The month of September marks the first month since 2007 that there are no planned closures of any of the emergency departments in South West Health.
Roseway Hospital has had no planned closures since March and now Digby General Hospital has all shifts covered for September with no planned emergency department closures.
“This would not be possible without a group of physicians that are deeply committed to supporting our communities,” says CEO Blaise MacNeil. “A very large thank you to our emergency department nursing staff and all of the professional staff that support the departments, they are the frontlines of care and support to our communities. I’d also like to acknowledge EHS paramedics who have worked closely with us during closures to ensure patients are transferred to the nearest or most appropriate emergency department.”
“Municipalities, community groups, hospital foundations and auxiliaries, physicians and interested individuals have all worked with us to attract physicians to the district,” says MacNeil. “Physician recruitment is a true partnership. Our work is paying off but it’s also ongoing as we continue to fill other physician vacancies.”
MacNeil credits the efforts of Chief of Staff Dr. Ed Janke, Shirley Watson-Poole the physician resource manager and site managers Jodi Ybarra and Hubert d’Entremont for their efforts to attract physicians to the community.But South West Health cautions, some of the physicians recruited are temporary, so service could again be interrupted.
“We’re taking it a month at a time, recognizing that we could again face closures,” says MacNeil. “But today we celebrate and continue to work to keep our emergency departments open.”
