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Nursing shortages have forced Interior Health to shut down all in-patient beds at Boundary District Hospital in Grand Forks, B.C. — at least for the time being.

The closure affects 12 beds, but IHA says the emergency department will remain open.

“This difficult decision was made in order to maintain safe patient care,” Interior Health president and CEO Susan Brown said earlier this week.

Read more: 22 new substance-use beds announced for Interior Health region

“Our priority is to re-open these beds in Grand Forks as quickly as it is safe to do so, and we are actively recruiting to stabilize staffing at the Boundary District Hospital.”

If anyone needs hospital admission, they will be transferred to hospitals in surrounding communities.

IHA says it’s actively working to fill five nursing positions in order to re-open the beds as soon as possible.

According to the health authority, the current nursing vacancies are the result of former staff moving to alternate positions outside of Grand Forks or taking temporary leaves.

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