Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

is the single

health authority Between 1996 and 2002 the English National Health Service was organised under the following health authorities. In 2002 the health authorities were reorganised and their boundaries changed to constitute 28 strategic health authorities, which were ...

for the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. AHS delivers medical care on behalf of the provincial

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

Ministry of Health It operates 850 facilities throughout the province, including hospitals, clinics, continuing care facilities, mental health facilities and community health sites, that provide a variety of programs and services. AHS is the largest employer in the province of Alberta. In 2019, AHS served 4.3 million Albertans with a staff of 125,000 staff and 10,000 physicians, and an annual budget of $15.365 billion. Mauro Chies is the interim President and CEO of AHS and reports to Dr. John Cowell, the AHS Official Administrator. The Official Administrator is accountable to the Minister of Health and the Premier.

Overview

According to the December 31, 2019

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

review of AHS performance commissioned by

Alberta Health Ministry of Health (Alberta) is a ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta. Its major responsibilities include setting "policy and direction to achieve a sustainable and accountable health system to promote and protect the health of Albe ...

, Alberta has Canada's "largest integrated provincial health care system". AHS serves 4.3 million Albertans and has a staff of 125,000 staff and 10,000 physicians. Ernst & Young said that AHS was "one of Canada's top 100 employers." AHS foundations raise over $250 million annually. In 2019, AHS served 4.3 million Albertans with a staff of 125,000 staff and 10,000 physicians, and an annual budget of $15.365 billion. The AHS reports to

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Jason Copping Jason Copping is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of health for Alberta since September 21, 2021. Elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Varsity, Copping is a member of th ...

with Mauro Chies serving as interim AHS President and CEO. According to the AHS 2020 annual report, their workforces includes over 108,600 Albertans. Additionally, there are 35,750 Albertans who "support the delivery of healthcare services in AHS as physicians, midwives, subsidiary staff and volunteers," AHS serves 4.4 million people who reside in Alberta. In their 2020 annual report, AHS is "one of three entities within the Ministry of Health, delivering a broad range of health care on behalf of government, in accordance with the mandate set by government."

History

From 1992 to 2000, Alberta's Conservative Premier

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

's oversaw deep cuts to provincial health as part of his focus on eliminating Alberta's deficit. Klein replaced hundreds of local boards of directors of hospitals, long-term care and public health services, with 17 health authorities based on geographic regions. He also created provincial health authorities for cancer, mental health and addiction services. Per capita spending on health was cut from CA $1,393 in 1992 to $1,156 in 1995. At the same time, Klein eliminated or reduced hours for 14,753 positions in health care. Three downtown hospitals were closed by the Calgary Regional Health Authority—one of the hospitals was leased to an American for-profit health group" and the old "Calgary General Hospital was blown up in October 1998". This left many Calgarians "without access to emergency care in the downtown core." The "controlled implosion of Calgary General Hospital"—the Big Bang—was described as the "dawn of a regionalized, integrated healthcare system in Alberta." The Alberta Health Services, which was established on May 15, 2008, is a quasi-independent agency of the Alberta government with a mandate to public health services throughout the province under the Ministry of Health.

Ed Stelmach Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speaks ...

, who served as Alberta's premier from December 2006 to October 2011, as leader of the

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party f ...

, introduced major reforms to Alberta's health-care system. On May 15, 2008, Health Minister

Ron Liepert Ronald Liepert (born October 8, 1949) is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Calgary Signal Hill in the House of Commons of Canada. He previously served in the Cabinet of Alberta as Minister of Finance, Energy, Heal ...

announced that as of April 1, 2009, one provincial governance board—the Alberta Health Services Board—would consolidate the "$13-billion-a-year system into one public corporation", replacing Alberta's nine regional health authority boards— Aspen Health Region, Calgary Health Region, Capital Health Region, Chinook Health Region, David Thompson Health Region, East Central Health Region, Northern Lights Health Region, Palliser Health Region, and Peace Country Health Region. On April 1, 2009, the Health Governance Transition Amendment Act dissolved the Alberta Mental Health Board, the Alberta Cancer Board and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, and completed the transition to Alberta Health Services (AHS). Prior to these changes, health services in Alberta had undergone several governance reorganization which had resulted in fewer separate public organizational entities, in 1996, 2003, and 2006. The Ernst & Young December 2019 review said that the AHS could save "up to $1.9 billion annually". The NDP opposition called the UCP's proposed changes to AHS, the "Americanization of AHS."

