In June, Eastern Health stopped admitting new patients to four long-term care homes in St. John's due to nurse shortages. What's happening in long-term care is trickling down to the emergency departments, said Drover. "We've had great problems within the city making sure that we have our long-term care facilities staffed fully by our nurses. Between those steps and other avenues to get nurses into long-term care, Drover predicts the emergency room issues will be a short-term problem. The latter health centre is now the focus of a new Central Health pilot project: a "virtual emergency room."

Source: CBC News July 20, 2021 13:04 UTC