July 18, 2025
Amazing Together Every Day
Alberta Health Services (AHS) recognizes our work takes place on historical and contemporary Indigenous lands, including the territories of Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8, and the homeland of the Métis Nation of Alberta and eight Métis Settlements. AHS also acknowledges the many Indigenous communities that have been forged in urban centres across Alberta.
July 18, 2025
Regional health councils give Albertans a voice
Albertans want a healthcare system that reflects where they live and adapts to the unique needs of their communities. As part of the province’s healthcare refocus, the government committed to strengthening community voices by providing more opportunities for Albertans to bring forward their local priorities and offer input on how to improve the system.
Fourteen new regional advisory councils, made up of 150 members from 71 communities, will advise Alberta’s four health ministries and the newly refocused health agencies: Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta and Recovery Alberta. Each council will explore solutions to local challenges and identify opportunities for the health system to better support community decision-making. (more...)
Become a site champion to support influenza immunization efforts
Site champions are key to the success of our annual Seasonal Immunization Campaign for Workers. As trusted and familiar faces in their workplace, site champions make influenza immunization more accessible, convenient and approachable for their colleagues. They are reliable sources of information and advocates for immunization.
The role of a site champion is open to all registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, pharmacists and licensed practical nurses who have an immunization authorization noted on their practice permit.
Interested in becoming a site champion or know someone who would be a great fit? Review our FAQ for more information or connect with a zone occupational health nurse. (more...)
Study shows Virtual MD service effective for patient care
A Primary Care Alberta (PCA) service effectively triages patients, routes patients to appropriate forms of care and keeps Albertans out of emergency departments, according to a new research study.
The study — published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine — reviewed Virtual MD, a service that refers callers to Health Link 811 to physicians for virtual assessment. The study concludes the Virtual MD service enables patients to access more appropriate levels of care for their healthcare needs.
Since the service launched in 2022, more than half of patients who were assessed by Virtual MD physicians followed through on recommendations to seek primary care, visit an emergency department (ED) or manage their care at home. Patients who were referred to primary care but chose to visit an ED were more likely to present with conditions best addressed by a family physician, demonstrating the appropriateness of the initial primary care advice. (more...)
Compassionate intervention commissioner appointed
The province is taking action to address the needs of vulnerable Albertans struggling with severe addiction and mental health challenges. Work is underway to support the implementation of compassionate intervention legislation, with some beds expected to open next year. The Compassionate Intervention Act is about helping the most vulnerable Albertans get the support they need to begin their recovery journey.
As a key part of implementation efforts, Alberta’s government has appointed Jonathan Carlzon as commissioner of the Compassionate Intervention Commission for a three-year term, starting Aug. 11. Carlzon is a lawyer with more than 23 years of experience in the legal field, including administrative and ethics law, litigation and adjudicative processes, and knowledge of Alberta’s recovery-oriented system of care. (more...)
More services coming to Chinook Regional Hospital
The province has committed to expanding access to renal services so Albertans can get the care they need, when and where they need it. An investment of $22 million over three years will modernize and expand the renal dialysis unit at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge. This investment will improve programs for southern Albertans with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease who depend on life-saving dialysis.
Once complete, the renal dialysis expansion will introduce a new unit designed to address over-capacity issues faced by the current unit. This upgrade will feature 28 hemodialysis stations, along with two airborne isolation rooms, for a total of 30 treatment stations. The project will also include the construction of four new examination rooms, along with additional spaces for family consultations, training and other support services. (more...)
Speech-language team sets up brain-injury patients for success (more...)
New trauma registry supports and improves patient care (more...)
'We are blessed with an outpouring of support.’ (more...)
Work Safe Blogs
Boost influenza immunization efforts — become a site champion. (more...)
Relief at last: minimally invasive spine surgery changes a life
Calgary Health Foundation’s support of endoscopic spine surgery has proven a blessing for Marybeth Haydo. (more...)
Grateful cardiac patient pays it forward with $500,000
Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation says gift from John and Laura Getkate will transform cardiac care in southern Alberta. (more...)
