01/26/2026
Community Update – Winter Weather Response
McCurtain Memorial Hospital continues to actively respond to the winter storm impacting our area.
Over the past 72 hours, our Emergency Department has experienced an increase in patient volume, averaging more than 20 emergency cases per day. Despite challenging conditions, our dedicated Emergency Department and nursing teams have continued to provide exceptional care. During this time, our team successfully delivered a baby in the Emergency Department. Both mother and baby were safely transferred to a higher level of care prior to worsening road conditions.
Currently, we are working to transfer three emergent patients from our Emergency Department and one patient from our Medical/Surgical Unit to higher-level care facilities. Road conditions have grounded local EMS due to unsafe travel, and AirEvac is awaiting improved weather conditions and cleared skies to resume flights.
We ask our community members to carefully consider roadway safety. If your medical concern is not an emergency and can safely wait, please schedule an appointment with your primary care provider once conditions improve. Traveling during these conditions places patients, emergency responders, and others at risk. However, please know that if you or a loved one experiences a true emergency, McCurtain Memorial Hospital stands ready to care for you.
Please also be mindful that temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits tonight, and forecasts indicate temperatures may not rise above freezing until Wednesday. Take precautions to stay warm and safe.
To support patient care and staff safety, hospital administration has made the decision to furlough non-essential office and administrative staff and to temporarily close our Rural Health Clinics until weather and road conditions improve.
We will continue to keep our community informed as conditions change. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support during this challenging time — and thank you to our incredible healthcare team who continue to serve with dedication and compassion.
The hospitals administration has remained less than a block from the hospital and multiple key department heads have stayed at the hospital around the clock - along with dedicated personnel to ensure we can provide great care. We appreciate the support we’ve seen online for our employees.