Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

RURAL ER STAFFING

Clearwater mayor cites smoother staffing situation for hospital emergency department consistency

Jan 21, 2025 | 5:30 PM

CLEARWATER, B.C. — Healthcare staffing in the North Thompson has seen a slight improvement recently, resulting in fewer temporary closures of the emergency department at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater.

Throughout the last several years, Clearwater dealt with multiple overnight closures of its emergency room as a result of short staffing. The North Thompson community was among several throughout British Columbia facing repeated temporary shutdowns of its ER, with residents told to drive to medical facilities and hospitals in other communities when the hospital emergency department was unavailable.

However Clearwater’s mayor, Merlin Blackwell, says progress has been made in hiring more healthcare workers, and finding accommodations for those new hires.

“We’ve had some staff changes, both coming and going, but it sounds like we’ve acquired some new healthcare workers in many of the departments. We’re also working on accommodation for newly arriving people,” he explains. “A couple hires out of Thompson Rivers University and out of local healthcare aide programs, which is fantastic.”

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The mayor says that does not mean the community’s healthcare provider strain is resolved entirely, but Clearwater is in a better position to weather physician and nursing staff turnover in the future.

“I also think having the fully staffed or almost fully staffed hospital with new lab equipment, with a new x-ray coming, a fairly modern small-town hospital is a big draw,” he notes, “because those healthcare professionals are coming into (a situation) where they’re not heading into chaos and uncertainty and short staff situations. They’re coming into something that is actually the kind of working environment that they want to have.”

Blackwell adds the other draws to medical professionals are the outdoor lifestyle available in the North Thompson and the lower cost of housing compared to larger urban centres.