Two Hills Emergency Department Overnight Closure extended to Weekends

Two Hills Emergency Department Overnight Closure extended to Weekends

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Alberta Health Services, (AHS) issued a public service announcement on Aug. 18 advising residents the Two Hills Health Centre emergency department would temporarily close overnight the last two weekends in August.

“That temporary closure is in addition to ongoing overnight closures from Monday to Friday, due to an inability to secure locum physician coverage.

As a result, the emergency department will be closed from 8 pm to 8 am seven days a week, including the weekends of Aug. 19, 20 and 21 and Aug. 26, 27 and 28. Weekend operation will resume with locum physicians in place as of Friday, Sept. 2.”

AHS also stated that it is working to resume weekday overnight emergency department operations.

“Local residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time. Nursing staff will remain on-site in the Emergency Department providing triage and assessments and referring patients to healthcare facilities in surrounding communities as needed.

Patients are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. During this time, EMS will transport patients requiring emergency care to nearby facilities, including St. Therese Healthcare Centre in St. Paul and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Vegreville.

Residents are reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency, health-related questions. Long-term care, acute care and rehabilitation beds are not impacted.

AHS is grateful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff, and would like to thank the community for its patience and understanding during this time.”

This past spring, AHS issued a similar advisory. The emergency department was closes Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm “due to a gap in physician coverage.” That came into effect on Feb. 28 and was still in place two months later.