This First Person article is written by Dr. Sarah Giles, who works in Kenora, Ont. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

I'm a rural emergency room doctor — and I feel the need to publicly apologize. 

I'm sorry that many of you are often not receiving the health care you need, in the right place or at the right time. And I'm sorry that many of you don't have a primary care provider, that wait times are so long and that I sometimes see you in the hallway where …