Organization

AHS provides health services to some patients in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories, as well as to over 4.3 million Albertans. Alberta Health Services has been organized so as to separate acute hospital facilities (with separate reporting lines for major tertiary, metropolitan and regional hospitals) from smaller hospitals and community services, the latter of which are organized into five zones (North, Edmonton, Central, Calgary and South). The Calgary Zone, for example, includes some sites and services formerly administered by the

Calgary Health Region Calgary Health Region was formerly the governing body for healthcare regulation in an area of the Canadian province of Alberta. It was amalgamated with other regional health authorities in 2008 to become part of Alberta Health Services. The region a ...

while other services have been reorganized on a provincial scale.

Governance

Stephen Duckett was the inaugural president and chief executive officer of the newly created health "superboard", Alberta Health Services, and served from the spring of 2009 until November 2010, when then-provincial Health Minister

Gene Zwozdesky Eugene Zwozdesky, (July 24, 1948 – January 6, 2019) was a Canadian politician in the province of Alberta. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 2015, and was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2015. E ...

asked him to resign. Significant budget cuts—of about CA $1 billion—were imposed on AHS by Premier Stelmach, soon after Duckett's appointment. Chris Eagle served as AHS CEO from November 23, 2010, until October 17, 2013. On June 12, 2013, Minister of Health

Fred Horne Frederick Thomas Horne (born August 25, 1961) is a Canadian retired politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Edmonton-Rutherford as a Progressive Conservative. Early life Horne, a former de ...

fired the entire AHS Board over its refusal to cancel executive bonuses. Three days later, Janet Davidson was appointed the AHS official administrator by Minister Horne to act in place of its board of directors. On September 12, 2013, John W. F. Cowell replaced Davidson as the official administrator. AHS has subsequently had Carl Amrhein and David Carpenter as official administrators. The Alberta Health Services Board was re-introduced, effective November 27, 2015 with Linda Hughes appointed as the board chair. On April 4, 2022, the AHS Board asked Mauro Chies, Vice President, Cancer Care Alberta and Clinical Support Services, to serve in the role of interim CEO on a temporary basis. Dr. Verna Yiu served as AHS CEO and president from June 3, 2016, to April 4, 2022. In 2021, Gregory Turnbull, QC served as board chair, Dr. Sayeh Zielke as vice-chair, and Brian Vaasjo, Deborah Apps, Heidi Overguard, Dr. Jack Mintz, Natalia Reiman, Sherri Fountain, Hartley Harris, Tony Dagnone, OC and Vicki Yellow Old Woman serve as board members. On Nov. 17, 2022, Dr. John Cowell was appointed Official Administrator for Alberta Health Services (AHS) by the Minister of Health and replaced the existing board of directors. The Official Administrator has responsibility for the governance of AHS, working in partnership with Alberta Health to ensure all Albertans have access to high quality health services across the province. The Official Administrator is accountable to the Minister of Health and the Premier.

Employees

By 2019, Alberta Health Services employs over 103,000 staff and more than 8,200 physicians, including clinical, administrative and support personnel across the province. Staff belong to a variety of professional organizations and associations, including

United Nurses of Alberta The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) is a trade union representing more than 30,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and allied health workers in Alberta, Canada. UNA negotiates collective bargaining with the employers, of which t ...

, several locals of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, and the

Health Sciences Association of Alberta Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) is a trade union in Alberta, Canada which represents approximately 29,800 members. Background In 1971, eleven "paramedical technical and professional members" established the HSAA to have a strong ...

