Last month, I reported that Alberta Health Services had cut service at hospitals in 12 communities this past December, 11 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 January, as well. Sure enough, there were.
Here’s what I found.
Smoky Lake
The first January closure announcement actually came in December.
On the 23rd, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake for 8 days. Most of that closure would fall in December, but since the closure lasted unil 08:00 on 1 January, the last 8 hours of the closure would occur in January.
However, a week later, they posted on their website that they found coverage for the final 24 hours of the closure, including the 8 hours in January.
That did not mean Smoky Lake was off the hook though.
On the 14th, AHS declared that they were shutting down the emergency department at the George McDougall Healthcare Centre in Smoky Lake 3 times during January.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 16:00, 15 January | 08:00, 16 January | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 22 January | 08:00, 23 January | 16 hours |
| 16:00, 29 January | 08:00, 30 January | 16 hours |
| 48 hours |
Technically, they said that it would “be without onsite physician coverage”, 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 48 hours last month.
These announcements also included information on the province’s Virtual Emergency Physician programme, which expanded to Smoky Lake just the month before.
The programme lets healthcare workers on site connect with an AHS physician by telephone or videoconference for patients with non-life-threatening issues. This off-site virtual physician collaborates with local staff, speaks with patients, orders tests and medications, and transfers or discharges patients.
It is also offered in Barrhead, Beaverlodge, Coronation, Edson, Grimshaw, Hinton, Lac La Biche, St. Paul, Two Hills, and Westlock.
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, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November and December 2025.
Coronation
The second closure announcement for January that was made in December came on the 30th, when AHS said that they planned to close the emergency department at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre multiple times in January.
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 and whether the virtual emergency physician would be available.
| Start | End | Hours | VEP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00, 1 Jan | 09:00, 1 Jan | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 1 Jan | 21:00, 1 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 1 Jan | 09:00, 2 Jan | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 2 Jan | 21:00, 2 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 2 Jan | 09:00, 3 Jan | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 3 Jan | 21:00, 2 Jan | 12hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 3 Jan | 09:00, 3 Jan | 12 hours | No |
| 09:00, 4 Jan | 21:00, 4 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 4 Jan | 08:00, 5 Jan | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 6 Jan | 09:00, 6 Jan | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 6 Jan | 21:00, 6 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 6 Jan | 08:00, 7 Jan | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 8 Jan | 09:00, 8 Jan | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 8 Jan | 21:00, 8 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 8 Jan | 17:00, 9 Jan | 20 hours | No |
| noon, 16 Jan | 17:00, 16 Jan | 5 hours | Yes |
| 08:00, 20 Jan | 09:00, 20 Jan | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 20 Jan | 21:00, 20 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 20 Jan | 08:00, 21 Jan | 11 hours | No |
| 08:00, 22 Jan | 09:00, 22 Jan | 1 hour | No |
| 09:00, 22 Jan | 21:00, 22 Jan | 12 hours | Yes |
| 21:00, 22 Jan | 08:00, 23 Jan | 11 hours | No |
That is 105 hours without a physician on site and 101 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; and January, May, August, September, October, and November 2025.
Hinton
The Hinton Health Centre was the next hospital to receive a December announcement for a January closure. It was to begin at 13:00 on 2 January and last for 18 hours, ending at 07:00 on the third.
However, Hinton did receive a closure announcement in January. On the 5th, AHS published on their website that they were shutting this ER 5 more times over the next week.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 21:00, 5 January | 07:00, 6 January | 10 hours |
| 13:00, 6 January | 07:00, 7 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 7 January | 07:00, 8 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 8 January | 07:00, 9 January | 18 hours |
| 21:00, 10 January | 07:00, 11 January | 10 hours |
| 74 hours |
A week later, on the 12th, AHS posted about 6 more emergency department closures in Hinton.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 13:00, 12 January | 07:00, 13 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 13 January | 07:00, 14 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 14 January | 07:00, 15 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 15 January | 07:00, 16 January | 18 hours |
| 13:00, 16 January | 07:00, 17 January | 18 hours |
| 21:00, 17 January | 07:00, 18 January | 10 hours |
| 100 hours |
4 more closures came a week later, on the 19th.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 19:00, 13 January | 07:00, 14 January | 12 hours |
| 21:00, 14 January | 07:00, 15 January | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 15 January | 07:00, 16 January | 10 hours |
| 21:00, 16 January | 07:00, 17 January | 10 hours |
| 42 hours |
If 16 closures were not enough, AHS added another 5 closures on the 26th, the first of which would start the next day. Only 4 of them occurred in January though.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 18:00, 27 January | 07:00, 28 January | 13 hours |
| 18:00, 28 January | 07:00, 29 January | 13 hours |
| 19:00, 29 January | 07:00, 30 January | 12 hours |
| 21:00, 31 January | 23:59, 31 January | 10 hours |
| 48 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 282 hours in January.
This emergency department also experienced closures in May, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2024, and January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November of 2025.
St. Paul
The first closure announcement actually issued in January was for the emergency room in the St. Therese-St. Paul Healthcare Centre, located in St. Paul.
The 2 January announcement said the closure would last for just 4 hours: from 16:00 that afternoon and ending at 20:00.
This closure were a result of AHS not having enough “clinical personnel” on staff, which resulted in no “onsite physician coverage”.
This was the second closure this emergency department has experienced since I began tracking closures in May 2021—the first time was in August 2025. However, this hospital lost surgical services in May and December of 2021 due to AHS not having hired enough anesthesiologists.
