May 19, 2023
May 19, 2023
AHS teams continue to step up during wildfire response
AHS teams continued to show their selflessness and tenacity in response to wildfires. Thank you. Please stay safe. (more...)
Helping you during tough times
No matter what you are experiencing, there are supports to help you through the Employee and Family Assistance Program. (more...)
Mental Wellness Moment - Protecting mental health when responding to a disaster
Dr. Nicholas Mitchell talks about how to protect your mental health during disasters, such as the wildfires. (more...)
CEO video message – a conversation with Dr. John Cowell
Dr. John Cowell, AHS Official Administrator, joins the vlog to talk about his role and how we can continue to focus on our priorities. (more...)
Update on our priorities
We are working to urgently address four key priorities.
They are:
Much of this work is underway. We will continue to use this update to highlight actions being taken to address our priorities. (more...)
Reducing emergency medical services (EMS) response times
Non-clinical transport taxi chits available for ordering
Reducing surgery wait times
Surgical wait-list update
COVID-19 status and cases in Alberta
Latest hospitalizations, ICU update and information on variants of concern and wastewater surveillance. (more...)
Ethics Lunch ‘n’ Learn: Agents Refusing Symptom Management
The next session explores a case study based on refusing symptom management. Runs June 1 at 11:30 a.m. or June 2 at noon. (more...)
Join us on May 30 for the Patient Experience Virtual Showcase
The showcase includes presentations from staff and patient and family advisors, as well as breakout sessions. (more...)
May 20 is Clinical Trials Day
Tomorrow, May 20, marks Clinical Trials Day and gives us a chance to recognize the important ways clinical trials advance care. (more...)
Celebrate What Matters to You? Day on June 6
Join us in celebrating by asking patients and families what matters to them. It’s a simple question but has a big impact. (more...)
The past several weeks have been tough for so many of our staff – those impacted by evacuations, and those who have helped support the safe transfer of patients and continuing care residents. I continue to be amazed at the support, selflessness and tenacity of our teams across the province.
Please ensure you take care of yourself and one another during this busy and stressful time as we continue to work to ensure the safety of Albertans from across the province.
Mauro Chies
AHS President & CEO
May 19, 2023
Please print and share with your teams as needed
Let’s start with a big thank you to all AHS teams across the province, helping to manage the current wildfire situation. We know this emergency is fluid and changing daily, and that many of you are personally affected by this disaster. Many areas have been evacuated due to the wildfire threat. Fifteen First Nations have been evacuated and/or had significant loss, and three Métis Settlements were evacuated and had loss. In addition, many off reserve or Métis Nation of Alberta residents of Alberta have been affected by the fire. During this stressful time, thank you for your efforts, your support for one another, and your willingness to be nimble and do what’s needed to keep patients, families, communities and yourself safe.
Evacuations continued throughout the province this week, with many patients and residents at Sacred Heart Community Centre and Manoir du Lac in the McLennan area undergoing a voluntary relocation on May 18, despite the facilities remaining open.
On May 15, the town of Valleyview was issued a community evacuation order, which resulted in the evacuation of the Valleyview Health Centre. This order was rescinded on May 18 and AHS reopened the community’s health centre emergency department that evening. Swan Hills and Fox Creek were placed under evacuation orders on May 16 and May 6, resulting in the temporary closures of Swan Hills Healthcare Centre and Fox Creek Healthcare Centre.
Due to the incredible efforts of firefighting teams, re-entry at the emergency department at Drayton Valley Hospital began on May 17. Over the coming days, other services at the facility will resume, including laboratory, diagnostic imaging, dialysis, home care, public health and cancer care. Services at the Evansburg Health Centre also resumed on May 15.
The High Prairie Health Complex emergency department, clinic, and dialysis services have reopened, with plans underway to reopen services. Edson Healthcare Centre has resumed emergency department and outpatient services, and community programs. Inpatient admissions continue to be temporarily paused at both facilities.
No matter what you are experiencing, there are supports to help you through the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).
EFAP has several options to support your well-being:
To access these services and more, contact EFAP at 1-877-273-3134 any time or download the e-AP. If you are impacted by the wildfires, see these additional supports on Insite.
Physicians can contact the AMA Physician and Family Support Program, a confidential 24/7 support line, at 1-877-SOS-4MDS for options and support.
Questions? Contact wellness@ahs.ca.
When a disaster or an emergency hits, it impacts everyone differently. Learn more from Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — AHS Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health — as he talks about how to protect your mental health during disasters, such as the wildfires.
The Executive Leadership Team and I have been working closely with Dr. John Cowell since he was appointed as AHS Official Administrator in November. Our shared goal has been to ensure all Albertans have access to high-quality healthcare across the province.
One thing Dr. Cowell has made clear to me is his appreciation for everyone at AHS and the work you do, every day. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to make improvement in all our priority areas and provide quality care to Albertans where they need it, when they need it.
