17 Alberta communities lost ER service in Dec.

At the beginning of December, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut services at hospitals in 15 communities in November, 14 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 December, as well. Sure enough, there were. Here’s what I found.

Fairview

The first closure was actually announced on the 29th of November, when Alberta Health Services noted on their website that the Fairview Health Complex would have no on-site physician coverage in the emergency department for 48 hours.

The closure was scheduled to begin at 07:00 on the 30th and last until the morning of 2 December.

Just two days later, on the 1st, AHS reported that they’d be closing this emergency department again, but this time for only 24 hours, starting at 07:00 on the morning of the 4th.

On the 18th, AHS announced yet another closure for this ER. It was actually for 2 closures, with the first scheduled to begin at 07:00 the following morning and lasting for 24 hours, followed by another 24-hour closure beginning at 07:00 on the 21st.

That’s a total of 120 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, once this past October, and 3 times this past November.

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 30th, followed by one in each of the first 3 days of December.

AHS announced another closure on 12 December. It was scheduled to begin at 19:00 that evening and last for 12 hours.

A third announcement came on the 22nd, with AHS saying they were shutting down the ER overnight every day for 7 days, starting on the 29th. Each closure would begin at 19:00 and last for 12 hours.

This was a combined loss of 96 hours during the entire month.

They also announced that they were shutting down inpatient admissions for 2 weeks beginning on the 22nd, with the exception of two designated supportive living beds on an as needed basis.

The closures were 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 2022, as well as June, August, and November of last year.

Wainwright

Also announced on the 30th of November was a closure for Wainwright. AHS said that they were closing the emergency department at the Wainwright Health Centre.

The closure was to begin at noon the following day and last for 12 hours, until 07:00 the following morning, and was a result of “an unexpected gap in physician coverage”.

Nurses, however, were available in the emergency department during both closures, but only to provide triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities, such as Vermilion, Viking, and Provost, as needed.

These are the first closures announced for this community since I started tracking hospital closures in May 2021.

Milk River

AHS announced a third closure on the last day of November, when they said that they were closing the emergency department until 07:00 on the 1st of December. The town lost its ER for the first 7 hours of the month.

Less than a week later, AHS announced a second closure for this community. It’d begin at 19:00 on the 5th and run for 12 hours.

The very next day, they announced another closure, running from from 08:00 until 17:30 on 7 December.

That’s a combined 28.5 hours that the ER was closed in Milk River.

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, and November of last year.

Smoky Lake

The first closure announced in December was when AHS declared on the 1st that they were closing down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake.

Actually, it was a set of 4 closures. Each was to begin at 19:00 and last 13 hours. The first was scheduled to start on the 4th, followed by 1 on each of the 3 subsequent days.

Nearly 2 weeks later, on the 11th, AHS announced 4 more closures for this emergency department. Again, each closure was to begin at 19:00 and last 13 hours. The first was to begin that evening, with the other closures occuring on each of the following 3 days.

Just a week after that, they announced 4 more 13-hour closures, which were each scheduled to start at 19:00, with the first on the 18th, followed one each on the next 3 subsequent days.

On the 22nd, AHS announced another 13-hour closure, kicking off on the 27th at 19:00.

That’s a combined 169 hours for the entire month of December, and the most closures the community has seen in a single month.

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 in each of April, August, and September 2022, as well as March, June, July, August, September, October, and November 2023.

Sylvan Lake

Also on the first, AHS announced that they were closing the Sylvan Lake Advanced Ambulatory Care Service on the 4th, from 07:30 until 15:00.

Four days later, on the 5th, AHS announced another 7.5-hour ambulatory care closure for this community. It was set to begin at 07:30 on the 6th and last until 15:00 later that day.

A little over a week later, on the 9th, they announced another closure of ambulatory care for this community. Technically, it was for 2 closures.

