Last month, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 18 communities this past January, all 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 February, as well. Sure enough, there were.
Here’s what I found.
Hinton
The first February closure announcement actually came in January.
On the 26th, AHS announced 5 closures for the emergency departments in the Hinton Health Centre. Only 2 of them occurred in February though.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| midnight, 1 February | 07:00, 1 February | 7 hours |
| 15:00, 1 February | 07:00, 2 February | 16 hours |
| 23 hours |
However, Hinton did receive a closure announcement in February. On the 2nd, AHS published on their website that they were shutting this ER 5 more times over the next week.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 2 February | 07:00, 3 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 3 February | 07:00, 4 February | 10 hours |
| 15:00, 4 February | 07:00, 5 February | 16 hours |
| 21:00, 5 February | 07:00, 6 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 7 February | 07:00, 8 February | 10 hours |
| 56 hours |
A week later, on the 9th, AHS posted about 4 more emergency department closures in Hinton.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 18:00, 9 February | 07:00, 10 February | 13 hours |
| 21:00, 10 February | 07:00, 11 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 11 February | 07:00, 12 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 12 February | 07:00, 13 February | 10 hours |
| 43 hours |
5 more closures came 4 days later, on the 13th.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 16 February | 07:00, 17 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 18 February | 07:00, 19 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 19 February | 07:00, 20 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 20 February | 07:00, 21 February | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 21 February | 07:00, 22 February | 10 hours |
| 50 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 172 hours in February.
This emergency department also experienced closures in May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2024; January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November of 2025; and January 2026.
Coronation
The first closure announcement for February that was made in February came on the 2nd, when AHS said that they planned to close the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre multiple times in February.
On the 12th, they published updates to some of those closures.
Back in October, AHS announced that they were expanding their virtual physician pilot programme to Coronation. The virtual emergency physician programme would be available for some of the 22 closures I list below, but only for non-life-threatening issues.
Here are each of the closures rom both announcements and whether the virtual emergency physician would be available.
| Start | End | Hours | VEP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00, 3 Feb | 09:00, 3 Feb | 1 hour | Yes |
| 09:00, 3 Feb | 21:00, 3 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 21:00, 3 Feb | 08:00, 4 Feb | 11 hours | Yes |
| 08:00, 4 Feb | 09:00, 5 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 5 Feb | 21:00, 5 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 5 Feb | 09:00, 6 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 6 Feb | 17:00, 6 Feb | 8 hours | Yes |
| 08:00, 10 Feb | 09:00, 10 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 10 Feb | 21:00, 10 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 10 Feb | 08:00, 11 Feb | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 12 Feb | 17:00, 13 Feb | 37 hours | Yes |
| 08:00, 17 Feb | 09:00, 17 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 17 Feb | 02:00, 18 Feb | 17 hours | Yes |
| 02:00, 18 Feb | 08:00, 18 Feb | 6 hours | No |
| 08:00, 19 Feb | 09:00, 19 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 19 Feb | 21:00, 19 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 19 Feb | 09:00, 20 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 20 Feb | 21:00, 20 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 20 Feb | 09:00, 21 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 21 Feb | 21:00, 21 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 22 Feb | 09:00, 22 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 22 Feb | 21:00, 22 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 22 Feb | 08:00, 23 Feb | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 24 Feb | 09:00, 24 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 24 Feb | 21:00, 24 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 24 Feb | 08:00, 25 Feb | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 26 Feb | 09:00, 26 Feb | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 26 Feb | 21:00, 26 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 26 Feb | 09:00, 27 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 27 Feb | 21:00, 27 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 27 Feb | 09:00, 28 Feb | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 28 Feb | 21:00, 28 Feb | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 28 Feb | 23:59, 28 Feb | 3 hours | No |
That is 326 hours without a physician on site and 132 hours without the virtual emergency physician available.
Nursing staff were on hand to assess patients and provide limited care.
Coronation also lost their emergency department in April, May, June, July, September, October, November, and December 2022; January, February, March, October, and December 2024; January, May, August, September, October, and November 2025; and January 2026.
Smoky Lake
On the 5th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake 4 times last month.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 16:00, 5 February | 08:00, 6 February | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 12 February | 08:00, 13 February | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 19 February | 08:00, 20 February | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 26 February | 08:00, 27 February | 16 hours |
| 64 hours |
Technically, they said that there would be “no physician on site in the emergency department”, not that it would be explicitly shut down.
