MARATHON -- In the case of health emergencies east of the closed Nipigon River Bridge, Superior North Emergency Medical Services is coordinating a regional approach.
Measures are underway to determine whether fire trucks and land ambulances could be allowed over the bridge, which was closed at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday due to a broken expansion joint that raised its eastern half about two feet.
During the day, the air ambulance service Ornge has committed to covering inter-hospital patient transfers into Thunder Bay as far east as Manitouwadge. Should weather not permit the aircraft to land, paramedics are stepping up.
"Staffing-wise, our medics have been awesome to work with," said Superior North EMS superintendent of district operations, David Bott.
"They've all stepped up to the plate and have offered assistance to come in early or cover for medics who are on the opposite side of the bridge until we can get through."
Based in Marathon, Bott is coordinating hospitals and land ambulance services. Where health emergencies along Highway 11 near Beardmore are commonly handled at the Nipigon District Memorial Hospital, they will be reverted to the Geraldton District Hospital.
Schreiber paramedics will cover Highway 17 along the north shore of Lake Superior, to the edge of the Nipigon River Bridge.
Although the furthest patients have been sent east in emergencies is Wawa, Bott said hospital staff in Sault Ste. Marie are prepared as a last resort.
Engineers are currently analyzing damage to the bridge to determine how long it will take to fix. No one is guessing how long the TransCanada Highway will be closed yet but Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle said will certainly be a matter days before traffic begins flowing again.
That timeframe is uncharted territory for Bott but he's confident his team can handle any emergencies that arise.
"I had to deal with a bridge issue where a snowplow was stuck on a bridge just east of Marathon," he recalled.
"We've had to move patients to the east with assistance at different times but it has been a one-off type of thing. It's not a regular occurrence."
Editor's note: A previous version of this story referred to the Nipigon District Memorial Hospital as the McClausland Hospital in Terrace Bay.
