Once again, the emergency department that serves residents in and around a small southern Alberta community will be unable to provide care.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) says Milk River's ER will be closed from Thursday until 8 a.m. Monday.
Nurses will still be at the site to attend to long-term care patients, but EMS calls will need to be rerouted to Lethbridge or Raymond, Alta.
Raymond is 61 kilometres northwest of the community while Lethbridge is located 86 kilometres northwest.
Including a 10-day closure over the Christmas holidays, the facility has only provided 24-hour service for 27 out of the last 52 days.
Officials say the disruption is because of a critical physician shortage and apologizes for the inconvenience.
"We are thankful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff and would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding during this time," AHS said in a statement.
The agency also reminds residents they can call Health Link at 811 for any non-emergency, health-related inquiry.