. "Two Indigenous doctors say Alberta Health Services dismissed their concerns about a manager who sent racist and inappropriate emails to physicians, including about the upcoming visit to Alberta by Pope Francis. Dr. Ellen Toth, the AHS administrator in charge of ensuring Indigenous communities have physician coverage, shared an application form with colleagues. "Pretty impressive CV.. U of A grad… prolly brown…" "Toth added about the doctor, who is male: "I will talk to her, essentially to get a sense if there is a bad accent (I doubt it if she went through U of A)..." "Makokis, who is Kehewin Cree Nation's only family doctor, said Toth's words were included in a response to the applying doctor. Makokis said he was "shocked and embarrassed and angry" when he saw the email. He apologized to the locum doctor, and replied to Toth and other recipients that the message was racist." "In response, Toth wrote to a group of people who had received the email: "I take full responsibility for my innate racism … which should not be a surprise given my blue eyes and origins…" "During the next two months, Makokis tried to elevate his concerns to AHS senior leaders. He said it eroded his confidence in the organization's ability to respond appropriately to racist incidents when Toth remained in a leadership role for a program that delivers health care to Indigenous people." "In a June 24 email to Makokis and several others, Dr. Mark Joffe, an AHS vice-president, called Toth's message "highly inappropriate and racist" but said "appropriate steps have been taken." "On Friday, July 15, 2022, AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson told CBC News the organization conducted an internal investigation and told Toth her message was unacceptable. He wouldn't say if Toth faced any discipline, saying it was a private human resources matter."

Facilities

By 2010, AHS was maintaining and running a number of different types of facilities and services. These included Cancer care for the prevention, detection, treatment, education and care of cancer patients, as well as to facilitate research of cancer; continuing and long-term care for the treatment of patients with complex health needs requiring 24-hour on-site services from

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

s; emergency for immediate care of patients with all types of conditions;

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

for medical, surgical, or psychiatric care of the sick and injured. There were also laboratories for the processing of medical samples and tests; mental health and addictions services for treatment and care of patients diagnosed with mental health or addiction issues and emergency medical services. AHS is directly responsible for both ground and air ambulance operations in the province, provided through a mix of both direct delivery and contracted providers. A wider array of miscellaneous health facilities include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, home care, hemodialysis and others, and also include Public Health Centres which provide services such as prenatal, postpartum, health promotion/disease and injury prevention, bereavement services, communicable disease and school health. They also fund

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

for seniors at facilities, such as Silvera for Seniors. Urgent care services include treating patients with unexpected but not life-threatening issues requiring same day treatment. AHS also operates X-ray and imaging clinics for procedures such as

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

s, X-rays and other types of scans.

Laboratories

In the early 1990s, most of Edmonton's hospital labs were privatized. The Edmonton regional health authority had a 15-year contract with the private company Dynalife, which was ending in the early 2010s. The provincial government ordered regional health authorities to cut lab spending, which resulted in more public laboratories being established by 2005. By 2006, all of the lab services in Calgary were under public control. In December 2013, Alberta Health Services proceeded with "its plan to privatize all of its diagnostic lab services in Edmonton". AHS sent out request for proposals (RFP) for a "private provider to establish a single $3 billion lab for the Edmonton Zone." By October 16, 2014, Australia's Sonic Healthcare, a private company, had been selected. They would have replaced "hospital labs operated by AHS and Covenant Health, as well as the services now provided by the private company Dynalife." When the NDP won the

2015 Alberta general election The 2015 Alberta general election was held on May 5, 2015, following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7, 2015. This election elected members to th ...

, the contract with Sonic was cancelled. By 2016, the largest medical testing facility in northern Alberta was the a central laboratory facility owned and operated by a private company in Edmonton, Dynalife. As of January 23, 2016, DynaLIFE Dx was owned by Toronto-headquartered LifeLabs and the

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

-headquartered

LabCorp Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, more commonly known as Labcorp, is an American healthcare company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. It operates one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the world, with a United St ...

