AHS shut down ER at 16 hospitals in January

Last month, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 14 communities in December, 13 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 January, as well. Sure enough, there were.

Here’s what I found.

Stettler

The first emergency room closure announcement was for the the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre. It was for 3 closures, but only one of them crossed into January. The January portion of the closure was 8 hours, lasting from midnight to 08:00.

A few weeks later, they announced 2 more closures.

Start	End	Hours
17:00, 6 January	08:00, 7 January	15 hours
17:00, 9 January	08:00, 10 January	15 hours
		30 hours

Less than a week later, AHS announced another 7 closures for Settler.

Start	End	Hours
17:00, 12 January	08:00, 13 January	15 hours
17:00, 13 January	08:00, 14 January	15 hours
17:00, 14 January	08:00, 15 January	15 hours
17:00, 15 January	08:00, 16 January	15 hours
17:00, 16 January	08:00, 17 January	15 hours
17:00, 18 January	08:00, 19 January	15 hours
17:00, 19 January	17:00, 20 January	24 hours
		114 hours

However, on the 13th, they announced that the closures on the 16th and the 18th were cancelled, as they had found coverage for them, reducing the closure hours to 84.

This means that this community lost their emergency department for a combined 122 hours last month.

Unsurprisingly, these closures were because of “a temporary gap in physician coverage”.

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

Stettler had emergency department closures in May, June, and August of 2021; in September 2022; in April and December of 2023; and in July and October 2024.

Coronation

AHS made their second closure announcement on 23 December, 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 3 times in January.

Start	End	Hours
08:00, 10 January	noon, 10 January	4 hours
08:00, 14 January	08:00, 16 January	48 hours
08:00, 24 January	noon, 24 January	4 hours
		56 hours

On top of that, they said that effective 1 January they were going to close down the department for 24 hours starting at 08:00 every Wednesday for the foreseeable future. There were 5 Wednesdays in January, which means these closures added up to 120 hours.

This is in addition to another announcement made in March 2024, when AHS said they planned to shut down the 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 January, that came to 236 combined hours.

When you add that to the 120 hours of Wednesday closures and the three separate closures, we get a combined total of 412 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 in April, May, June, July, September, October, November, and December 2022; and January, February, March, October, and December 2024.

Swan Hills

The next closure announcement was for the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre, which was posted on the 30th of December. It was actually for over a week, but most of the closure occurred in January. The January portion of the closure would run from the midnight that separated the 31st and the 1st and lasted until 08:00 on the 8th.

They followed up towards the end of the month, on the 28th, with another closure announcement. It was supposed to start at 08:00 the next day and last for several days into February. The January portion of the closure was 64 hours.

This was a combined loss of 240 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 2023; and January, April, June, August, September, October, and December of 2024.

Westlock

That same day, AHS announced a closure for Westlock Healthcare Centre. It, too, was supposed to begin the following day and last into January. The January portion of this closure was to be just 8 hours.

There were to be no physicians on site, but nurses would be there for triage and referrals to other medical facilities in the area.

However, the next day, AHS announced they found some to cover the closure.

This would’ve been the first time AHS shut down this emergency department; although they closed their obstetrics department for 2 months back in 2021.

Hinton

Also on 30 December, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Hinton Health Centre 4 times during the first week of January.

Start	End	Hours
14:00, 1 January	07:00, 2 January	15 hours
21:00, 2 January	07:00, 3 January	10 hours
21:00, 4 January	07:00, 5 January	10 hours
21:00, 6 January	07:00, 7 January	10 hours
		45 hours

However, on the 2nd, AHS said they were starting the second closure 8 hours earlier, at 13:00 rather than 21:00.

Just 4 days later, they announced another 4 closures for this community.

Start	End	Hours
21:00, 7 January	07:00, 8 January	10 hours
21:00, 9 January	07:00, 10 January	10 hours
21:00, 12 January	07:00, 13 January	10 hours
13:00, 13 January	07:00, 14 January	18 hours
		48 hours

On the same day that the final closure wrapped up, AHS posted about 5 more emergency department closures.

Start	End	Hours
13:00, 15 January	07:00, 16 January	18 hours
21:00, 16 January	07:00, 17 January	10 hours
13:00, 17 January	07:00, 18 January	18 hours
21:00, 20 January	07:00, 21 January	10 hours
13:00, 22 January	07:00, 23 January	18 hours
		74 hours

And once again, as these closures were wrapping up, AHS announced another set of closures.

Start	End	Hours
13:00, 23 January	07:00, 24 January	18 hours
13:00, 24 January	07:00, 25 January	18 hours
21:00, 26 January	07:00, 27 January	10 hours
21:00, 27 January	07:00, 28 January	10 hours
21:00, 28 January	07:00, 29 January	10 hours
21:00, 29 January	07:00, 30 January	10 hours
21:00, 30 January	07:00, 31 January	10 hours
21:00, 31 January	23:59, 31 January	3 hours
		89 hours

The final closure actually extended in February, but I’m including only the January portion.

The community lost their emergency room for a combined 264 hours in January.

This emergency department also experienced closures in May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of last year.

Lac La Biche

Still in December, AHS announced on the 31st that they were also closing the emergency department at the Lac La Biche – William J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre.

It was actually an announcement for 5 closures.

Start	End	Hours
16:00, 3 January	08:00, 4 January	16 hours
16:00, 6 January	08:00, 7 January	16 hours
16:00, 7 January	08:00, 8 January	16 hours
16:00, 9 January	08:00, 10 January	16 hours
16:00, 10 January	08:00, 11 January	16 hours
		80 hours

On the morning of the 10th, however, they reported that they found coverage for the closure that was supposed to begin that afternoon, so the total number of hours for this set of closures was 64.

