100 Mile House ER temporarily closes for 37th time this year

PENTICTON — While Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar announced Monday they are leaving the Conservative caucus to form a new party, at least one opposition MLA appears determined to keep attention on an issue that actually affects people.Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson posted the public service announcement on X Monday morning with a blunt assessment: “Shocking!!! Even under a provincial ‘state of emergency’ this hospital closes! Correct me if I am wrong, Minister, I think this numbers 37 closures this year? @KahlonRav.".The province declared a state of provincial emergency on August 8 because of widespread wildfires and extended it until August 29.The latest emergency room shutdown comes as communities across the Interior continue hosting firefighters and evacuees while staffing shortages keep rural emergency rooms cycling on and off.Interior Health’s notice confirms all other inpatient services at the 100 Mile House facility remain available. Life-threatening emergencies should still dial 911 for transport to the nearest appropriate hospital. Non-emergency guidance is available through HealthLink BC at 811..Doerkson’s post lands just over a week after Premier David Eby moved Ravi Kahlon into the health portfolio from jobs, with Josie Osborne shifting to finance. The Conservative MLA has repeatedly pressed successive health ministers over the same hospital’s repeated daytime and overnight closures throughout 2026.Western Standard reported earlier this month that Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz had already written federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel asking Ottawa to investigate and potentially assert control over Interior Health’s management of southern Interior hospitals. At the time Goetz noted 100 Mile House had already logged 36 closures in 2026 and said trust in a provincial fix was gone..“I think we’ve gotten to a point where the level of trust and the ability to fix this is gone and I think at this point we need some federal intervention to fix this issue. It’s just simply not going to happen provincially,” Goetz told local media in mid-August.In February 2025 the same mayor warned that continued ER shutdowns could force a local state of emergency declaration and, if necessary, a request for military assistance. “If that means we need to start bringing in the military to help, then that is exactly what we’ll do,” he said then.Interior Health recorded 137 emergency-room closures across its region in 2025 — roughly one every 2.6 days. Smaller centres including Merritt, Lillooet and Clearwater have faced the same chronic physician and nurse gaps that leave patients travelling long distances on highways already stressed by wildfire smoke, road closures and evacuation traffic.Monday’s 13-hour interruption at 100 Mile House is the latest data point in a multi-year trajectory that local elected officials say no longer looks temporary.Doerkson’s public call for an exact count from the new minister keeps the pressure on Victoria while the provincial emergency powers remain in force.

100 Mile House ER temporarily closes for 37th time this year

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