, or Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, which operates one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the world. LabCorp had acquired all outstanding shares of Canadian medical laboratory services company Dynacare Inc. for $480 million in May 2002. In August 2016, Elisabeth Ballermann, then-President of the

(HSAA), which represented 1,600 lab workers in both the private and public sector, said that HSAA members had "long wanted lab services delivered by the public system". Ballerman said she was convinced they could work in the public sector. She expressed concern that under the contract, the new facility to house the Edmonton lab would be owned by a private company, not by Albertans. In April 2016, then-Premier

Rachel Notley Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019, and has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She sits as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for E ...

, leader of the

Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democr ...

, announced that the

(NDP) government was beginning the process of taking over testing done by Dynacare as part of the NDP's campaign promises during the

, to "bring medical lab services under greater public control." The newly elected

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. ...

(UCP) government's Health Minister

Tyler Shandro Tyler Shandro (born ) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of justice and solicitor general of Alberta since February 25, 2022. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), Shandro was elected to represent Calgary-Acadia i ...

, cancelled the construction of a new super-lab—a "$595-million centralized public lab facility next to the University of Alberta's south campus". Shandro also exited the "planned $50-million buyout of private lab services company Dynalife by 2022", saying that he disagreed with the NDP's decision to "nationalize Dynalife – to nationalize laboratory services in Alberta." On October 24, 2019, under Health Minister Shandro, Alberta's consolidated laboratory services previously provided by multiple organizations in Alberta under the newly named Alberta Precision Laboratories Ltd (APL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AHS, with Tammy Hofer as Chief Operating Officer (CFO) and Dr. Carolyn O'Hara as Chief Medical Laboratory Officer (CMLO). Prior to consolidation and during the transition period, laboratory services were provided to AHS through Calgary Lab Services (CLS), Covenant Health—the largest Catholic health-care provider in Canada, DynaLIFE, Laboratory Services (AHS), Medicine Hat & Brooks Collection Sites, and Lamont Health Care Centre. As of October 2019, APL continued to "work collaboratively with DynaLIFE, under contract to provide lab services in Alberta." By November 30, 2019, the union that represents public laboratory workers expressed concern that 850 jobs in the public labs, could be lost, after Minister Shandro and APL sent out a Request for Expression of Interest (RFOI), "to gauge market interest from private third parties for the provision of community lab services in Alberta" as part of their investigation into "new service delivery models." AHS testing services include AHS Lab Services (Central, Edmonton, North and South zones), Genetic Lab Services, ProvLab, Calgary Laboratory Services, and DynaLIFE Medical Labs. ProvLab, which "operates under Alberta Health Services (AHS) Laboratory Services" and has "been in existence for over 100 years", was renamed Public Health Laboratories. It is based in Calgary's

Foothills Medical Centre Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) is the largest hospital in the province of Alberta and is located in the city of Calgary. It is one of Canada's most recognized medical facilities and one of the leading research and teaching hospitals. Foothills Me ...

and Edmonton's

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Hospital in Edmonton. Its focus on "public health and specialized microbiology" including "surveillance, research, specialized laboratory testing and outbreak and emerging infectious diseases response." During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta The COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The province of Alberta has the third ...

, Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AHS, undertook testing for the virus.

South Zone

The south zone includes major centres such as Lethbridge and Medicine Hat serving approximately 309,000 Albertans. A large network of hospitals is maintained in the outlying communities of Alberta. South Zone includes South zone hospitals include Big Country Health Centre (

Oyen Oyen is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada near the Saskatchewan boundary and north of Medicine Hat. It is on Highway 41, south of its junction with Highway 9. Early name, Bishopburg, was changed in 1912 to honour Andrew Oyen, an early s ...

Bassano Health Centre Bassano Health Centre is a medical facility located in Bassano, Alberta, Canada. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. It services the County of Newell along with Brooks Health Centre Brooks Health Centre ...

( Bassano), Bow Island Health Centre (

Bow Island Bow Island () is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 3 in southern Alberta, approximately north of the United States border, southeast of Calgary and southwest of Medicine Hat. History The community of Bow Island recei ...

Brooks Health Centre Brooks Health Centre is a community hospital is located in Brooks, Alberta, Canada. Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the single health authority for the Canadian province of ...

(

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

), Cardston Health Centre (

Cardston Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...

