Eriksdale residents are hoping their voice has been heard, as they gathered at the E. M. Crowe Memorial Hospital Friday to voice their concerns over health care. The rally, which saw about 300 in attendance, stemmed from the closure of their Emergency Room on March 2nd. The ER was closed, after Ashern based physicians felt unsafe continuing on-call work at Eriksdale. The organizers of the rally also say doctors were only present at the ER 25 percent of the time since May, 2015.

Those at the rally expressed their concerns over the lack of staff, as well as the number of patients being directed, and sometimes redirected, to other hospitals within the region. Municipality of West-Interlake Ward 1 Councillor spoke to the crowd during the event, and hopes the rally and press conference will draw attention to their situation.

"We hope that we bring the systemic problem of healthcare in the region to the people who are health care providers, mainly Manitoba Health and the Minister of Health. They're the two agencies that direct the regional health authority and I think we need to be at the table, in order to resolve these issues."

Interlake MLA Tom Nevakshonoff attended the event, and provided assurances to the large crowd. He feels the government has continued to invest in rural health care, citing ultrasound, Telehealth, and other work at the Eriksdale facility. Nevakshonoff says he'll ensure Caucus is well aware of the facility's importance to the area, and says shutting the hospital down would undo the progress that's been made.

"I will take back (to Caucus) how important emergency services are in communities like Eriksdale. I as a rural member will not stand for any lessening of those services. I'm going to take that back (to Caucus), but I will tell you that, in fact, is our position as a government. Somehow a rumour got started that this ER is closing, that ER is closing. Coincidentally the election writ drops next week. Is there some political gamesmanship underway? I don't know."

Despite Nevakshonoff's assurances, citizens such as Jerry Saunders aren't necessarily convinced. Saunders feels there's a constant message that there's a doctor shortage, but feels very little is being done to address the issue. He says another issue is the statements regarding the number of adequate doctors required for the population in the area.

"They keep saying there's not enough numbers in the area to warrant the doctor. Well, what's the number for dying? There's a very definite, real, situation where people could die. If they close this ER and the rest of the ERs they want to --Arborg's in a crisis too, they have one doctor-- it's going to happen, people will die from this. It's not a matter of if, it's when."

While Saunders is frustrated with the ongoing situation, he feels a sense of encouragement given the number of people who came out to support Friday's rally.