Arnprior hospital emergency department to remain open May 20

ARNPRIOR – Less than 24 hours after announcing the Arnprior hospital emergency department would be closed overnight tonight (May 20), hospital officials have reversed course and will remain open.

Yesterday, Arnprior Regional Health (ARH) announced the hospital’s emergency department would close overnight for both Friday (May 19) and Saturday (May 20) evenings. Shortly before noon today 9May 20), hospital officials have found the necessary staff to remain open tonight.

“We are very pleased to share that we can now keep our emergency department open overnight and will continue our usual 24/7 operations,” ARH communications manager Melissa McDermott released in a statement today. “Thank you to our emergency department staff for their ongoing commitment to the needs of our community. We also appreciate the ongoing partnerships with The County of Renfrew Paramedic Services, Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre, and our neighbouring hospitals: Almonte General Hospital, Renfrew Victoria Hospital, and Queensway Carleton Hospital. To our community, thank you for your patience and understanding through this challenging time.”

The Almonte General Hospital closed its emergency department Thursday (May 18) evening. The overnight closings of emergency departments at small Ottawa Valley hospitals has become a bit of a trend over the last year, happening several times at several area hospitals including AGH which has closed six times overnight since late November 2022.