LAC LA BICHE - The William J. Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre emergency department is without onsite physician coverage for a period of time this month.
Those times include:
- 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7 to 8 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 8
- 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14 to 8 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 15
- 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 16 – 8 a.m., Monday – Feb. 17
- 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18 – 8 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19
- 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 21 – 8 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 22
"During this time, nursing staff will remain on-site in the emergency department providing triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in neighbouring communities, as needed," reads information from Alberta Health Services (AHS).
As usual, patients should call 911 if they have a medical emergency
"EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding facilities, as needed," according to AHS.
A new initiative recently launched is the availability of a virtual physician. In this case, "Virtual Emergency Physician coverage may be available for all or part of this service advisory," according to AHS.
"The Virtual Emergency Physician program uses an experienced rural/northern ED physician to remotely support facilities temporarily without available on-site ED physician support. Site clinical staff can connect with an AHS physician by telephone or videoconference for ED patients with non-life threatening issues."
The virtual physician can collaborate with staff, speak with patients, order tests and medications, and transfer or discharge patients, according to AHS.
Community members are reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions. Some services are also available through local pharmacies.