Start time	End time	Duration
15 Dec @ 14:00	15 Dec @ 20:00	6 hours
18 Dec @ 07:30	18 Dec @ 15:00	7.5 hours

On the 21st, AHS announced yet another closure for ambulatory care in Sylvan Lake, and, once again, it was two different days

Start time	End time	Duration
22 Dec @ 07:30	22 Dec @ 15:00	7.5 hours
25 Dec @ 14:00	25 Dec @ 22:00	8 hours

Finally, AHS announced one more closure at the end of the month, on the 28th. The closure would last 8 hours, starting at 14:00 that afternoon.

That’s a combined loss of 52 hours during the month of December.

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 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November of last year.

Fort Macleod

On the 4th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Fort Macleod Health Centre for roughly 12 hours that day.

They planned to close the emergency department as of 07:30 that morning at opening at 19:15 later that night.

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

The very next day, AHS announced that they were closing this emergency department yet again, but for 5 hours this time. The closure was to run from 08:00 on the 6th until 13:00 that afternoon.

That’s a combined 17 hours that AHS closed this emergency department down in December.

In both cases, 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 for 15 hours this past September.

Athabasca

On the 8th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Athabasca Healthcare Centre 3 times over the following 3 days.

Start time	End time	Duration
8 Dec @ 17:00	9 Dec @ 06:00	13 hours
9 Dec @ 21:00	10 Dec @ 06:00	9 hours
10 Dec @ 18:00	11 Dec @ 06:00	12 hours

That’s a combined 34 hours that the community was without their emergency department.

AHS claimed the closure was a result of their inability to maintain sufficient levels of “available physicians and [their] inability to secure locum coverage”.

Nursing staff were on hand in the emergency department during these times to provide assessment and triage services, as well as refer patients to surrounding communities, if necessary.

This isn’t the first time the community lost their emergency department. AHS also closed it twice in April 2022.

Coronation

Also announced on the 8th of December was the closure of the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre.

However, AHS’s announcement was technically for 2 closures:

Start	End	Length
11 December, 08:00	12 December, 08:00	24 hours
14 December, 08:00	15 December, noon	28 hours

About a weeks later, on the 14th, AHS announced 3 more closures of the ER in Coronation.

Start	End	Length
18 December, 08:00	19 December, 08:00	24 hours
21 December, 08:00	22 December, noon	28 hours
28 December, 08:00	29 December, noon	28 hours

That’s a combined loss of 132 hours during the month of December.

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, and November.

Stettler

AHS made a third closure announcement on 8 December, this time for the emergency department in Stettler.

The plan was to close the emergency department for 12 hours the following day, beginning at 07:00. However, they also announced that they were closing the obstetrics department for 24 hours starting at 19:00 that evening.

A week later, on the 15th, AHS announced a second closure for the emergency department at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre. This closure was to run for 30 hours, starting at 07:00 on the 16th and ending at 19:00 on the 17th.

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 54 hours that the community was without its emergency department in December.

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

Beaverlodge

The next community to get a closure was Beaverlodge, near Grande Prairie. AHS announced on the 11th that they’d be shutting down their emergency department that evening.

The closure was to begin at 17:00 and last for 15 hours.

On the 28th, AHS reported that they were closing the ER for another 12 hours, beginning at 20:00 that evening.

This is a combined 27 hours that the community was without ER service in December.

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 and assessment. Anyone needing emergency services were to be rerouted to the hospital in Grande Prairie.

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

Lac La Biche

On the 12th, 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 that evening and last for 16 hours. The second was to begin at 20:00 on the 15th and last for 36 hours. However, on the 13th they announced that they found partial coverage for the 16th, reducing the second closure to 28 hours.

AHS posted 2 more closures on their website for Lac La Biche on the 19th. Both of them were scheduled to start at 16:00 and last for 16 hours each, with the first beginning the following day and the second on the 21st.

On the 22nd, AHS announced 3 more closures. Each would start at 16:00 and last for 16 hours. The first was scheduled for the 27th, followed by the 28th, and finishing with the 29th. However, they were able to find partial coverage for the final closure, so that one lasted for only 4 hours.

Combined, Lac La Biche was without their emergency department for 112 hours in December.

