In one of the first closures of the pandemic period, the community health centres of Carcross and Teslin moved to emergency services only this week.
Originally, Carcross was slated for two days of emergencies only, then on Tuesday that was extended to Friday. For the last three days of the week, Teslin also closed its doors except for emergency services. Both centres are expected to resume services on Monday Feb. 21.
Both communities are home to about 500 residents each – Teslin’s Health Centre covers people from Johnson’s Crossing, and Carcross looks after people in Tagish as well.
Community Health Centres host doctor visits, look after immunizations, distribute public health information, and with highly trained staff are a key component of keeping rural Yukoners healthy.
Throughout the pandemic, rural health centres have responded to increased demands and pressures. Carcross and Tagish have a large number of seniors and elders, and Carcross’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is one of the busiest ambulance services amongst Yukon communities.
Health care professionals are in high demand across the country. Volunteers are needed for ambulance services in rural Yukon and the Yukon government has several competitions for community nurses underway.
Contact Lawrie Crawford at lawrie.crawford@yukon-news.com