PUBLIC NOTICE: Service Update – August 18 – In-Patient Transport, Information for Pregnancy Evacuees Under 37 weeks

Public Notice

UPDATED: August 22nd to include more Information for Pregnancy Evacuees Under 37 weeks.

For the latest and up-to-date information, visit the Wildfire Health Services Updates page.

(Yellowknife, August 18, 2023) – The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority is providing notice to residents about service levels in Yellowknife and preparations that are ongoing for further service ramp down as a preparatory measure in response to ongoing wildfire activity.

Today’s focus is the mass-transport of in-patients at Stanton Territorial Hospital & information for Pregnancy Evacuees Under 37 weeks. The Stanton Territorial Hospital evacuation of patients is expected to be complete during the evening and overnight of August 18th . It is important to note that Stanton’s Emergency Department will remain open to serve essential service personnel and those who require emergency medical care who remain in Yellowknife. Residents are encouraged to follow the evacuation advice of territorial officials, as services within the community may be reduced, overburdened or become unavailable.

Update on Transport of In-Patients at Stanton Territorial Hospital:
On August 18th, the remaining 39 in-patients in Stanton Territorial Hospital will be evacuated to BC and Alberta (underway as of the time of preparation of this notice).

Information for Pregnancy Evacuees Under 37 weeks:

  • The latest information from Alberta Health Services for pregnant individuals. Please review this important information.

  • If you are 37 weeks or over, please follow the plan already provided to you.
  • If you are under 37 weeks, see below for information and contacts for prenatal care in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer. Please note that prenatal visits are usually every 4 weeks until 28 weeks, every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, then weekly until delivery.
  • Information will be provided next week by NTHSSA on accessing your medical records
  • If you have an emergency, please go to your nearest hospital. For other non-emergent questions about health or services, please call 811 for assistance.

 

NWT Prenatal Clinic (appointment required)

Lois Hole Hospital for Women, at Royal Alexandra Hospital

Address:                      Clinic E, 0 Level, Robbin’s Pavilion,
                                    10245 111 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0B6
Phone:                         Clinic Phone Number: 780-735-6635


Delivery Sites

Lois Hole Hospital for Women, at Royal Alexandra Hospital

Address:                      10245 111 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0B6
Phone:                         Switchboard: 780-735-4111
Website:                      Lois Hole Hospital for Women | Alberta Health Services

Sturgeon Community Hospital

Address:                      201 Boudreau Road, St. Albert, Alberta, T8N 6C4
Phone:                         Switchboard: 780-418-8200
Website:                      Sturgeon Community Hospital | Alberta Health Services

Misericordia Community Hospital

Address:                      16940 87 Ave NW, Edmonton AB T5R 4H5
Phone:                         Switch Board: 780-735-2000
Website:                      Misericordia Community Hospital - Covenant Health

Grey Nuns Community Hospital

Address:                      1100 Youville Drive West (3015 62 Street NW), Edmonton AB T6L 5X8
Phone:                         Switch Board: 780-735-7000
Website:                      Grey Nuns Community Hospital - Covenant Health


EDMONTON:

The Edmonton Zone has four Adult acute care facilities that provide care to pregnant persons and their families, including Neonatal care.

AHS has temporarily arranged a clinic for those pregnant patients who require prenatal care. The clinic is located onsite at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, Royal Alexandra Hospital campus. This clinic will provide care coordination and help you connect with a family physician, registered midwife, or obstetrician for ongoing needs. If you do not have an accepting physician in the Edmonton Zone currently prearranged and need ongoing prenatal care, we would ask you to call 780-735-6635 to schedule a prenatal visit.

Once you have delivered your newborn, our Healthy Beginnings Public Health team will be in touch with you within 24 hours of discharge from the hospital.

RED DEER:

Patients under 37 weeks arriving in Red Deer independently: Please have them to come to the Red Deer Regional Hospital Center and come to the L&D unit (Unit 27) on the second floor and we will arrange prenatal care for them. Unit 27 phone number is 403-343-4427

CALGARY:

Patients under 37 weeks arriving in independently can connect with Teresa Thurber at 403-943-3933 and she will triage to the appropriate provider groups 


The following is a detailed account of services that are now reduced or suspended or being planned to be reduced/suspended. Patients of some specialty services including dialysis and chemotherapy have been contacted to ensure a plan of care during this period.