Recently I was able to sit down with Dr. Cowell to get his thoughts on our progress, what he’s learned about AHS since returning to the role of Official Administrator, and the importance of a trusting culture.
We are working to urgently address four key priorities.
They are:
Much of this work is underway. We will continue to use this update to highlight actions being taken to address our priorities.
Non-clinical transport taxi chits available for ordering
To support the appropriate use and availability of EMS resources, the non-clinical transport (NCT) program is continuing to be implemented locally within zones across the province.
Local decision-makers identify options for transporting medically stable patients who are being discharged from an acute care facility to home, or to a non-acute care facility (e.g., long-term care, group home, personal care home, other community living options) and:
New taxi chits (CH-0316 Rev 2023-03) are now available for acute care sites, for ordering along with frequently asked questions for NCTs. More information regarding NCTs can be found on Insite.
Please contact cpsm.customersupport@ahs.ca or 1-888-595-0007 with any questions or for further information.
As of May 8, 53.7 per cent of adults on the surgical wait-list were within clinically appropriate wait-times, compared to 52.1 per cent on April 24.
Hospitalizations and ICUs
On May 8:
Note: Hospitalization data is presented with a one-week delay to more accurately reflect the number of hospitalized patients who tested positive for COVID-19. There is a delay in identification of some hospitalized cases due to the time between being admitted to hospital, getting tested, and getting test results.
Variants of concern
Alberta Precision Laboratories continues to closely monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants. From April 24-30, an average of 61 per cent of positive samples were strain-typed by genome sequencing. Of those, 57 per cent were XBB.1.5, 18 per cent were XBB.1.16, 11 per cent were XBB.1.9 and seven per cent were XBB.2.3. Other XBB, BQ.1.1, BA.5, and BA.2 lineages now make up the minority of cases.
To date in Alberta, we have seen 127 cases of XBB.1.16. Cases of XBB.1.9 have been rising in some other parts of Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and other areas of the world, and this variant has been noted for its increased growth rate. XBB.2.3 cases are growing in India and this variant is also under surveillance.
Wastewater surveillance
Wastewater can provide an early indication of COVID-19 infection trends in a community. For wastewater surveillance comparing weekly averages:
The above interpretations were made from available data as of May 16 at 7 a.m.
Other notable COVID-19-related information
Many everyday issues in healthcare are complex with unclear answers. Identifying and thinking through challenging issues using an ethics lens can give insight into navigating them.
Ethics Lunch ‘n’ Learn Series explores common healthcare issues, identifies the ethical concerns at play, and provides an ethical framework for thinking through challenging situations.
Join the next session, Agents Refusing Symptom Management:
Discover more sessions in the series.
Are you looking for ways to improve the experience of patients and families? Want to hear great ideas and promising practices from across the province? Register for the Patient Experience Showcase, held May 30 from 9:30 p.m. to noon. This showcase will include 11 short presentations from staff and patient and family advisors in our snapshot round followed by three rounds of concurrent breakout sessions to explore ideas in more detail.
Tomorrow, May 20, marks international Clinical Trials Day and gives us a chance to recognize the important ways clinical trials advance care for Alberta’s patients.
As an evidence-driven, learning organization, AHS supports advancing research wherever possible. Last year, AHS received close to 1,400 requests to initiate clinical studies, including surveys, interviews, physical assessments, and highly regulated clinical trials.
To learn more about some of the breadth and diversity of research taking place in Alberta, see the most recent Research and Innovation 2021/2022 Annual Report.
To find out more about how clinical trials work and how they are supported by AHS, visit Alberta Cancer Clinical Trials and Participate in Research.
To find out more about active clinical trials happening in Alberta and how you can help patients and families get involved, visit: Be The Cure – You can help find new cures.
On June 6, AHS is celebrating What Matters to You? Day, a campaign that encourages meaningful conversations between patients and families who receive healthcare, and staff, physicians and volunteers who provide it. It is also about having important conversations about what matters to us during difficult times.
As healthcare providers, we can start the conversation by asking patients and families what really matters to them. These conversations build trust, develop empathy and help us better understand the needs of our patients.
Join us on June 6 to celebrate What Matters to You? Day. Visit the What Matters to You? page on Insite for resources to help support you in having these important conversations, order one of our new WMTY? buttons to wear to work, and change your Teams or Zoom background. Most importantly, build the WMTY conversations into your daily practice.
The past several weeks have been tough for so many of our staff – those impacted by evacuations, and those who have helped support the safe transfer of patients and continuing care residents. I continue to be amazed at the support, selflessness and tenacity of our teams across the province.
Please ensure you take care of yourself, and one another during this busy and stressful time as we continue to work to ensure the safety of Albertans from across the province.
With enduring gratitude and appreciation,
Mauro Chies
AHS President & CEO