), Chinook Regional Hospital (

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

), Coaldale Health Centre ( Coaldale), Crowsnest Pass Health Centre ( Blairmore), Fort Macleod Health Centre (

Fort Macleod Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then Commis ...

Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Medicine Hat Regional Hospital is a medical facility located in Medicine Hat, Alberta serving a catchment area of 117,000. It has 213 beds. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. Services *Diagnostic imaging ...

(

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

Milk River Health Centre Milk River is a town in Alberta, Canada that is named after the Milk River which flows immediately to its south. This location results in Milk River being one of the few Canadian communities within the Mississippi River drainage system. It is s ...

( Milk River), Piiyami Health Centre (

Picture Butte Picture Butte is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the city of Lethbridge. It claims the title of "Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada." History Picture Butte received its name from a prominence southeast of town. By ...

), Pincher Creek Health Centre (

Pincher Creek Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...

), Raymond Health Centre (

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

), and Taber Health Centre ( Taber).

Calgary Zone

The Calgary Zone administrative offices are located in the Southland Park business complex. Calgary Zone comprises territory formerly administered by the former

and includes five major acute care sites (hospitals) including

Peter Lougheed Centre Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC) is a 506,000 square foot hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is under the auspices of Alberta Health Services, formerly the Calgary Health Region, providing medical and surgical services to Calgary but also Souther ...

, Rockyview General Hospital,

South Health Campus South Health Campus (SHC) is a large hospital in Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. It is administered by Alberta Health Services. The building was developed by Alberta Infrastructure, and the first phase was built at a cost of $1.31 billion. The South ...

, and

Alberta Children's Hospital Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) is the largest public hospital for sick children in the prairie provinces, and is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is operated by Alberta Health Services – Calgary Health Region. The new facility opened ...

. Serving approximately 1,700,000 Albertans. A large network of hospitals are maintained in the outlying communities of Alberta. Calgary Zone includes

Canmore General Hospital Canmore General Hospital is a medical facility located in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. It is a referral centre for surgical services within the province of Alberta. It conta ...

( Canmore), Claresholm General Hospital (

Claresholm Claresholm is a town located within southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2, approximately northwest of the City of Lethbridge and south of the City of Calgary. One of the Famous Five involved in the Persons Case, Louise McKinne ...

), Didsbury District Health Services (

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

), High River General Hospital (

High River High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021. History The community take ...

), Strathmore District Health Services ( Strathmore), and Vulcan Community Health Centre (

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

Central Zone

The central zone includes major centres such as Red Deer. Serving approximately 480,000 Albertans. A large network of hospitals are maintained in the outlying communities of Alberta. Central Zone includes *Castor - Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital ( Castor) *Consort Hospital and Care Centre (

Consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

) *Coronation Hospital and Care Centre (

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

)

Edmonton Zone

Serving approximately 1.4 million Albertans, the Edmonton Zone administrative offices are located in Seventh Street Plaza. The Edmonton Zone comprises territory formerly administered by the Capital Health Region and includes eight acute care sites (hospitals) in the metropolitan area, which include. *

Alberta Hospital Edmonton Alberta Hospital Edmonton is a Psychiatry, psychiatric hospital operating under the governance of Alberta Health Services. It is located in the northeastern portion of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and was founded on July 1, 1923. The site is servic ...

(

) *

Devon General Hospital The Devon General Hospital is a 21-bed acute care and continuing care facility in Devon, Alberta. There are 9 acute, 10 continuing, and 2 respite beds. The hospital provides 24-hour emergency services, as well as laboratory and radiology services ...

(

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

) *

Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital The Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital is an acute care hospital located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The facility opened in 2012, replacing the former Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre. Services and programs The main services and programs t ...

(

Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmont ...

) *

Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Ar ...

(Edmonton) * Grey Nuns Community Hospital (Edmonton) *

Leduc Community Hospital The Leduc Community Hospital (technically Leduc Community Health Centre as of sometime before August 2022, formerly Leduc Public Health Centre as of sometime before August 2020, Leduc Community Hospital as of sometime before October 2007) is locat ...

