Merritt mayor still optimistic for reimbursement after series of ER closures in 2023 and 2024

The Mayor of Merritt is holding out hope that the B.C. government will reimburse his community to the tune of around $200,000 for services not rendered at the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency room.

While he’s no longer calling it a bill, Michael Goetz says he has already spoken with new B.C. Health Minster Josie Osborne to let her know that he wants financial compensation for the 40 ER closures in 2023 and 2024.

“I’ve let her know the old bill is coming, the new one is coming, and some of the other information that I have gotten over the last little while is coming to her as well,” Goetz told CFJC Today. “Do I think I’m going to get any of that money? I would be awful damn surprised if I did.”

Goetz previously sent the province a bill for 19 emergency room closures in 2023. The invoice to Premier David Eby, which was dated July 11, 2024, also sought compensation for what was then five ER closures in 2024.

In all, there were 21 ER closures in 2024, with the most recent one in late December just before Christmas.

Goetz noted he wants the Minster to know that Merritt taxpayers are picking up the tab for services that the province is responsible for. He said local firefighters have had to respond to more medical calls when the ER is closed as ambulances often get seconded to transport patients in need of emergency care to facilities like Royal Inland Hospital.

“Those calls took $55,125 out of [the firefighting] budget in 2023 and probably about the same, or a little but more in 2024, so that’s over $100,000 they were never budgeting for,” Goetz said. “That starts to affect how the fire department operates and equipment bought and all the rest of it. This information has to be gotten out so that the minister can see there’s a big cost to the community when the ER goes down.

“I’m not trying to be antagonistic, but she needs to see this stuff.”

The emergency room in Merritt has been closed due to lack of either of doctors or nurses, though of late Interior Health has not been releasing a reason for the closures. Goetz said his community has worked out the cost of an ER closure to be just under $2,000 a day.

“At the beginning of the year we give the Thompson-Nicola Health District our allotment for our hospital to be open, and that’s about $650,000, so we expect 24/7, 365 day coverage for that money,” Goetz said. “What should happen is maybe we pay at the end of the year after we have dealt with our shutdowns.

“I mean, taking the money up front and then not delivering the service has always been a problem of mine.”

While former Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province won’t be reimbursing Merritt, Goetz said Osborne and the province will keep getting a bill whenever the Merritt emergency room is closed in the future.

“The mayor of Merritt is taking steps to raise the issues of his community. I completely respect his approach and his advocacy for his community, and I’ve been working with him closely on these issues,” Dix said in the Legislature on April 23, 2024. “While we won’t be paying the bill, we will be continuing to work with Mayor Goetz, who I’ve worked regularly with in this process, to continue what I think has been a successful effort to fill physicians’ positions.”

Goetz also remains optimistic that there will be improvements in healthcare in his community with a new minister in place. He also said mayors in affected communities like his will continue to advocate for better healthcare coverage.

“We’re going to start dealing with the Minister all through the year to try and come up with some ideas on how we can fix this situation,” Goetz said.