The emergency room at the Dawson Creek and District Hospital in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, was forced to close overnight from March 23 to March 24, 2026, due to an unexpected staffing shortage. The closure lasted from 9:25 p.m. on Monday until 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Northern Health officials said the shutdown happened so quickly at such a late hour that staff were unable to manually post an alert on social media to warn residents.
During the closure, BC Emergency Health Services was notified to take patients to the hospital in Fort St. John instead. To help residents stay informed, Northern Health maintains a webpage that shows the current status of emergency departments across the region. Residents can also use IsEROpen.ca, a tracking website created by local resident Romeo Macabuhay to help people find out if care is available before they leave home.
This incident is part of a larger trend in the Peace Region, where emergency rooms recorded at least 82 hours of closures in February 2026 alone. Throughout 2025, the emergency department in Dawson Creek was shut down 12 separate times. Northern Health noted that staffing in smaller communities is often difficult because service can be interrupted if only one or two workers are unavailable.
To address these shortages, the provincial government is offering up to $30,000 in recruitment incentives to bring more doctors and health professionals to rural areas. Relief is also expected with the construction of a new hospital building, which is currently ahead of schedule and expected to reach substantial completion by September 29, 2026. The new facility, which is slated to open to patients in early 2027, will be larger and feature 15 treatment spaces for emergency patients.
