Sackville ER closed December 24, 25, and January 1
The emergency department at the Sackville Memorial Hospital will be closed for three days over the holidays.
Horizon announced on Tuesday that due to a shortage of physician coverage the emergency department would remain closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, this Saturday and Sunday, and also on New Years Day, Sunday January 1, 2023.
The Sackville ER has already been operating on limited hours, only opening to new patients for eight hours per day, from 8am to 4pm, seven days a week.
The Horizon Health Network says all patients requiring emergency medical care during the closure will need to be treated at another hospital, and all ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals.
Anyone experiencing a medical emergency can still call 911, or visit the next closest emergency department in Moncton or Amherst. … Continue
Sackville emergency department closed Saturday
The Sackville Memorial Hospital emergency department will be closed this Saturday, October 22.
After it closes Friday at 4pm, the emergency room will not reopen to patients again until Sunday at 8am.
The Horizon Health Network says all patients requiring emergency medical care during the closure will need to be treated at another hospital, and all ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals.
Anyone experiencing a medical emergency can still call 911, or visit the next closest emergency department in Moncton or Amherst.
Horizon says the decision to close the emergency department was made because of a staff shortage.
The network says it is actively working to recruit physicians and nurses to reduce temporary closures and resume services.… Continue
Horizon asks people to stay away from Moncton and Saint John ERs in face of weekend staffing crunch
Horizon Health Network says its Moncton and Saint John hospitals are facing critical staffing shortages this weekend, and so they are asking people not to come to Moncton and Saint John ERs unless they are facing a life- or limb- threatening situation.
Interim Horizon CEO Margaret Melanson made the announcement to reporters Friday morning:
“This is an extreme and serious circumstance and not a decision or request that we make lightly,” said Melanson. “We need to ensure Moncton and Saint John emergency department teams can continue to provide safe and high quality care to those with critical injuries and illnesses.”
Melanson outlined alternatives for care that Horiozon is asking the public to use this weekend, including:
- visiting a pharmacy for prescription refills,
- booking an appointment with evisitNB or your family physician,
- visiting an after hours clinic,
- calling telecare 811,
- visiting sowhywait.ca, or,
- going to a community hospital with capacity to see patients with less serious ailments.
The Sackville Memorial Hospital ER fits that description and is open this weekend from 8am to 4pm each day.
Moncton ER doctor Serge Melanson encouraged people to consult professionals as advised by the Horizon CEO, but he also gave advice for people wondering how to know when a health issue is potentially life threatening or might “constitute a crisis or emergency.”
“As a general rule of thumb,” said Dr.… Continue
Sackville hospital loses nursing recruit due to housing shortage
At least one nurse recently recruited to the Sackville Memorial Hospital has instead accepted a position at another Horizon facility, and the reason is a lack of places to live in Sackville.
Horizon Health declined an interview request, but Moncton and Sackville hospital director Christa Wheeler-Thorne confirmed the news in an emailed statement this week.
“We are aware one of our recent nursing hires was unable to accept a position in Sackville, citing a lack of available housing, and has since accepted a position at one of our other facilities,” writes Wheeler-Thorne. “A combination of low housing inventory and record high real estate prices are creating significant challenges across New Brunswick.”
Wheeler-Thorne says Horizon is, “continuing to work with community stakeholders in the Sackville area to identify potential housing opportunities that might be available for health care workers.”
Another new recruit who first spoke to CHMA in March has also been unable find local housing. Justine Graham says that despite efforts from local people helping her search, she was in the end unable to find a suitable place for her and her partner. But she has opted to keep her position at Sackville Memorial Hospital and make the daily commute from Moncton. Graham will start her position in June as a newly graduated RN. She has worked previously at Sackville Memorial as an LPN before signing up for UNB’s bridging program, which allows LPNs a shorter path to becoming an RN.… Continue
“A terrific stroke from Horizon”: former Horizon manager to help restore service at Sackville hospital
Horizon Health has hired a recently retired executive director and former nurse to help retain and recruit health care workers at the Sackville Memorial Hospital. Nancy Parker retired recently from her position as executive director of the Moncton and Sackville hospitals, a position taken over by Christa Wheeler-Thorne in the summer of 2021. Parker has now taken on the interim, part-time role at the hospital.
Members of the Rural Health Action Committee are confident that Parker is a solid choice for the job, according to co-chair John Higham. Those who know Parker “speak extraordinarily highly of her abilities, and the attitude in which she goes about the work at the hospital and on all health services,” says Higham.
CHMA has requested an interview with Parker, to hear first hand about her work at the hospital.
The move to hire Parker is “a terrific stroke from Horizon”, says Higham, and what’s more, the move came from the health network, without the Rural Health Action Group directly asking for it.
“They identified [Parker] as an individual that would have great credibility to go back into the hospital and begin to address some of those impacts that she will see there, in staffing and in the organization of the hospital,” says Higham. “Most of us see that as a really big step forward to get that hospital back up to the condition it needs to be.”… Continue
Updated: Horizon announces all-week overnight closures for Sackville ER, starting November 19
Updated with comments from Christa Wheeler-Thorne, Executive Director, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital/Sackville Memorial Hospital
Horizon Health Network announced this morning that effective Friday, November 19, Sackville emergency room hours will be reduced to daytime only, with the ER open 8am to 4pm seven days a week.
