The POST has learned that talks at the end of January between northern Alberta medevac service providers and Alberta Health Services will see the local contract expire in January of 2014 — with no plans for renewal.
The information has been confirmed by local officials close to the service.
Oddly, in conversations with Alberta Health Services senior officials as recently as last week, no mention of the planned shutdown was made to Lac La Biche POST staff.
Post staff will be following up with Alberta Health Services this week to find out more details of the planned removal of the medevac services from the Lac La BIche area — a service which has been operating from the airport since the 1970s and is the third busiest medevac outpost in the province.
Plans are still ongoing by the province to close down the Edmonton City Centre Airport medevac location by Feb. 15, moving the operation to the Edmonton International Airport. The Lac La Biche community — including residents, patients, medical officials and its opposition party MLA — has been very vocal in their concerns of the City Centre Airport move, hosting public meetings, signing petitions and blitzing Edmonton-area politicians with letters and emails. See next week's POST for more details and watch our facebook newsfeed for links to ongoing news as it happens.