Beaverlodge
That same day, AHS said 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 3rd.
A second closure was announced on the 5th. It was actually for 2 closures.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 20:00, 5 Jan | 08:00, 6 Jan | 12 hours |
| 20:00, 7 Jan | 08:00, 8 Jan | 12 hours |
| 24 hours |
Finally, AHS published another 12-hourclosure for Beaverlodge’s emergency department on the 28th. This time it was supposed to begin at 21:00 on the 28th and end at 08:00 on the 29th.
Like the others, these closures were all a result of AHS’s inability to hire enough physicians.
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; and June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2025.
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 20:00 on the 3rd and ended at 08:00 the following morning.
A second closure occurred almost a month later. AHS announced the closure on 23 January, which was to begin at 08:00 on the 26th and last for 24 hours. The day before it was to begin, however, they said they found some last-minute coverage.
Nurses were to be on hand for assessment purposes, but they were also available for emergency first aid, if needed.
In total, this community lost their emergency department for 12 hours in January.
AHS had closed this emergency department several times before, back in September 2022 and July 2023; April, May, June, July, August, and November 2024; and January 2025.
Fort Macleod
The first January closure that was actually announced in Janaury was for the emergency department in the Fort Macleod Health Centre.
AHS posted about this closure on the 10th. It was to begin at 07:00 the following morning and last for just 5 hours, ending at noon.
Later in the month, on the 23rd, this emergency department, once again did not have enough clinical personnel on site. This new closure was to begin at 08:00 that morning and last for 24 hours, ending at 08:00 the following morning.
During both closures, nurses were on site, but only to care for long-term care residents.
Fort Macleod lost its emergency department for a combined 29 hours last month.
Fort Macleod was also without emergency department services in September and December 2023; April, May, July, August, October, and December 2024; and January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2025.
Grimshaw
AHS also announced the closure of the emergency department for the Grimshaw/Berwyn and District Health Centre. The announcement was published on the 13th, and the closure ran for 12 hours, beginning at 09:00 the following morning.
The announcement included information about the Virtual Emergency Physician programme, which was expanded to this community in January.
This closure was in addition to the ongoing closure that has been in place since November 2022, which I outline at the end of this article.
Edson
Also on the 13th, AHS posted a closure announcement for the community of Edson, which is about an hour east of Hinton.
The emergency department at the Edson Healthcare Centre would close at 15:00 that afternoon and end the following day at 08:00, for a total of 17 hours.
A week and a half later, on the 23rd, AHS announced a second closure, starting at 23:00 the next day and running for 9 hours, ending at 08:00 the following morning.
Every closure announcement included information on the province’s virtual emergency physician programme, which I mentioned earlier.
Edson was without its emergency department for 26 hours in total last month.
Edson also lost their emergency department in November 2024, as well as January, July, August, September, and October 2025. AHS also closed the surgical suites in this hospital for 53 hours back in August 2021.
Swan Hills
The next community to lose their emergency department was a Swan Hills. The closure announcement came on the 14th, when AHS posted on their website that the they were shutting down the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre emergency department.
It was to begin at 19:00 that evening and last 12 hours, ending at 07:00 the following morning.
This closure was 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, May, June, July, August, and November 2025.
Athabasca
Also on the 14th, AHS announced that they were closing the emergency department at the Athabasca Healthcare Centre.
The closure would start at 18:00 the next day and end 12 hours later, at 06:00 on the 16th.
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 in April 2022; December 2023; and August, November, and December 2025.
Rocky Mountain House
On the 16th, AHS announced a closure for the emergency department at the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre. It was actually two closures.
| Start | End | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 18:00, 17 January | 07:00, 18 January | 13 hours |
| 18:00, 18 January | 07:00 19 January | 13 hours |
| Total | 26 hours |
However, on the 18th, AHS said they had found coverage for the second closure.
That brought to 26 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 also lost their emergency department in May 2021; June, July, August, and October 2023; January, February, April, May, June, July, and September 2024; and April 2025. They also lost acute care beds in July 2021 and obstetric services in January 2022.
Lacombe
AHS announced on the 18th that they planned to close the emergency department at the Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre. The closure was to begin at 19:00 that evening and run until 08:00 the following morning for a total of 13 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 assistance, including first aid, if necessary.
This isn’t the first time Lacombe lost their emergency department. AHS closed it in February 2022, November 2023, and June 2025.
Bow Island
On the 22nd, AHS announced they were closing the emergency department at the Bow Island Health Centre until 07:00 the following morning. They did not say when they closure took effect, but the notice was published just before 05:00 on the 22nd. That would imply a closure of 26 hours at least.
This is in addition to the ongoing closures, which are outlined at the end of the article.
Milk River
The town of Milk River received a closure notice the following day, on the 23rd. The emergency department at the Milk River Health Centre was to be closed from 19:00 that evening until 07:15 the following morning, lasting 12.25 hours.
4 days later, on the 27th, AHS published a second closure for this emergency department. Like the previous one, it was to begin at 19:00 on the 27th, but this time, it was to last 15 minutes longer, expiring at 07:30 on the 28th.
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.
The combined length of all closure of this emergency department last month was around 24.75 hours.
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; and in August, September, November, and December 2025.
Ongoing closures
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 for 14 hours every night in November 2022 and still hasn’t changed it. That was a combined 420 hours in January.
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 199 hours in January.
As well, since September 2024, Elk Point has lost their emergency department for 25 hours starting at 07:00 every Wednesday. For January, that was 5 Wednesdays, for a combined 100 hours.
