Welcome to our new streamlined version of the AHS Update. Click on a headline or the 'read more' link to see the full article. We heard your feedback and continue to look for ways to improve the AHS Update. Share your thoughts with us at ahscomms@ahs.ca.
November 4, 2022
Personalize your wellness experience
You can now get personalized wellness recommendations with PulseCheck. (more...)
COVID-19 Status & Cases in Alberta
Latest hospitalizations, ICU update and information on variants of concern and wastewater surveillance. (more...)
Understanding the current state of local decision-making at AHS
Help AHS enhance local decision-making, including prioritizing challenges and co-creating solutions. (more...)
Interim CEO video message – Connect Care Launch 5
Connect Care launches at 135 sites across all zones on Sunday, including Cancer Care Alberta programs, making this our biggest launch to date. (more...)
AHS teams, individual earn national recognition
AHS staff have received kudos for exemplary environmental public health advocacy and emergency management. (more...)
Apply for an HQCA Patient Experience Award
Apply by Nov. 25 for the HQCA Patient Experience Awards which recognize efforts to improve healthcare experiences. (more...)
Donation to support children with communication needs
AHS has received an $866,000 donation from the Children's Ability Fund to expand local Communication Access support for children over the next five years. (more...)
Celebrate the holiday season with our foundation partners
Join our foundation partners as they celebrate the holiday season with events across the province. (more...)
Raising awareness of World Pressure Injury Prevention Day
Wear red on Nov. 17, and attend one of three webinars to raise awareness of World Pressure Injury Prevention Day. Learn more.
AHS, Alberta Health create tobacco, smoking, vaping enforcement program
The Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping Enforcement Program works to improve compliance and regulation within Alberta. (more...)
Please make sure to book your annual influenza immunization and, once you receive the vaccine, let us know through the Got My Flu Shot form. (more...)
Thank you for everything you do, each and every day.
Mauro Chies
Interim AHS President & CEO
November 4, 2022
Please print and share with your teams as needed
AHS continues to make progress in its 10 priority areas. The following are updates on specific initiatives connected to some of the 10 priorities.
Connect Care Launch 5 coming Sunday
This is the largest Connect Care launch so far. I am confident that because of the hard work of all involved, it will be a successful one. With every Connect Care launch, sites, staff, and prescribers are supported by super users, who take extra training so they can support their colleagues, and by the Connect Care Launch Incident Management Branch, a coordinated team of clinicians, staff, care providers and vendor participants providing support to each launch. My sincere thanks goes out to Launch 5 participants as you continue to improve patient care in Alberta. The Connect Care implementation timeline is available here.
Surgical wait-list status update
AHS continues to work diligently to recover to pre-pandemic surgical status. Over the past four weeks, the average weekly volume for surgical activity is 97 per cent of our pre-pandemic surgical volumes. The surgical wait-list for adults sits at nearly 70,000, compared with about 68,000 in February 2020, before the pandemic. Approximately 143,000 surgeries have been completed in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
Use the sliding scale to determine how you’re feeling and get personalized service recommendations based on where you are at. As part of the enhanced Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) digital experience, you can click on Meet Now at any point and be immediately connected with a service provider for a single session. To access PulseCheck, log on to homeweb.ca and create an account.
Call the EFAP intake line any time at 1-877-273-3134 if you need confidential counselling or access to more tools. Support is available 24 hours a day. Physicians can contact the AMA Physician and Family Support Program, a confidential 24/7 support line, at 1-877-SOS-4MDS. Questions? Contact wellness@ahs.ca.
Hospitalizations and ICUs
As of Nov. 1:
Variants of Concern
Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) continues to closely monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants. From Oct. 24-30, an average of 69 per cent of positive samples were strain-typed. Of those, the seven-day rolling average was 94 per cent Omicron BA.5 lineage, four per cent Omicron BA.4 lineage, and two per cent Omicron BA.2 lineage. There are several lineages that are being closely monitored for increased growth potential. Specifically, increases in BQ.1.1 (a sublineage of BA.5) have been reported in Europe and the U.S., while XBB (a recombinant of two BA.2 sublineages) is on the rise in Singapore. Eleven cases of BQ.1.1 and three cases of XBB have been identified in Alberta to date. There is no evidence these globally rising lineages cause more severe disease than other Omicron lineages.
