The Arctic Bay health centre has resumed its normal operations after a brief closure.
The centre, which serves the community of just under 1000 people, closed its doors on May 31 due to staffing shortages. It was unclear at that time how long the closure would last, but on June 6 – less than a week later – it reopened, having added five new staff to its roster.
“Nursing staff were hired and onboarded on site,” a Government of Nunavut spokesperson said. “Staff were not transferred from another community.”
During regular operations, the centre is staffed by three community health nurses, one supervisor of health programs and with one licenced practical nurse.
Throughout the closure, paramedics remained at the centre to provide “emergent or life-threatening care.”
Despite the addition of new staff, the paramedics will remain in the community until further notice.
The recent closure was a first for Arctic Bay’s health centre. It was briefly scheduled to temporarily close its doors in January of this year, but that plan was ultimately nixed.
However, the communities of Kinngait, Chesterfield Inlet and Clyde River have all seen their health centres close for varying periods in the last year.
At present, all community health centres in the Nunavut are open.