People in Charlotte County in southern New Brunswick are calling out the provincial government for being "misleading" and "disingenuous."

More than 100 people came out on Saturday to find out what's going to happen to their hospital.

Horizon Health Network announced in July that because of retirements and falling surgery numbers, the Charlotte County hospital would lose its operating room. But since then, residents have rallied, fighting for the OR to stay open.

"If you read it, it sounds wonderful, but really it isn't because they're not going to do anything to help the OR," said Trudy Higgins, co-chair of the Concerned Citizens of Charlotte County.

St. Stephen resident Trudy Higgins is talking about a recent Horizon Health press release that read in part that services at the Charlotte County Hospital will continue as usual. That means the emergency department, in-patient services, dialysis, operating rooms, everything currently in place will continue to operate as it does today.

"The thing that's the most disturbing is that they're implying that no services will be cut, and yet, they are doing nothing to support the OR situation," said Higgins.

Higgins met with Horizon Health and government officials on Friday and says she left feeling less assured the hospital's OR really does have a future.

She says the key is reading between the lines, and that "everything operating as it does today" means vacant positions won't be filled.

That’s why on Saturday, she and others organized a town hall meeting to relay what officials told her, and what to do next.

MLA John Ames said to residents that they shouldn't be worried that their hospital will close, however, he was less clear as to whether or not those positions that have been empty will be filled.

"Horizon hasn't put a necessarily a position out for the Charlotte County Hospital OR, but that certainly can be something we can push them to do once we find a team."

The hospital is used by residents as far away as Campobello Island who have to travelled 45 minutes through Maine just to get to St. Stephen.

Some residents know first-hand just how important it really is.

"I brought my sister a couple of years ago at five in the morning into this hospital with congestive heart failure,” said Murray Stehenson. “The doctor on staff stabilized her and put her in an ambulance and sent her to Saint John and told me the next day that he didn't think she was going to make it and she never would have made it had they not been able to stabilize her here."

Residents vow to continue pushing the government to return the services as they were before July, not as they are today.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.