( Leduc *

Misericordia Community Hospital The Misericordia Community Hospital is an acute care hospital located in west Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Misericordia is home to the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM), a facility for reconstruction of the face, head and ...

(Edmonton) * Royal Alexandra Hospital (Edmonton) *

St. Joseph's Auxiliary Hospital ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

(Edmonton) *

Stollery Children's Hospital The Stollery Children's Hospital is a 218 bed children's hospital that opened in October 2001. It is a "hospital within a hospital," being situated within the University of Alberta Hospital and co-located with Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute i ...

(Edmonton) *

Strathcona Community Hospital The Strathcona Community Hospital is located in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, and provides 27 hospital beds with sufficient infrastructure capacity for 36 additional beds in the future. The hospital opened on May 21, 2014. The hospital devel ...

( Sherwood Park) * Sturgeon Community Hospital ( St. Albert) *

University of Alberta Hospital The University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) is a research and teaching hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Alberta and run by Alberta Health Services, the health authority for Alberta. It is one ...

(Edmonton) *

WestView Health Centre WestView Health Centre is a medical facility with a 24-hour emergency department located in Stony Plain, Alberta that is operated by Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the sin ...

( Stony Plain)

North Zone

The north zone includes major centres such as Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray. Serving approximately 480,000 Albertans. A large network of hospitals are maintained in the outlying communities of Alberta. North Zone includes *Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

) *Queen Elizabeth II Ambulatory Care Centre (

) * Athabasca Healthcare Centre (

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

) *Barrhead Healthcare Centre (

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

) *Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital (

Beaverlodge Beaverlodge is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 43, west of Grande Prairie and east of the British Columbia border. History The town was named for the Beaverlodge River, which was known as ''Uz-i-pa'' ("tempora ...

) *Bonnyville Healthcare Centre (

Bonnyville Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville. The community derives its name from Fat ...

) *Boyle Healthcare Centre (

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

) *Central Peace Health Complex ( Spirit River) *Cold Lake Healthcare Centre ( Cold Lake) *St. Therese Healthcare Centre (

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

)

Rural Zone

A large network of hospitals are maintained in the outlying communities of Alberta. They include *Cardston Health Centre (Cardston, Alberta) *Crowsnest Pass Health Centre ( Blairmore) *Daysland Health Centre (

Daysland Daysland is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 13, approximately east of Camrose. History The community was named for its founder and first mayor, Edgerton W. Day, who purchased of land from the CPR in 1904 to form the bas ...

) *

(

) *Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre (

Drayton Valley Drayton Valley is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), approximately southwest of Edmonton. It is surrounded by Brazeau County, known for its vast oil fields. The town is located between the North Sas ...

) *Drumheller Health Centre (

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of Central Alberta, east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler, Alberta, Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often ref ...

) *Edson Healthcare Centre ( Edson) *Elk Point Healthcare Centre ( Elk Point) *Fairview Health Complex ( Fairview) *Fort McMurray Northern Lights Regional Health Centre (

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...

) *

Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre The Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital is an acute care hospital located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The facility opened in 2012, replacing the former Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre. Services and programs The main services and programs t ...

(

) *Fort Vermilion St. Theresa General Hospital (

Fort Vermilion Fort Vermilion is a hamlet on the Peace River in northern Alberta, Canada, within Mackenzie County. Established in 1788, Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilion contains many ...

) *Fox Creek Health Care Centre ( Fox Creek) *Grande Cache Community Health Complex (

Grande Cache Grande Cache is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within and administered by the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16. It is located on Highway 40 approximately northwest of Hinton and west of Edmonton. Grande Cache overlooks the Smo ...

) *Grimshaw/Berwyn Community Health Complex ( Grimshaw) *Hanna Health Centre ( Hanna) *Hardisty Health Centre (

Hardisty Hardisty may refer to: * Hardisty (surname) *Hardisty, Alberta, a town in Canada *Hardisty, an area in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; usually defined as encompassing the neighbourhoods of Fulton Place, Capilano, Forest Heights, Gold Bar, and Terrace ...

) *High Level Northwest Health Centre (

High Level High Level is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 35) and Highway 58, approximately north of Edmonton and south of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. High Level is located w ...