Wastewater Surveillance
Wastewater can provide an early indication of infection trends in a community. For wastewater surveillance comparing weekly averages:
The above interpretations were made from available data as of Oct. 19 at 8 a.m.
Other notable COVID-19-related information
On Oct. 24, AHS front-line leaders, staff and physicians were invited to join Design Lab for a conversation on local decision-making, to understand what is working well and what is not.
Those who were unable to attend that session are invited to share their thoughts. To access the project page, you will need to register for Together4Health using your @ahs.ca or @albertahealthservices.ca email. This allows us to ensure that the survey is accessible to AHS staff, physicians and volunteers.
AHS will reach another major milestone on Sunday with the fifth launch of Connect Care.
This launch touches all five zones, with major AHS sites launching in North, Central and Calgary zones. In addition, Cancer Care Alberta programs across the province and Alberta Kidney Care South are also going live with Connect Care, which makes this the biggest launch to date.
After this launch, nearly 75,000 staff and physicians across Alberta will be using Connect Care. Joining vlog guest host Dr. Francois Belanger to tell us more about Launch 5 are:
AHS staff have recently received awards for exemplary service in the areas of environmental public health advocacy and emergency/disaster management.
Congratulations to AHS Legal and Privacy’s litigation and health law teams for winning the Dan Richen Advocate Award during the 2022 Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors-Alberta conference. The award recognizes support, commitment and advancement of the field of environmental public health.
Also congratulations to Cheryl Bourassa, Executive Director of Emergency/Disaster Management, for being bestowed with the Government of Canada’s Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award, a national honour that recognizes exceptional service and achievement to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters.
AHS is committed to continually improving the patient experience and the quality of care we provide. This is evident in the excellent work you do across the province and we want to find ways to recognize this work and share what we’ve learned with others.
The Patient Experience Awards were established by the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) and its Patient and Family Advisory Committee to recognize and spread knowledge about initiatives that improve patient experience in accessing and receiving healthcare services.
I encourage all our people, teams and initiatives who meet these criteria to apply for this award through the HQCA website.
Part A of the nomination – a 300-word summary of the initiative – must be submitted by Nov. 25, 2022. If your nomination is shortlisted, you will need to provide a detailed 2,000-word summary by Feb. 28, 2023. All applicants will be contacted in mid-December 2022 by HQCA.
A long-standing charity in Alberta is closing shop and leaving as its parting gesture a donation that will help children gain earlier access to local communication support.
For 75 years, the Children’s Ability Fund (CAF) has worked to facilitate independence for young people of varied abilities. The organization is donating $866,000 to support Communication Access, an initiative that enables people with speech, language or hearing problems to participate in the vital human act of communication.
AHS will use the CAF’s donation to purchase specialized equipment and to increase access to communication tools, education and support for children. At the charity’s request, 75 per cent of the funds will be distributed across the northern half of Alberta, with a focus on rural and remote areas in North Zone.
AHS is fortunate to work alongside foundation partners that raise funds for healthcare advancements across the province. As we head into holidays, many of our partners are hosting fundraising events to support medical equipment, programs and services in our communities. If you wish to take part, the calendar for these events is as follows:
To raise awareness of World Pressure Injury Prevention Day, I encourage you to wear red on Nov. 17, and attend one of three webinars being offered. Learn more.
To reduce the harms associated with smoking and second-hand smoke, and to address the rise in youth vaping, the Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping Reduction Act (TSVRA) came into effect July 31, 2021. Since then, AHS and Alberta Health have created a Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping Enforcement Program that has been in effect since January. This program will work to improve compliance with the TSRVA and Regulation by:
The program is comprised of two health promotion facilitators, eight public health inspectors, a program manager, seven investigators (peace officers), and various test shoppers to ensure compliance.
To contact Environmental Public Health with a compliance complaint, visit ephisahs.ahs.ca/create-case
Thank you for reading and for everything you do, each and every day. With cold weather arriving in many parts of the province, we’ll be spending more time indoors — so please make sure to book your annual influenza immunization and, once you receive the vaccine, let us know through the Got My Flu Shot form. Also ensure your COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date. The bivalent Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster, which includes the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, is now available in Alberta for those 12 years and older. Appointments are available through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System at bookvaccine.alberta.ca, through participating pharmacies, or by calling Health Link at 811. Together, let’s keep ourselves and others safe this respiratory virus season.
Thank you for everything you do, each and every day.
Mauro Chies
Interim AHS President & CEO
