Emergency room in Alert Bay, B.C., closed for more than 2 weeks over holidays

The small emergency room in Alert Bay an islandcommunity off the northeast coast ofVancouver Island is closed until the new year.

Island Health, which manages health care across the Vancouver Island region, has been struggling to find registered nurses to staff the ER at the Cormorant Island Health Centre and has been hiring agency nurses to fill the gaps as much as possible.

The ER in Alert Bay has been closed overnight for over four months, and Island Health announced Thursday afternoon that the closure would be extended 24/7 from 7 p.m.to 8 a.m. Jan3.

People who need emergency services must travel from Cormorant Island to Vancouver Island to the ER at Port McNeill Hospital a trip that can take over an hour. The first ferry of the day is at 6:40 a.m., and the final sailing departs at 8:25 p.m.

For 911 calls, the ambulance service will arrange for travel by ferry or water taxi.

Don Svanvik is the elected chief councillor of the 'Namgis First Nation, based on Cormorant Island. He says he knew the closure was possible, given the staffing shortage, but it's still an enormous cause for concern.

He says he felt panic when he heard the news and that he's "praying that we don't have a serious incident in that time."

Alert Bay Mayor Dennis Buchanan says he knows health-care staffing is an issue everywhere, but he doesn't remember anything quite like this in the 50-plus years he's lived on the island.

Buchanan, Svanvik, and many of their colleagues in the region have been in talks with Island Health for months, trying to find staffing solutions.

Buchanan says he'd like things to be resolved in the new year, but he's not holding his breath.

"We're certainly hopeful, but it's no guarantee."

The emergency rooms at the other two hospitals in the region, Port Hardy and Port McNeill, have also faced intermittent closures including overnights from Dec. 15 to 19 in Port Hardy.

In a statement, Island Health says the Port McNeill emergency room will stay open during this time "unless otherwise announced."