) *High Prairie Health Complex (

High Prairie High Prairie is a town in northern Alberta, Canada within Big Lakes County. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 749, approximately northeast of Valleyview and west of Slave Lake. History Describes the nature of the ...

) *

Hinton Healthcare Centre Hinton Healthcare Centre is a medical facility located in Hinton, Alberta, Hinton, Alberta. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. They operate 23 beds. Services *Day surgery *Diagnostic imaging - on site r ...

( Hinton) *Innisfail Health Centre ( Innisfail) *Jasper - Seton Healthcare Centre (

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

) *Killam Health Care Centre (

Killam Killam is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Clements Killam (1849–1908), Canadian lawyer * Amasa Emerson Killam (1834–1922), Canadian politician * Dorothy J. Killam (1900–1965), Canadian philanthropist * Eva Ki ...

) *Lac La Biche - William J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre ( Lac La Biche) *Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre (

Lacombe Lacombe may refer to: Places * Lacombe, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe, Louisiana, United States * Lacombe, Aude, France People * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916), oblate missionary to the Cree and Blackfoot * Bernard Lac ...

) *Lamont Health Care Centre (

Lamont Lamont or LaMont may refer to: People *Lamont (name), people with the surname or given name ''Lamont'' or ''LaMont'' * Clan Lamont, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Lamont, Alberta, a town in Canada * Lamont County, a municipal district in Albert ...

) *

( Leduc) *Manning Community Health Centre (

Manning Manning (a.k.a. Mannion, Manning) is a family name. Origin and meaning Manning is from an old Norse word — manningi — meaning a brave or valiant man; and one of the first forms of the name was Mannin; another cartography was Mannyg ...

) *Mayerthorpe Healthcare Centre (

Mayerthorpe Mayerthorpe is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton at the intersection of Highway 43 and Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail). The town is surrounded by Lac Ste. Anne County and is in Alberta's Census Division No ...

) *

(

) *Oilfields General Hospital ( Black Diamond) *Olds Hospital and Care Centre (

Olds Olds may refer to: People * The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for older adults * Bert Olds (1891–1953), Australian rules footballer * Carl D. Olds (1912–1979), New Zealand-born American mathematician * Chauncey N. Olds (181 ...

) *Oyen - Big Country Hospital (

) *Peace River Community Health Centre (

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

) *Pincher Creek Health Centre (

) *Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre ( Ponoka) *Provost Health Centre ( Provost) *Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (

) *Raymond Health Centre (

) *

Red Deer Regional Hospital Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre is a district general hospital is located in Red Deer, Alberta. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. Services *Cardiac rehab *Diabetes clinic *Diagnostic imaging (CT, MRI an ...

(

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

) *

Redwater Health Centre The Redwater Health Centre is a 21-bed facility, 14-bed acute care including 1 palliative care bed and 7 long term care bed facility located in Redwater, 65 kilometers northeast of The City Edmonton. The health centre offers many of the main ser ...

( Redwater) *Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre (

Rimbey Rimbey is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highways 20 and 53 in the Blindman River valley area approximately northwest of Red Deer and southwest of Edmonton. Provincially, Rimbey is part of the Rimbey-Roc ...

) *Rocky Mountain House Health Centre (

Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David T ...

) *Sacred Heart Community Health Centre ( McLennan) *Slave Lake Healthcare Centre (

Slave Lake Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton. It is located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake at the junction o ...

) *Smoky Lake - George McDougall Healthcare Centre (

Smoky Lake Smoky Lake is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 28 and Highway 855. It lies between the North Saskatchewan River, Smoky Creek and White Earth Creek, in a mainly agricultural area. ...

) *St. Joseph's General Hospital (

Vegreville Vegreville ( uk, Веґревіль) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 16A approximately east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. It was incorporated as a town in 1906, and that year also saw the founding of the ''Vegrev ...

