Despite respiratory viruses ramping up before Christmas and landing some people in hospital in the Interlake, plus a couple of back-to-back snowstorms thrown in the mix, Marion Ellis, the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority’s president and chief executive officer, remained upbeat about the progress the RHA has seen over the course of 2025 and optimistic about the future.
Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority president and chief executive officer Marion Ellis has close to 30 years’ experience in nursing leadership and other senior leadership experience, including with the Northern RHA and the former Burntwood RHA
Like most health-care systems across Canada, Manitoba’s system has experienced some lean years as a result of governments tinkering with funding, closing facilities and subsequent staffing losses, as well as an aging patient population requiring more care and the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many health-care workers to burn out and seek better working conditions elsewhere or leave the profession altogether.
But efforts are underway to expand the province’s health-care capacity through capital projects and human resources. Recovery takes time but Manitoba — and the Interlake-Eastern RHA — is on the upswing as far as physician numbers go. The corollary of that should be a decline in emergency room visits and lengthy wait times.
“We’re excited about having good, proactive care [delivered] through primary care physicians,” said Ellis, who spoke with the Express before the Christmas break. “Primary care capacity will help address wait times. When people don’t have a primary care clinician, they come to the emerg for that care.”
The retention of physicians is affected by factors such as burnout due to heavy workloads, poor working conditions and retirement, according the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Among Canada’s 10 provinces, Manitoba is fourth from the bottom with regard to the number of physicians per 100,000 residents. The province currently has 225 physicians, slightly better than Ontario (221), Saskatchewan (218) and P.E.I. (211). B.C. leads the pack with 271 physicians, followed by Nova Scotia (268).
Ellis said the Stonewall area is likely the “envy of Canada” with 10 physicians in various clinics plus one physician in Stony Mountain.
“For this geographical area, we have doctors. And these doctors very much want to focus on a proactive approach to health care, which is primary care. They know if people are screened early for certain chronic diseases or cancers, there can be earlier interventions, treatments and better outcomes for patients. Their commitment is to that,” said Ellis. “Some primary care physicians [in the Stonewall area] are even looking for patients; there’s no waitlist — they’re looking for patients.”
The uptick in doctors to Manitoba was noted by the physician advocacy organization Doctors Manitoba last fall, as well as by the provincial government in its November throne speech.
“When our government took office, Manitoba faced the worst doctor shortage in the country,” states the throne speech. “That gap is now closing with 285 net new doctors added since October 2023, including six doctors from the United States and more in the recruitment process. Last year marked the largest increase of doctors ever.”
As for physician availability in Ashern and Eriksdale, Ellis said that region is currently sharing its physicians. They work in clinic and also provide emergency room service to both hospital ERs.
Eriksdale’s ER is open only about six days a month, typically on a Thursday, but Ashern’s ER is typically open 24-7 all month, with some exceptions.
Six physicians are required to keep IERHA hospital ERs open 24-7. Fewer physicians than that can lead to burnout and retention issues. Doctors who work in their clinics all day and then are tasked to work emergency can feel they have no recovery time or quality of life. That often leads to their leaving for better working conditions.
Despite the physician challenges in that part of the health region, Ellis said a municipal leader expressed appreciation for the improvements underway in Ashern and Eriksdale.
The Ashern hospital had its medicine inpatient unit expanded between January 2023 and May 2025 to add 12 more beds for a total of 26. The second phase of the project entails expanding Ashern’s emergency room to add eight more treatment spaces (5,400 square feet). That’s expected to be completed this year.
The current provincial government committed to building a new ER at the Eriksdale hospital. Construction is expected to start this winter.
“I think they’re feeling really hopeful that they’re being listened to,” said Ellis.
When asked if there will be a workforce ready to go when Eriksdale’s new ER is up and running, Ellis said the health authority is not yet at the staffing side of things as the capital project is just getting underway.
“We’re not at that stage yet. We don’t talk about staffing until way on in the capital project,” she said. “This is a really good thing for Eriksdale. The design of the new emerg will improve visibility for nursing staff and patients. Sometimes design can inhibit efficiency, and we really feel the design is going to enable patient privacy and efficiency for the workforce.”
Although the health region is attracting more doctors, some Interlake hospital emergency rooms (apart from Selkirk’s) continue to experience temporary closures.
IERHA’s ER schedule for Dec. 16-31 showed Ashern’s ER open 24-7 on 15 days of the 16-day schedule. Eriksdale’s ER was open 24-7 on two out of 16 days. Gimli’s ER was open 24-7 on 10 out of 16 days and open five days with 12 hours or fewer. Stonewall’s ER was closed 14 out of 16 days with two days offering 12-hour service. The ERs at the Teulon and Arborg hospitals are permanently closed.
The schedule for Jan. 16-31 shows improvement in ER availability in Stonewall, with seven days of temporary closure and the remainder of the schedule showing a mix of days with 24-7 and 12-hour availability.
Stonewall’s ER had shifted to more temporary closures after the death of Dr. Zahiri in October.
Ellis said his death was tragic and staff were devastated.
“It was an unexpected shocking [event]. The staff were very upset,” she said. “We really relied on him strongly. He’s still missed and his commitment is honoured by the region.”