It is important to check back for service levels as they will fluctuate, services will ramp down as the evacuation progresses and alternate or remote services may be stood up to fill the gap once the situation has stabilized.

New Services & Status Updates are highlighted in Yellow

REGION

SERVICE

STATUS

Territorial

Medical travel to Yellowknife

All medical travel into Yellowknife is suspended. 

Urgent medical travel may be directed to other sites in the territory or Alberta.

Territorial

Office of Client Experience, System Navigation, and Indigenous Patient Advisors

Closed in: Hay River, Fort Smith, and Yellowknife.

Significant reduction in services territory wide.

Territorial

Cancer Navigation Program

Current status - reduced but available. Please contact through cancer_navigator@gov.nt.ca or telephone 1-866-313-7989 option 3

If an NWT patient who is expected for assessment or treatment for a cancer diagnosis in an evacuated area, please call the Alberta Cancer Centre Transition Team toll-free at 1-888-432-8865 to make sure your assessment or treatment remains as uninterrupted as possible.

STH

Stanton Territorial Hospital Emergency Department

Current status – normal service levels will be maintained as an essential service, however all patients requiring admission will be stabilized for transfer only. Expect longer than normal transport times.  

STH

Surgical services

Current status - suspended. Patients requiring surgery will be stabilized in the Emergency Department and transferred via medevac

STH

Surgical day procedures (Endoscopy)

Current status - Closed

STH

Chemotherapy

Current status – Closed

Services are being coordinated in Alberta for evacuated patients.

STH

Dialysis

Current status – Closed

Services are being coordinated in Alberta for evacuated patients.

STH

Northern Options for Women (NOW Program Abortion Service)

Current status  - Closed

STH

ICU

Current status - Closed

Patients requiring intensive care will be held in the Emergency Department and transferred via medevac

STH

Extended Care

Current status - Closed, residents have been transferred to southern facilities.

STH

Temporary Long Term Care (Legacy Stanton)

Current status – Closed, residents have been transferred to southern facilities.

STH

Inpatient Services (medicine, pediatrics, etc)

Closed.  Patients transport to BC and Alberta in progress.  New patients requiring admission will be treated in the Emergency Department and transferred via medevac

STH

Obstetrics

Current status – Closed

Any individuals who are 37 weeks or beyond that our obstetrical service is aware of have been contacted and evacuated. Anyone who is earlier in their gestation/term should follow the city evacuation notices and coordinate transportation out of community. Ongoing care can be coordinated as per the details provided in this notice

STH/YK

Lab and Diagnostic Imaging

Current status – Closed

 

 

Yellowknife

Primary Care

Closed

Yellowknife

Public Health

Closed

Yellowknife

Home Care

Closed

Yellowknife

Community Counseling

Closed – Remote support available. Details on supports available here.

Yellowknife

Rehab (occupational therapy and physiotherapy)

Closed

Yellowknife

Sobering Centre

Closed

Yellowknife

Day Shelter

Closed

 

Patient/Client Notification
Within each service area, any impacted individuals will be contacted directly to provide more information. While this is a rapidly changing situation the overall principle of planning for services at this time is to move patients and clients to other locations and to reduce incoming patients/clients as much as possible.

Why are we making these changes?
As providers of care, our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our patients and clients. Our planning for any patient movement going forward will prioritize moving those who are most complex first. This will help us ensure the ongoing safety and care of these individuals while the Authority continues to position itself in a state of readiness should the wildfire situation escalate.

While our focus is on the current emergency event, we are aware that after this situation resolves there will need to be follow up with clients and patients to create plans for rescheduling, this will be part of our planning throughout the changes we are making to respond to this emergency event.

Further Updates
We remain committed to keeping residents informed and will continue to assess our service levels daily as the situation unfolds. Any service changes will be announced on the NTHSSA website and via our Facebook.

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