Blind River emergency room temporary closure averted
A planned emergency room closure due to doctor shortage in Blind River on Friday has been avoided, the North Shore Health Network says.
CTV News reported the temporary closure announcement Wednesday and on Thursday morning, the health care group said in a news release the ER will remain open.
"NSHN would like to thank the community for your continued patience and understanding as we work with our partners towards sustainable resources to serve your healthcare needs," NSHN said.
It would have been the fifth closure in the last two weeks for the North Shore Health Network (NSHN), which consists of Blind River, Thessalon and Richard's Landing.
The Town of Blind River is nestled on Highway 17 in between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury.
Patients in need of services would have been re-routed to either Thessalon -- 54 kilometres away -- or St. Joseph's General Hospital in Elliot Lake -- 57 kilometres away.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"Look, nobody got into this line of work to not provide service for our communities. It's demoralizing as an administrator and I think it's doubly so for our clinic staff and the folks that really just want help and come to us in need," said NHSN CEO Tim Vine.
"Look, we need more, we need more physicians in the north. We've known that for a long time. I know NOSM increased its enrolment this year, but it's not enough."
The network recently was able to find coverage for its Thessalon site. That ER will resume operating Wednesday night as of 8 p.m.
"We need the policy levers at Queen's Park to start moving, especially around residency programs which is a bottleneck to providing more physicians into the system," Vine said.
The system is looking at an imbalance and what they need are more physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants along the North Shore and throughout the province of Ontario, he said.
CTV News also reached out to Blind River Mayor Sally Hagman, but didn't hear back before publication.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.