December 13, 2024
Year-end message of gratitude
Allow me to start the final AHS Update of 2024 with a simple but heartfelt message of gratitude for everyone within our organization. (more...)
Access counselling support to help during tough times
Navigate life’s challenges and improve your well-being with the help of short-term counselling in a caring, confidential environment. (more...)
Novel therapy uses viruses to combat resistant infection
A Calgary-area man is the first in Western Canada to have a persistent infection on his prosthetic hip treated with bacteria-killing viruses. (more...)
Understand how to use new records retention schedule
Resources are available to help you understand how to use a newly implemented records retention schedule. (more...)
Join AHS’ Sustainability Community of Practice
Anyone interested in sustainability in healthcare is welcome to join. The first meeting is on Jan. 23. (more...)
Get immunized and submit your Got My Flu Shot form
Protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday season by getting your seasonal immunizations at a pharmacy or public health clinic. (more...)
December 13, 2024
Allow me to start the final AHS Update of 2024 with a simple but heartfelt message of gratitude for everyone within our organization. The past 12 months have been challenging, with significant change underway and more on the horizon. Change can be exciting. Change is necessary to grow and improve. But change can also be difficult and even unsettling at times. Yet, during this period of healthcare refocusing, you have remained steadfast in your commitment to providing, or supporting the provision of, outstanding healthcare services to the people we serve. Beyond that, many of you have also shared your thoughts and expertise to help ensure ongoing refocusing efforts result in improved healthcare access, outcomes and experiences for patients and families. For all that, and for everything else you do every day, thank you.
We’re a great team. We take care of patients and families. We take care of each other. But don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. Please do your best this holiday season to find an opportunity to unplug, rest and recharge. Do what you love to do. Be with the people you care for. Unwind. Find joy. And if you’re struggling, please reach out to those you trust, or access supports through our Employee and Family Assistance Program (see item below). Healthcare is a demanding field of work. Taking care of ourselves gives us the strength and stamina to take care of patients, families and each other.
I wish you all the best this holiday season. I look forward to seeing what we achieve together in 2025. (Our next AHS Update will arrive in your inbox on Jan. 10.)
Sincerely,
Athana Mentzelopoulos
President & CEO
Short-term counselling services are available through the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).
This solution-focused, goal-setting approach helps you and your family members build skills and strategies to navigate everyday challenges and improve your overall well-being.
To start, contact the EFAP intake line at 1-877-273-3134. This is a free, flexible and confidential service that’s available 24/7. During your call, you will be asked for some basic information and an initial appointment will be arranged for you – in-person, by video, phone or online. A counsellor will guide you through the services that best fit your needs.
Physicians can contact the AMA Physician and Family Support Program, also a confidential 24/7 support line, at 1-877-SOS-4MDS.
Questions? Contact wellness@ahs.ca.
A 75-year-old, Calgary-area man has become the first in Western Canada to have an antimicrobial-resistant infection in his prosthetic hip joint treated with bacteriophages – using viruses to kill bacteria.
Boyd English had a rare, recurring post-operative infection following surgery in 2013. Over the past 11 years, he has been in constant pain, with his mobility severely restricted. Multiple surgeries to wash out the infection with antibiotics have proved only temporarily successful.
A ‘new’ treatment, which is actually a century old, has proven to be promising. English underwent a surgical procedure on Nov. 20 that introduced the bacteriophages to the infected area, followed by twice-daily intravenous phage infusions for 14 days.
While antibiotics act like a blanket neutralizer on bacteria, bacteriophages target specific bacteria, infecting those bacteria, then replicating until the bacteria burst, amplifying the benefit at the site of infection while leaving other cells unharmed.
Learn more in the video below.
A new records retention schedule has been implemented. To assist departments in understanding how to use and apply the schedule to their records, the following resources are available:
The Surgery Sustainability team is launching the AHS Sustainability Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP is an informal network of staff and physicians from AHS, Covenant Health and Recovery Alberta who have an interest in sustainability in healthcare. It’s a place where you can share your sustainability experience, showcase initiatives, and consult, discuss and learn from one another.
The first meeting is Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7 a.m. This time was chosen to ensure clinical staff, including those working in the operating room, can join. Topics will include introductions, sustainability in the AHS context, as well as CoP goals, structure and future meeting plans.
Membership is open to any AHS, Covenant Health and Recovery Alberta staff or physician interested or involved in sustainability. Email surgery.sustainability@ahs.ca for more information.
Help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses by getting your seasonal immunizations (influenza and COVID-19) this holiday season.
You can head to your local pharmacy or go to a public health clinic (for households with children under five). If you choose these options for your influenza immunization, remember to submit a Got My Flu Shot form to support with influenza outbreak planning.
Questions? For more information, visit Insite.
