B. C. 's health minister says rural ER closures are easing in some Interior communities
Rural ER closures decliningPhoto: CastanetFILE - A bed inside the emergency department at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Rural emergency room closures are on the decline as the province, local governments. . .
Rural ER closures decliningPhoto: CastanetFILE - A bed inside the emergency department at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Rural emergency room closures are on the decline as the province, local governments and First Nations push to recruit more healthcare workers, according to B. C. 's health minister. Josie Osborne told Castanet it's been a challenge to attract and retain physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers in smaller B. C. communities, particularly in the context of wider shortages, but said some headway is being made. “We’re starting to see progress. We know that emergency room diversions [temporary closures] in rural communities are coming down year over year,” she said. In the past several years, closures due to staffing shortages have plagued emergency rooms in small communities, includingClearwater,Merritt, 100 Mile House, Oliver andLillooet. For communities like Clearwater and Merritt, the number of ER service interruptionshave tapered offfollowing a spate of closures through 2022, 2023 and 2024. But in 100 Mile House, Interior Healthrecently struck a task forceexploring new staffing models and the use of virtual physicians after its hospital ER logged 17 temporary closures through the first five months of 2026. Osborne said the province continues to work on its recruitment and retention initiatives, and First Nations and local governments are also bringing their own solutions to the “recruitment conundrum,” looking for ways to attract doctors and nurses who might enjoy a more rural lifestyle. “There are local governments that have been helping to settle new people, who have been helping with advertising and interviewing and reaching out and making sure that people know what their community is all about — because it's about finding the right match, too,” she said. “People who are drawn to a rural lifestyle, who want to work and be a part of the community, there’s an incredible opportunity for those people, and that's why from the province down to the health authority, right into local governments and First Nations, we're all working together with a team B. C. approach to do that. ”Osborne said other initiatives include building out healthcare worker training seats closer to small communities — something that she says can attract local youth to careers in the field, and provide opportunities for adults to upskill and enter the healthcare workforce. She also pointed to the province’s targeted campaign to attract healthcare workers from the U. S. , and programs like GoHealth, which covers travel, meals and accommodations, incentivizing nurses to travel and fill shifts in rural and remote communities. “We just have to continue this work,” Osborne said.