Horizon’s announcement says, “emergency care will not be offered during the evening or night, and all patients and clients requiring medical care will need to seek treatment at another hospital.”
Overnight emergency care has been unavailable in Sackville on weekend nights since June 11, 2021.
The further reduction in service is due to a physician and nursing shortage, says Horizon. “The emergency department at Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital has been faced with staff shortages in the past which has led to frequent coverage issues,” reads the announcement.
In an emailed statement, Christa Wheeler-Thorne, executive director of the Moncton Hospital and Sackville Memorial Hospital, confirmed that the move was intended to be temporary. “We want to be clear this change is temporary but is necessary to provide appropriate nursing resources for inpatient services… This change will also help to resolve the confusion for the public and Ambulance New Brunswick who are affected by last-minute, sporadic closures.”
The Sackville ER has had several last minute overnight closures, and even a daytime closure, in addition to the scheduled weekend overnight closures announced in June.
“Horizon acknowledges this change will be difficult for community members,” writes Wheeler-Thorne, “but we believe it is the best way to provide safe and quality care while providing reliable physician and nursing coverage.”… Continue
Tantramar Report: waiting for candidates in Beauséjour, Folkins Bridge closed, councillors react to IPCC report
On Monday’s Tantramar Report:
Canadians are going to the polls on September 20, but so far voters in the Beauséjour riding have just one candidate to choose from, Liberal incumbent Dominic LeBlanc. CHMA has reached out to the federal parties to hear who they are putting forward, and we’ll keep you updated as the names are announced.
The Emergency Department at Sackville Memorial Hospital closed unexpectedly on Saturday and Sunday this weekend due to a shortage of nursing staff. The ER re-opened this morning at 8am, and is expected to remain open with 24-hour emergency services until Friday at 4pm.
Starting tomorrow, Folkins Drive will be closed to through traffic for two weeks, while the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure repairs the Folkins Drive Bridge. The bridge will be closed to all traffic, including vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The province has issued no new COVID-19 case numbers since Friday, when the active case count for Zone 1 sat at 62. A number of new potential public exposures went online Saturday, including a church in Riverview, and COSTCO and the Corn Crib in Moncton. 132 new cases have been reported so far in August, and public health says 61 cases are still under investigation. There are still no COVID-19 patients in hospital in New Brunswick.
EOS Eco-Energy and Estelle Drisdelle from Understory Farm and Design are hosting a free medicinal herb walk at the Port Elgin School on Tuesday at 4:30pm.… Continue
Tantramar Report: theatre in the park, walk-in vaccines in town, and illegal dumping on the marsh
Wednesday on Tantramar Report:
Meg Cunningham talks with director Vallie Stearns and actor Morgan Grant about their production of A Banishments of Poets, which opens Thursday afternoon in Bill Johnstone Memorial Park, as part of the Festival by the Marsh.
Erica Butler checks in with pharmacist Charles Beaver about how the vaccination rollout in Sackville is going. Things have slowed down, but the Corner Drug Store is still taking appointments and hosting a Pfizer walk-in clinic this Thursday.
Also in local news:
The Sackville hospital emergency room was closed Tuesday night due to a shortage of available nurses. The ER shut down at 7pm and reopened Wednesday morning at 8am.
Goya’s Pizza says that since the notice of a potential public exposure at the restaurant on August 1st, all their employees have been tested, and all results were negative.
Unknown individuals dumped a black tar-like substance near the covered bridge on the High Marsh Road. Town engineer Dwayne Acton told council on Monday that after being informed by the Department of Environment, public works staff removed the material and disposed of it at a Moncton facility.
The town of Sackville has released some of the results of its 2021 residents survey. 323 people responded to the survey, and of those, 74% said they were satisfied with the quality of life in Sackville. Only 41% of respondents said they were satisfied with the town’s leadership and budget processes. The town is now asking for residents to complete a follow-up survey by August 14.… Continue
Tentative deal for nurses union a positive step in current vacancy crisis
After more than two and a half years in negotiation, the provincial government and the New Brunswick Nurses Union have reached tentative collective agreements for two bargaining units including more than 6,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse managers and nurse supervisors. The province announced the deal in a news release Friday morning, and said details of the agreements will be withheld pending ratification.
The tentative agreements are a positive step in a crisis that has seen a nursing shortage cause reduced emergency room services in three rural hospitals in New Brunswick, including the Sackville Memorial Hospital.
CHMA spoke the New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet back in June to talk about the shortage, the current plight of working nurses in the province, and potential solutions.
Hear Paula Doucet speaking on Tantramar Report:
“Unfortunately, the entire provinces is feeling this the nursing shortage,” says Doucet, “whether you’re in Sackville or Campbellton, Grand Manan, Saint John, Fredericton, Bathurst, Edmundston… Pick your community, pick your city, we’re all in this.”
Sackville’s emergency room is down three RNs from a full complement of nine. “For a facility of the size of Sackville, missing three nurses or five nurses or even one nurse, you really feel that,” says Doucet. And then, “not too far down the road, you look at what’s going on at the George Dumont or the Moncton City Hospital, where in one facility, there’s upwards of 125 vacancies.”
When CHMA spoke with Doucet in June, the scale of the province-wide shortage was pegged at 700 vacancies.… Continue