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.
The emergency department at this hospital was closed for a combined 64 hours last month.
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; January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November and December 2025; and January 2026.
Drayton Valley
On the 6th, Drayton Valley found out that they were losing their emergency department, when AHS announced they planned to close it for 8 hours. The closure started at midnight on the 9th and ended at 08:00 later that morning.
Nurses were to be on hand for 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; April, May, June, July, August, and November 2024; January 2025; and January 2026.
Pincher Creek
On the 10th, AHS announced that they were closing down the emergency department at the Pincher Creek Health Centre.
The 6-hour closure was scheduled to begin at 18:00 that night, and the emergency department was to open for regular 24-hour service at midnight.
This closure was a result of planned electrical upgrades
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 in July and November 2023.
Westlock
On the 13th, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department in the Westlock Healthcare Centre that day. It was to begin at 18:00 on the 16th and run for 12 hours, ending at 08:00 the following morning.
There were to be no physicians on site at any of the closures, but nurses would be there for triage and referrals to other medical facilities in the area.
Every closure announcement included information on the province’s virtual emergency physician programme, which I mentioned earlier.
This was the fifth month AHS has shut down this emergency department, having closed it in December 2024, as well as in January, August, and October 2025. They also closed Westlock’s obstetrics department for 2 months back in 2021.
Barrhead
On the 20th, AHS published a closure for the emergency department at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre. It was a 7-hour closure, running from midnight to 07:00 on the 23rd.
Nurses were on site for assessment, triage, and referral purposes.
These closures, like the others, were because of the AHS not having enough physicians in the community.
Every closure announcement included information on the province’s virtual emergency physician programme, which I mentioned earlier.
Barrhead also lost ER services in November and December of 2021; January, February, March, June, July, and August of 2022; October 2024; and April, August, September, and October 2025.
Two Hills
Since March 2024, the emergency department Two Hills Health Centre has had reduced hours.
It had been closed between 22:00 and 08:00 Mondays through Thursday, as well as each weekend. This past August, AHS announced that the weekday closure would start 2 hours earlier every day.
Even then, the emergency department is still open for just 12 hours Mondays through Thursdays and 16 hours on Fridays.
However, on the 20th, AHS posted that they were shutting down the emergency department 3 additional times last month.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 20:00, 20 February | 08:00, 21 February | 12 hours |
| 20:00, 21 February | 08:00, 22 February | 12 hours |
| 08:00, 22 February | 08:00, 23 February | 24 hours |
| 48 hours |
When you add these additional closure to the planned closures, this emergency department was closed for a combined 240 hours in February.
Beaverlodge
AHS said on the 26th that they were shutting down the emergency department at Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital.
The closure was to begin at 20:00 that evening and last 12 hours, until 08:00 on the 27th.
Like the others, these closures were all a result of AHS’s inability to hire enough physicians; although they said it was a “due to a clinical personnel shortage and an inability to secure temporary coverage”. Yeah, but who is responsible to making sure that there is no shortage? Who is lacking the ability to secure temporary coverage?
In January, this emergency department was closed for a combined 48 hours.
This was not the first time Beaverlodge’s emergency department saw closures either. It was closed in May, July, August, November, and December 2023; January, March, May, June, August, September, and October 2024; June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2025; and January 2026.
Milk River
The final closure announcement came on the 27th, when the town of Milk River received a closure notice for the emergency department at the Milk River Health Centre. It was scheduled to begin at 07:15 that morning and end at 13:00, lasting 5.75 hours.
This closure, like most of the others, was 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; in January, February, May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023; in January, June, and December 2024; in August, September, November, and December 2025; and January 2026.
Ongoing closures
Keep in mind that these are just the closures announced in February.
It doesn’t include communities with extended closures, such as Grimshaw, where AHS closed their emergency department for 14 hours every night in November 2022 and still hasn’t changed it. That was a combined 392 hours in February.
Since last year, the Bow Island Health Centre has been closing its emergency department from 20:00 to 08:00, Monday through Thursday; although the end time is at 07:00 on Fridays, not 08:00. This works out to 188 hours in February.
As well, since September 2024, Elk Point has lost their emergency department for 25 hours starting at 07:00 every Wednesday. For February, that was 4 Wednesdays, for a combined 100 hours.