The situation should improve with a doctor due to arrive at the Stonewall Medical Clinic and who’ll be starting his first ER day on Jan. 3, she said.
“Half of the work will be in clinic and half will be emerg,” said Ellis. “We also have an international medical graduate who’ll be graduating [from the Canadian curricula] and ready to come to work with us in February.”
The availability of the doctors the region does have is expected to improve with the abolishment of sick notes. Doctors can see fewer patients if their time is taken up writing sick notes for patients whose employers require documentation.
Ellis said the provincial government introduced legislation [last year] to end sick notes for short-term absences, and that should add the equivalent of 50 more doctors or 300,000 more patient appointments per year.
To meet the future needs of an aging population, the Interlake-Eastern RHA needs additional personal care home beds.
The population in the IERHA is older than the Manitoba average with 42 per cent aged 50 or older, according the IERHA’s annual report.
Ellis said the provincial government has committed to one PCH a year during its current term. It’s building new PCHs in Winnipeg and in Lac du Bonnet and Arborg in the Interlake-Eastern region.
Stonewall has been engaged in lobbying the provincial government for a new seniors complex in their community since residents sometimes have to seek placements in facilities outside the area, separating them from their families.
Ellis said Stonewall is to be “commended” for its efforts to move its bid forward and for its proactive engagement with other communities along highways 6 and 7.
“They are working with their partner municipalities, proactively planning. They’re engaged and listening. They have a vision they’re committed to, and I think it’s so admirable. I’ve had a meeting with Wally [Melnyk], their CAO, and Mayor Sandra Smith, and they’re committed to … supporting an aging population. That’s to be commended,” said Ellis. “We have great municipal leaders and First Nation chiefs in our region, and I feel very blessed to be here. We are working as true partners.”
On the nursing front, Ellis said rural training programs such those offered in Arborg — which had “led the way” — in conjunction with Fieldstone Ventures and Assiniboine Community College have been a success in terms of recruiting nurses to the region.
Nurses who graduated from a licensed practical nursing program in Arborg are working in communities including Gimli, Eriksdale and Ashern and in health-care areas such as acute, long-term and home care.
“The LPNs that graduated from the Arborg program have been incredible team players and we appreciate them so much,” said Ellis. “Because of the model in Arborg, and how the community stood that up, we were able to work with Fieldstone Ventures and Assiniboine Community College. Now we’ve stood up a program in Beausejour with that model, and about 20 nurses will be graduating in the summer. Then come January of ‘27, we’re doing another LPN program there to get more nurses for that area and also to support additional beds in the new Lac du Bonnet Personal Care Home.”
To help offset the paramedic deficit in the rural health regions, the provincial government announced last year it had increased paramedic training seats.
In addition, the government said it would help recruit emergency medical responders (EMRs) for rural areas through financial aid (a $5,000 bursary for students) and community training. Arborg will be the site of EMR training this year. By fall, about 50 to 60 EMRs are expected to graduate.
EMRs will be able to help stabilize patients while waiting for an ambulance, said Ellis. Training rural people as EMRs will not only benefit rural communities but may also entice EMRs to further their training and become a paramedic.
“If people know how to help someone who’s choking or in distress, that’s very helpful. We can use EMRs to help support the health-care system in our local areas,” said Ellis. “If someone does this course and sees the value of it, that’s a stepping-stone for going to the next level. It’s a way of opening up opportunities and bringing local people into the health-care system.”
Ellis emphasized that EMRs are “not replacing” paramedics or taking away jobs from paramedics as their scope of practice is different. EMRs will simply be providing immediate onsite support.
“They only do what they’re qualified to do,” said Ellis. “It’s not like they’d be going outside the scope they’ll be given.”
In addition to more primary care physicians setting up shop in the health region and major capital investments in Ashern, Eriksdale, Arborg and Lac du Bonnet, Ellis said the provincial government is investing in other areas that will benefit IERHA, and the region is “collectively grateful” for those services.
Those services include expanding the number of transitional care beds for people who can be discharged from the hospital but who need to wait for other health-care services, and expanding allied health services to ensure patients get rehabilitation and mobility services seven days a week, up from five days.
“We’ve also been really pleased with our Indigenous investments. We’re working with our First Nations and supporting the patients who come to our sites,” said Ellis. “We’re strengthening those relationships and building trust that aligns with reconciliation. We’re very committed to that.”
The cost of public health care is always rising regardless of jurisdiction, but Interlake-Eastern hasn’t scrimped or cut services. Ellis said the RHA ended its 2024-25 fiscal year with an operations deficit (salaries, equipment, etc.) of $836,048 and a capital deficit (depreciation of capital) of over $1.6 million.
“Wouldn’t I love it if we had a surplus,” said Ellis when told about a misperception that the IERHA was sitting on a wad of cash at the end of its last fiscal year while ERs on both sides of the region continued to temporarily close. “This is a time when physicians are exercising their choices [declining to work in ERs]. If they work in clinic all day and then they’re called out night after night to work in the ER — I don’t know if I could do that. For some of these doctors, a quality of life is important. I know what it was like for me: I loved being on call when I was younger. But that’s hard to sustain year in, year out.”
Ellis said she’ll be able to share additional positive developments with regard to gains in staffing, family-centred services and other key health areas later this spring.
