‘Collaboration and increased communication’: Northern Health executive talks ER closures in the northeast

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – As emergency room closures continue to plague northeast B.C., a Northern Health executive has said collaboration and increased communication are priorities for improving care.

Emergency room closures throughout northeast B.C. continue to be implemented due to nurse and doctor shortages at five hospitals. 

So far in 2025, Northern Health has reported over 131 hours of closures in two months. 

In January, the Dawson Creek and District Hospital and Chetwynd General Hospital emergency departments closed five times for over 80 hours. And in February, the Chetwynd General Hospital, Dawson Creek and District Hospital and Fort Nelson General Hospital emergency departments closed five times for a total of 51 hours. 

Since July 2024, hospitals throughout the northeast have closed for almost 1,000 hours. 

Energeticcity.ca spoke with Lisa Zetes-Zanatta, the vice president of clinical operations at Northern Health, about emergency room closures throughout the northeast. 

“There are a number of reasons that hospitals may have a service interruption, that may be because of a call from a physician who’s ill or a nurse that is ill,” Zetes-Zanatta said. 

“In smaller hospitals, we have smaller staffing complements, and so we don’t have the same resiliency that you would have in a larger hospital.”

In July 2024, the Dawson Creek and District Hospital emergency department closed without prior notice online, sparking outrage in the community. 

“That was an incident that occurred for a health professional which led to that closure that was not an anticipated one, we did not have the material queued up and ready to go.”

Since this, Zetes-Zanatta explained the health authority has taken steps to ensure all closures are announced on social media. 

“We have taken steps to ensure that we have standard material, and we do have media on call to be able to do those postings through the night as well,” she said. 

Energeticcity.ca has not received advance notice for any emergency room diversions in northeast B.C. from Northern Health. 

The vice president stated announcements were a delicate balance, as the intentions of the health authority are to avoid and mitigate closures whenever possible. 

“Northern Health does make every effort to reduce any service interruptions, even up to and when they’re occurring.”

Northern Health is consistently able to mitigate “nine out of ten” emergency room closures, according to Zete-Zanatta. 

“We’re trying to find that balance between early notification and short notice notification,” she said. 

Zetes-Zanatta explained the health authority is exploring alternatives for announcing closures with the Ministry of Health, and stated there was “no perfect way” to get information to residents.

Recruitment efforts throughout 2024 also suggest improvements can be expected in the northeast in the coming months and years.  

According to Zetes-Zanatta, Northern Health has recruited 900 new employees, 450 of which are nurses. Northern Health intends to place them in locations which have known vacancies, including Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort Nelson and Tumbler Ridge. 

Ciro Panessa, the president and chief executive officer of Northern Health, agreed to attend a meeting with Peace River Regional District (PRRD) directors regarding closures in 2024, but did not attend. 

The PRRD has since extended another invitation, and when asked, Zetes-Zanatta stated Panessa does plan to attend a meeting with the PRRD in 2025.