The future of health care is in your hands
We're analyzing the input and feedback collected during the in-person public sessions to help shape the future of health care. We are committed to re-engaging health care workers and Albertans through future comprehensive engagement opportunities.
Prioritizing your wellbeing
You are the lifeline of the health care system. You deserve to work in a system that prioritizes your wellbeing, utilizes your experience and expertise to drive innovation, and supports you in delivering the best quality care to Albertans.
The refocused health care system will have 4 organizations: Acute Care, Primary Care, Continuing Care, and Mental Health and Addiction. This will ensure doctors, nurses, frontline professionals and support staff will work in an organization specialized and focused on one area, so your leaders will have an in-depth understanding of what you do.
We want to partner with you to help drive the changes to Alberta’s health care system. Over the coming months there will be regular engagement opportunities and your feedback will be vital in refocusing the health care system.
Primary Care
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Continuing Care
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Acute Care
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Mental Health and Addiction
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The Alberta Association of Nurses is highly supportive of the bold steps the Government of Alberta is taking to refocus the health care system. These changes will help create better work environments for nurses and enable them to better provide care that meets the needs of Albertans.”
The healthcare system in Alberta is in crisis and new ideas and approaches are required to address current need and to support Albertans into the future.”
Empowering frontline health care workers, including first responders, is a critical step to ensuring responsive and accessible health care for citizens and patients across the province.”
What this means for my job
Supporting the health care workforce is one of our highest priorities. Refocusing the system is about putting the right people in the right place to deliver better care for Albertans.
Frontline workers delivering care will continue to do their jobs. We are not anticipating job losses for frontline workers. In fact, we will continue to grow the health care workforce and are taking steps to hire, train and recruit more doctors, nurses and other frontline health care workers.
The change is at the governance level. There will be dedicated leadership for each sector who will be held accountable and will be tasked with achieving priority goals to improve patient outcomes in each area.
We understand you have questions and concerns about what this change means to you. Above all, we are committed to communicating frequently and transparently during the transition period and hearing from you what the refocused health care system should look like.
As the refocusing takes place, we will work to minimize disruption to frontline services and health care workers as much as possible and ensure patient care remains a top priority.
The Alberta Professional Fire Fighters’ & Paramedics’ Association believes in order to achieve improved ambulance response times and a community focused pre-hospital care system that prioritizes the well-being of its practitioners, a structural change to the provision of health is in order."
We are excited with the government’s refocusing of the healthcare system. It will achieve better system coordination and delivery for service providers, more support for frontline workers and improved access to addiction and mental health supports.”
We need new models and a novel approach to our healthcare challenges. We have the talent, innovations, and the dedicated health care practitioners to achieve this.”
The role of AHS
Alberta Health Services (AHS) will continue to have a strong role as part of the refocused system.
Over time, AHS will be reorganized towards a singular mandate to deliver acute care services, with a renewed patient focus on shorter wait times and higher quality care within the acute care organization.
A newly appointed AHS board will help oversee initial efforts to make this transition.
The role of Covenant Health
Covenant Health will continue to offer its valuable services in the areas of acute care, continuing care and mental health and addiction in communities across Alberta.
Through the health care system refocusing, Covenant Health will transition to having a direct relationship with the new acute care, continuing care and mental health and addiction organizations respectively.
Our health system has been under considerable stress and we’re optimistic about the new bold and balanced direction set by Alberta’s government. We look forward to working with the government and all our partners to build on this new outcome-focused approach as we recommit all our energy to improving the health of Albertans.”
Rural health care professionals
Alberta’s rural health care system faces unique challenges that will require new ideas and approaches.
A refocused health care system will address the loss of rural physicians, nurses and other health professions by working with you and listening to Albertans. Together, we will identify strategies and develop solutions to improve Alberta’s capacity to train a future health care workforce.
Alberta Health recently created a new branch to support these efforts and prioritize the health needs of rural and remote communities.
As a health care worker, you deserve a system that supports you in delivering care, no matter where you practise.