That good news was shortlived, since in that same announcement they listed another 5 closures over the next week or so.

Start	End	Hours
16:00, 13 January	08:00, 14 January	16 hours
16:00, 14 January	08:00, 15 January	16 hours
16:00, 15 January	08:00, 16 January	16 hours
16:00, 16 January	08:00, 17 January	16 hours
16:00, 17 January	08:00, 18 January	16 hours
		80 hours

A later, on the 17th, AHS posted that they were planning 7 more closures throughout the rest of the month.

Start	End	Hours
21:00, 17 January	08:00, 18 January	11 hours
16:00, 17 January	08:00, 18 January	16 hours
21:00, 24 January	08:00, 25 January	11 hours
16:00, 26 January	08:00, 27 January	16 hours
16:00, 27 January	08:00, 28 January	16 hours
16:00, 29 January	08:00, 30 January	16 hours
16:00, 30 January	08:00, 31 January	16 hours
		102 hours

That works out to a combined loss of 246 hours for this community’s emergency department in January.

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 also lost their emergency department in June and August 2022; in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2023; and January, February, April, May, August, October, November, and December 2024.

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

Fort Macleod

On 31 December, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department in the Fort Macleod Health Centre the following day for 24 hours, beginning at 07:00 on 2 January.

However, on the 2nd, they provided an update to say they were able to find partial coverage, so the closure would last just 14 hours instead of 24 hours, beginning at 17:00 that evening.

Even then, they announced another 24-hour closure on the 21st, beginning at 08:00 that morning.

These closures was due to AHS’s inability to hire enough doctors to keep staffing levels sufficient.

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

The emergency department was closed for a combined 38 hours last month.

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

Smoky Lake

The first announcement that actually occurred in January was published on the 3rd, when AHS declared that they were shutting down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake.

Technically, it was 5 closures.

Start	End	Hours
16:00, 2 January	08:00, 3 January	16 hours
16:00, 9 January	08:00, 10 January	16 hours
16:00, 16 January	08:00, 17 January	16 hours
16:00, 23 January	08:00, 24 January	16 hours
16:00, 1630January	08:00, 31 January	16 hours
		80 hours

That’s a combined 80 hours for the entire month of January.

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 January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November, and December 2024.

Two Hills

Two Hills has had reduced hours since March 2024, closing between 16:00 on Friday and 08:00 on Monday, as well as between 20:00 and 08:00 on weeknights.

On 3 January, AHS announced that effective 6 January, the closure would start an hour later on Fridays, at 17:00 instead of 16:00.

This left the community with a loss of 251 hours for all of January.

Picture Butte

AHS issued another closure notice on the 3rd, this time for the Piyami Health Centre in Picture Butte. Except it wasn’t for the emergency department.

The announcement said that because of not having not hired enough physicians, the hospital would have to close its ambulatory clinic for the entire day the following day.

Just 5 days later, they announced another closure for the ambulatory clinic, this time for the 8th. They issued a third closure on the 15th. A fourth closure was posted on the 24th for the following day.

Regular clinic hours on weekdays are from 17:00 to 22:00 and on weekends from 10:00 to 15:00. That means that this closure lasted for a combined 10 hours.

This is the fifth time AHS has closed a department in this hospital since I began tracking Alberta hospital closures in May 2021. Their ambulatory clinic closed in June, July, October, and November, too, and the entire hospital closed down in August due to a water main break.

Rocky Mountain House

Three days later, on the 6th, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre. It was to start at 16:00 that night and last until 07:00 the following morning. The announcement included a second closure, which was to run for the same period but starting on the 7th.

That brought to 30 the total hours that the community lost its emergency department in January.

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

Edson

On the 9th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Edson Healthcare Centre 3 times over the next week.

Start	End	Hours
14:00, 10 January	08:00, 11 January	18 hours
14:00, 11 January	08:00, 12 January	18 hours
14:00, 14 January	08:00, 15 January	18 hours
		54 hours

This is the second time this community has had its emergency department closed since I began tracking closures in May 2021. The first time was in November 2024. AHS did close the surgical suites in this hospital for 53 hours back in August 2021.

Valleyview

AHS announced a closure on the 13th, this time for the emergency department at the Valleyview Health Centre.

The closure was to begin at 16:30 that evening and last for 14.5 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 in October and December 2023.

McLennan

On 13 January, AHS announced a 10-hour closure at the Sacred Heart Community Health Centre emergency department in the Northern Alberta community of McLennan.

This closure began at 08:00 that morning and was prompted by AHS having a insufficient number of physicians on staff.

This community lost its emergency department in June, August, September, and November 2021; in January, February, March, and December 2022; and in January 2023.

This closure was the first for this community in 2 years.

Redwater

That same day, the community of Redwater received notice from AHS that they were losing their emergency department twice over the next week.

Start	End	Hours
08:00, 14 January	08:00, 15 January	24 hours
08:00, 16 January	17:00, 16 January	9 hours
		33 hours

According to AHS, these closures were because “there [would] be no physician on site”.

This was the first time since since I began tracking closures in May 2021 that this community has had its emergency department closed.

Elk Point

On 23 January, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Elk Point Healthcare Centre the next day for 10 hours, starting at 07:00.

Oh, and keep in mind that back in September, 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. For January, that’s 5 Wednesdays.

That means that last month, this community lost its emergency department for 135 hours in total.

They also lost their 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 2023; and May, June, August, September, and October of last year.

Drayton Valley

On the 30th, Drayton Valley found out that they were losing their emergency department, when AHS announced they planned to close it for 12 hours. The closure started at 06:00 on the 31st and ended at 18:00 that evening.

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

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

Keep in mind that these are just the closures announced in January. 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. Two Hills and Elk Point also have ongoing closures, but I detailed them above.