Alberta Politics: Expect more chaos in health care, already overwhelmed and at the brink, as AHS ‘senior leaders’ get orders to cut costs 

With Alberta’s overwhelmed public health care system once again teetering at the brink, a memorandum from Alberta Health Services’ acting chief financial officer to its “senior leaders” telling them they must find ways to cut costs has surfaced. Michael Lam, Alberta Health Services acting chief financial officer and vice-president of

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Alberta Politics: Danielle Smith dodges and weaves, but doesn’t deny, report government ordered AHS not to mention COVID or flu in vaccine ads

Grilled by reporters about yesterday’s news the United Conservative Party Government ordered Alberta Health Services not to use the words “COVID-19” or “influenza” in its seasonal vaccination advertising, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dodged, weaved and prevaricated, but didn’t outright deny the truth of the report.  Take Back Alberta founder David

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Alberta Politics: Ethics investigations, Alberta, style – no rules were broken when Deena Hinshaw was fired! Now please move along, folks …

You were wondering about that ethics investigation into the way former Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw was immediately re-fired after she was hired as a member of Alberta Health Services’ Indigenous Wellness Core last June? Was it Premier Danielle Smith? She says not (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr).

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Alberta Politics: Danielle Smith delivers more promised chaos in health care with purge of six senior AHS executives

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith – she basically promised chaos in health care and she’s delivering it (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). The politically inspired purge of senior Alberta Health Services officials by the United Conservative Party that has now begun is likely to paralyze decision making throughout the provincial health care system. The

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Alberta Politics: Back to the future: UCP set to announce plan to bust up AHS, add reams of red tape, and politicize health care decisions

Health care in Alberta is moving confidently into the 1990s! Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). The United Conservative Party Government led by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is about to bring the province’s health care system back to the future with a massive infusion of new red tape, just

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Alberta Politics: Local decision making comes to Alberta acute care facilities, potentially undermining patient and public safety

Alberta Health Services yesterday announced it will dump the responsibility for masking to slow the spread of COVID-19 in its acute care facilities on the leadership of its regional zones throughout Alberta and individual sites.  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). In a memorandum on “enhanced masking at AHS

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Alberta Politics: Conservative Danielle Smith vows to dismantle Alberta Health Services, Conservative Ed Stelmach’s greatest achievement 

Today’s political weather forecast: Ill winds that blow no good will begin throughout Alberta on Wednesday. Mr. Stelmach’s health minister, Ron Liepert, in 2012 (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). After that, conditions will get worse. Wednesday is when Premier Danielle Smith has promised us her health minister will present a plan

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Alberta Politics: Why saying Alberta Health Services’ original mandate was only running acute care hospitals is dangerous and false

A dangerously misleading statement appeared in an op-ed story under Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s byline Thursday in the Calgary Herald. To wit, “that Alberta Health Services has evolved beyond its original acute-care hospital system mandate.” Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange (Photo: Facebook/Adriana LaGrange). Everyone makes mistakes and most politicians spin

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Alberta Politics: Alberta Health Services ordered back to the future: A catastrophe in the making, or just ideological window dressing?

The premier who centralized the management of Alberta Health Services under a single administrator who answers only to her now says she wants to decentralize the province-wide public health agency “to enhance local decision-making authority”? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). What’s wrong with this picture?  According to Danielle

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Alberta Politics: UCP’s ‘Alberta Surgical Initiative’ proves to be an expensive flop, reducing surgical capacity, failing to fix long wait times

The United Conservative Party’s “Alberta Surgical Initiative” to outsource publicly funded surgeries to private facilities is an expensive flop that has diverted resources away from public hospitals and reduced provincial surgical capacity, says a damning report released this morning by the Parkland Institute. The cover of the Parkland Institute’s report

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Alberta Politics: UCP plans to let private medical corporations provide some surgeries without qualified anesthesiologists in the Operating Room

I bet you didn’t know the United Conservative Party Government plans to let private medical corporations operating their own facilities perform surgeries even if the person delivering the anesthesia is not a physician specializing in anesthesiology. Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Alberta political blogger and corporate and

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Alberta Politics: COVID-19 haunts us still, but if your vaccinations and boosters are fully up to date, AHS won’t let you have another one

COVID is still killing people in Alberta, but if you’ve been careful about keeping vaccinated and think it might be time for another booster, chances are you’re out of luck.  COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: National Advisory Committee on Immunization). Obviously, whatever the United Conservative Party Government wishes, COVID-19 continues to kill

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Alberta Politics: UCP fires AHS board, names sole administrator, promises big changes fast: No such thing will happen

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered on her long-promised shakeup of Alberta Health Services yesterday, firing the 11 members of the province-wide agency’s Conservative-appointed board and naming John Cowell as its sole administrator.  Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Alert readers will recall that Dr. Cowell was appointed

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