The Ste. Anne Hospital’s Emergency Room is returning to 24/7 services today and the community is thrilled.

The ER originally ceased 24/7 operations in October of 2018 due to a shortage of physicians. Now, the necessary staff has been hired and the hospital is back to business as usual.

Town of Ste. Anne Councillor Tiana Bohemier says locals were giddy when they first heard the news last week. She says her social media feeds were full of positive posts from residents excited by the change.

“Yes,” she says, “you can see the excitement, and it’s great.”

Town resident and former Chairman of Southern Health Guy Levesque says he too is enthusiastic. He feels the local hospital is what sets his community apart and is glad to see it return to its former hours.

“We’ve got good doctors, we’ve got a lot of operations, we’ve got a very good hospital service here, and so we had everything except enough doctors. Now we do and everything is back to normal.”

Levesque is glad to see that Ste. Anne values health care and thanks those responsible for “taking care of what needed taking care of.”

Meanwhile, RM of Ste. Anne Reeve Paul Saindon says the ripple effect goes well beyond the town. He notes the hospital will have a positive impact on the 5,500 residents of his municipality as well as others in Hanover and Taché.

Richer Deputy Fire Chief David Reith is one such resident. “It's a vital service that every community needs," he says, "and it's great that they’re going to be open and supporting the community directly. I think that is awesome.”

“Having medical facilities, be it the clinic, X-rays, or ER services... it’s all a bonus,” adds the reeve.

In his RM specifically, Saindon says the restored hours address a growing concern. “We have an aging population in the area and that is something that requires quick medical attention. This is nothing but good news.”