Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6 June, 23:00 | 7 June, 07:00 | 8 hours |
| 7 June, 23:00 | 8 June, 07:00 | 8 hours |
| 16 hours |
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.
This isn’t the first time Lacombe lost their emergency department. AHS closed it in February 2022 and November 2023.
Smoky Lake
On the 5th, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 16:00, 5 June | 08:00, 6 June | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 19 June | 08:00, 20 June | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 26 June | 08:00, 27 June | 16 hours |
| 48 hours |
That’s a combined 48 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 triage and assess patients and to refer them to healthcare facilities in other communities, if needed.
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; January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November, and December 2024; and January, April, and May 2025.
Spirit River
On the 12th, AHS announced that they planned to close the emergency department at the Central Peace Health Complex in Spirit River.
The closure would start at 07:00 and end at 19:00 that evening, lasting for 12 hours.
This closure was a result of AHS not having enough “clinical personnel” in Spirit River.
Spirit River also lost its emergency department in August 2021; in April, June, and December of 2022; in August, September, and November of 2023; in January, July, September, and December 2024; and in May 2025.
Lac La Biche
AHS announced on the 18th that they were shutting down the the emergency department at the William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre.
The closure began at 21:00 that evening and lasted until 08:00 the following morning, for a total of 11 hours.
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 announcement also included information about a virtual emergency physician programme being piloted in the region, where site clinical staff can connect with an AHS physician by telephone or videoconference for emergency patients with non-life threatening issues. This physician can collaborate with local healthcare workers, speak with patients, order tests and medications, and transfer or discharge patients.
The community also lost their emergency department in June and August 2022; in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2023; January, February, April, May, August, October, November, and December 2024; and January, April, and May 2025.
In May 2022, Lac La Biche also lost “obstetrical and surgical services for an undetermined period”.
Ponoka
AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre on the 20th.
It was scheduled to begin two days later at 22:00 and last for 10 hours, ending at 08:00 the following morning.
As expected, the closure were a result of the AHS not hiring enough physicians to provide adequate coverage in this emergency department.
Ponoka lost its emergency department in August, September, November, and December 2023; June 2024; and April 2025.
Beaverlodge
On the 24th, AHS said that they’d be shutting down the emergency department at Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital between 08:00 and 118:00 the following day, for a total of 10 hours.
This closure were a result of AHS’s inability to hire enough physicians.
Beaverlodge’s emergency department saw closures in May, July, August, November, and December 2023; and January, March, May, June, August, September, and October 2024.
Boyle
AHS published an announcement on the 26th saying that the emergency department at the Boyle Healthcare Centre would have no physician on site for 4 hours each night over the next 3 days. Each closure was to begin at 17:00 and end at 21:00
That was a combined closure of 12 hours in June for this emergency department.
Boyle’s emergency department was also closed in June 2021; April and June of 2022; August and December 2023; May, August, September, November, and December 2024; and May 2025.
The May 2025 closure was due to wildfire evacuation.
Peace River
The final closure announcement in June was for the emergency department at the Peace River Community Health Centre.
The closure was to begin at 15:00 on the 30th and end at 07:30 the following morning. The June portion of the closure would last 9 hours.
No nurses nor doctors were on site during this 9-hour period because AHS had not hired enough, or as they put it, “due to an unexpected shortage of clinical operations personnel and an inability to secure temporary coverage”.
This was the first closure this emergency department has experienced since I began tracking closures in May 2021.
Ongoing closures
Keep in mind that these are just the closures announced in June. It doesn’t include communities with extended closures, such as Grimshaw, where AHS closed their emergency department for 12 hours every night in November 2022 and still hasn’t changed it. That was a combined 372 hours in May.
Two Hills has had reduced hours since March 2024. It’s closed between 22:00 and 08:00 Mondays through Thursday, as well as each weekend, from 17:00 on Friday to 08:00 on Monday. That amounts to 790 hours in June.
Since September 2024, Elk Point has lost their emergency department for 25 hours starting at 07:00 every Wednesday. For June, that was 4 Wednesdays, for a combined 100 hours.
Finally, at the end of April 2025, AHS announced that they were opening the emergency department in the Bow Island Health Centre only on the weekend, closing from 07:00 each Monday until 07:00 each Friday. That amounted to 391 hours in June. AHS also announced that it would be closed for the final weekend of May, starting at 07:00 on the 30th, so the June portion of that closure would be 31 hours.
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