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

Boyle

Another announcement on the 11th had AHS saying that they were closing the emergency department at the Boyle Healthcare Centre for nearly a week.

The closure was scheduled to run from 09:00 until 20:00 every day for 4 days beginning on the 23rd, as well as on the 28th, a total of 55 hours.

Unsurprisingly, this closure was a result of an insufficient number of physicians on staff at this hospital. Nurses were on had for traige and assessment.

Boyle’s emergency department itself was also closed in June of 2022 and August 2023, as well as for 9 hours this past April and 13 times in June 2021.

Now, this is in addition to a closure announced in July 2022, when AHS said they were extending a closure of the entire hospital until 1 September. During this closure, the hospital would only be open between 9:00 and 20:00 every day.

However, at the end of August, AHS reported that they were extending this closure until the end of September. This new September announcement extended the closure until the end of October.

At the end of October, however, AHS issued yet another extension, this time until the end of November. But once December hit, AHS announced another extension—this time until 3 January 2023, but then changed their mind on the 29th, extending the closure until the end of January.

As January drew to a close, AHS announced that they were extending the closure for yet another month. Then they announced another extension at the end of February, but this time, they didn’t provide an end date for the closure.

I haven’t been able to find an announcement indicating a return to regular operating hours, so it looks like the hospital has been without overnight service for over a year and a half.

AHS blamed the continued overnight closure on “high vacancies among nursing staff” as well as their inability to find people to cover those shortages.

Valleyview

AHS announced a closure on the 15th, this time for the emergency department at the Valleyview Health Centre.

The closure was to begin at 17:00 that evening and last for 14 hours, until 07:00 the following morning, and was once again a result of AHS’s “inability to secure physician coverage”.

Nurses, however, were available in the emergency department during both closures, but only to provide triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities, as needed.

The community also lost its emergency department twice this past October.

Two Hills

On the 18, AHS announced a closure of the emergency department in the community of Two Hills. The announcement was actually for 2 closures:

Start	End	Length
18 December, 16:00	19 December, 08:00	16 hours
19 December, 16:00	20 December, 08:00	16 hours

AHS’s decision to close Two Hills’ emergency department was, once again, due to “an unexpected gap in physician coverage”.

Just 4 days later, AHS announced it was closing this emergency department again, but this time, the reason was “significant” laboratory and diagnostic imaging staffing challenges.

Start	End	Length
23 December, 08:00	27 December, 08:00	96 hours
29 December, 16:00	31 December, 23:59	26 hours

That‘s a combined closure of 154 hours for this community’s emergency department.

EMS were redirected to nearby facilities in St. Paul and Vegreville.

This isn’t the first time that AHS has shut down this emergency department. They also closed it in August 2022. They had already shut down overnight services on weekdays earlier that year, and extended it into that August.

Hardisty

On the 22nd, 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 on Christmas and Boxing Day.

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, Wainwright (ironically), and Daysland.

Hardisty also lost their emergency department for several days this past November.

Ponoka

That same day, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre.

It was scheduled to begin two days later, on the 24th, starting at 17:00 and last for 4 hours.

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, and 3 times this past November.

Sundre

AHS made a third closure announcement that day when they noted that they’d be closing the emergency department at the Myron Thompson Health Centre.

The announcement was for several closures.

Start	End	Length
24 December, 18:00	25 December, 08:00	14 hours
25 December, 18:00	26 December, 08:00	14 hours
26 December, 18:00	27 December, 08:00	14 hours
30 December, 18:00	31 December, 08:00	14 hours
31 December, 18:00	31 December, 23:59	6 hours

That’s a combined loss of 62 hours for the month of December.

Originally, the announcement included daytime closures on the 28th and 29th, but AHS indicated later that they found coverage for those days.

Like so many other closures before, this closure was also because AHS failed to ensure an adequate number of physicians to meet staffing requirement, or as they put it, “a sudden gap in physician coverage”.

These are the first closures announced for this community since I started tracking hospital closures in May 2021.