) *St. Mary's Hospital ( Camrose) *St. Paul - St. Therese Healthcare Centre (

) *Stettler Hospital and Care Centre ( Stettler) *Stony Plain - WestView Health Centre ( Stony Plain) * Sturgeon Community Hospital ( St. Albert) *Sundre Hospital and Care Centre ( Sundre) *Swan Hills Healthcare Centre (

Swan Hills Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills, approximately north of Whitecourt and northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of Highway 32 and Grizzly Trail, and is surrounded by Big Lak ...

) *Sylvan Lake Community Health Centre ( Sylvan Lake) *Taber Health Centre ( Taber) *Three Hills Health Centre (

Three Hills Three Hills is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It takes its name from the three somewhat-larger-than-normal hills to its north. History Three Hills post office dates from 1904. Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year ...

) *Tofield Health Centre (

Tofield Tofield is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 14, Highway 834, and Highway 626. Beaverhill Lake is located immediately northeast of the community. History Before 1865, only A ...

) *Two Hills Health Centre ( Two Hills) *Valleyview Health Centre ( Valleyview) *Vermilion Health Centre (

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...

) *Viking Health Centre (

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

) *Wabasca/Desmarais Healthcare Centre ( Wabasca) *Wainwright Health Centre ( Wainwright) *Westlock Healthcare Centre (

Westlock Westlock is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding Westlock County. Geography Westlock ...

) *Wetaskiwin Hospital and Care Centre (

Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is ...

) *

Whitecourt Healthcare Centre Whitecourt Healthcare Centre is a medical facility located in Whitecourt, Alberta. Alberta Health Services is responsible for the operations of the hospital. It contains 24 beds with two special care beds and one palliative care bed.http://www9.al ...

(

Whitecourt Whitecourt is a town in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Woodlands County. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 43 and Highway 32. It has an elevation of . White ...

)

Emergency Medical Services

Alberta's Emergency Medical Services, which include both ground services, air ambulances have been the responsibility of AHS since April 1, 2009. This includes inter-facility hospital transfers and EMS dispatch. Prior to 2019, municipalities were responsible for providing ground services. By April 10, the provincial air ambulance had also transitioned to AHS. In 2019, EMS averaged about 590,000 ambulance responses annually, with approximately 30% of these being patient transfers between health care facilities, and 70% being emergency responses. In 2013, AHS hybrid model of service provision—which included contracted air ambulance providers—consisted of 204 ground ambulance locations. In 2010, AHS contracts 12 fixed-wing aircraft to provide 24-hour air ambulance services throughout the province and in that year, 5,500 patients were transferred by fixed-wing aircraft via contracted air ambulance providers. By 2013, there were about 3,000 paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency medical responders with There are 550 ambulances throughout the province, including 278 owned and operated by AHS. AHS EMS consists of numerous ground ambulances providing Advanced Life Support (ALS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and single ALS Paramedic Response Unit (PRU) response capable units. The AHS EMS Special Operations Division is composed of members who specialize in a variety of qualifications including; Rapid Access Paramedics capable of providing access to festivals and large gatherings utilizing bicycles, golf carts and a variety of response vehicles. Incident Response Paramedics (IRP) whose primary role is providing expertise on CBRNE, Hazmat, and Mass Casualty Incidents. Public Safety Unit (PSU) paramedics who provide medical support to municipal police services during large gatherings and Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) paramedics who provide medical support/expertise to municipal police tactical teams during operations.

AHS EMS Rank Structure

Protective Services

Alberta Health Services provides physical security, asset and staff protection, and various law enforcement capabilities at corporate properties. This is accomplished with a multi-tiered system including Corporate Investigations, Peace Officers and contracted security companies across Alberta.

Comparison with other provinces

In general, Alberta, which has been the province with the highest GDP per capita for decades, spends more money per capita on public services, including on health, than any other Canadian province. This disparity between Alberta's healthcare spending and other provinces is often a topical election issue and was a focus of the

MacKinnon Report The MacKinnon Report, officially titled Report and recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of Blue-ribbon committee, Blue-Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances into t ...

. According to a 2019 report, health care accounts for about 43% of the public expenditures in the province.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Health regions of Alberta Alberta government departments and agencies Organizations based in Edmonton 2008 establishments in Alberta