June 24, 2014
EDMONTON – A new continuing care resolution team reporting directly to Alberta Health Services’ CEO has been created to ensure patients and families receive appropriate, timely continuing care placement and care.
The team – to be led by Nancy Guebert and Isabel Henderson, both experienced health care clinicians – will be available as of July 7, 2014, for patients and families with unresolved concerns related to continuing care placement or care. The continuing care resolution team will report directly to Vickie Kaminski, Alberta Health Services (AHS) President and CEO.
The team will work to resolve issues in public and privately-operated continuing care facilities.
“The team will work directly with patients and their families to ensure that patients receive the care they need in a location best suited to their needs and individual circumstances,” said Kaminski. “These transitions to continuing care are often complex, and the team’s approach will be to ensure patients and their families are front and centre in any decisions around placement and care.”
“I am pleased that Vickie Kaminski is taking the lead in resolving resident and family issues in continuing care and has made it a top priority for her office,” said Health Minister Fred Horne. “Thousands of residents and families receive excellent care every day but we must do better. Residents must always come first.”
AHS today also created a Continuing Care Concerns phone line and email account that will serve as a central point of intake for Albertans with unresolved continuing care concerns. The phone line (1-844-468-2930) and email account (continuingcare@albertahealthservices.ca) will help Albertans connect with the necessary resources and experts to provide guidance and resolution to placement or care concerns.
AHS is also launching a new front-line education and awareness program to ensure staff have the resources and flexibility they need to help patients transition to continuing care. The education and awareness program will focus on new internal processes related to placing patients in appropriate beds, and ensure that best-practice, patient-centred care is at the core of all decisions.
“Our front-line teams across the province do an incredible job,” said Kaminski. “We do know that there are cases where patients or families have specific needs or concerns that we must work together to address. The goal of all these initiatives is to ensure that patients, families and staff have access to senior AHS leaders and resources to make sure the best possible care decisions are made collaboratively.”
The leads of the continuing care resolution team will also work with the Seniors and Health Advocate to coordinate response and actions to concerns.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
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