Emergency Department and in-patient services have been suspended at Prairie Mountain Health for the last seven months due to staff shortages. Those services are, once again, available on a limited basis at the Tiger Hills Health Centre in Treherne. 

Regional Lof Acute Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer Treena Slate says emergency services are available every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. 

"Following that, once we are able to establish more regular coverage with our lab and X-ray departments, we will be implementing longer days with coverage on Wednesday and Thursday from about 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.," says Slate. "Then every other Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and those hours are yet to be determined. But we believe they'll be from about 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m." 

PMH says no in-patient beds are available until staffing becomes more stable. Hours of operation remain unchanged for the Shared Health Lab and X-Ray. 

The PMH will release updates to the ED schedule in Mid-March before hours of operation go into effect. Enhancements to the ED schedule are planned to go into effect in Mid-May along with the re-establishment of inpatient capacity. 

The RHA wants to point out that further suspensions could take place depending on staffing resources. 

The Health region asks you to visit their website at www.prairiemountainhealth.ca (Emergency Department Services) to view current ED schedules for sites throughout PMH. Call ahead to your local health centre to confirm ED hours of operation. Call 911 for all emergent situations.  Recruitment and Retention efforts PMH remains very active with health recruitment efforts including attending regional and provincial career fairs, engaging with health educational institutions and schools, internal and external promotion and advertisements, and offering regional and provincial financial incentives, which include relocation grants. They continue to work closely with other health service delivery organizations on provincial recruitment, retention and training efforts. PMH sincerely thanks and appreciates their staff for their dedication and continued commitment to the patients, residents and clients that they serve.