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Continuing care announcement is the “no-money miracle’ approach

July 09, 2021 3:18 PM

July 9, 2021
EDMONTON

Continuing care announcement is the “no-money miracle’ approach
Today, Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced the allocation of $400 million in operational funding over four years, for 6,000 continuing care beds across the province. Of these, 2,200 will be new beds, and the remaining 3,800 will be refurbished or renovated from existing “underutilized” spaces in private facilities.
 
“This announcement was more of the same old, repackaged with a no-money miracle as a selling point,” says Sandra Azocar, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare. “It’s just more proof that this government lacks any type of innovative and new approaches when it comes to providing care to the people who need it.”
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Government applauds nurses, cuts their wages in the same breath

July 07, 2021 12:38 PM

July 7, 2021
EDMONTON

Government applauds nurses, cuts their wages in the same breath
Yesterday, Finance Minister Travis Toews announced that the government would be moving forward with plans to cut salaries of Alberta’s nurses. The newly proposed 3% salary rollback comes in addition to previously announced rollbacks, in the form of reduced shift and weekend premiums. All together, Alberta’s nurses are facing at least 5% compensation reduction.
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Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy demand end to Alberta’s war on harm reduction

June 28, 2021 9:53 AM

Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy demand end to Alberta’s war on harm reduction

June 26, 2021

CALGARY - June 26 is the Global Day of Action Against Oppressive Drug Policy, Support, Don’t Punish. Today, Albertans are coming together at for the YYC Day of Action, to commemorate and remember the lives that have been lost as a result of this ongoing opioid pandemic, and to call on this government to stop the unjust assault on harm reduction services.
 
Albertans for Ethical Drug Policy, business owners and community members are marking this occasion with the release of a joint statement, to renew our calls to stop the unjust assault on harm reduction services. Harm reduction, including supervised consumption services (SCS) not only save lives, but they also help to keep people healthy, connect them with services, and ultimately saves money for the health system.
 
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Bill 70 gives dangerous liability shield to for-profit seniors’ care providers during global pandemic

June 16, 2021 10:19 AM

Bill 70 gives dangerous liability shield to for-profit seniors’ care providers during global pandemic

June 16, 2021

EDMONTON - Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta join organizations from civil society, labour, and senior citizens representing hundreds of thousands of Albertans speaking out against Bill 70: COVID Related Measures Act, which is expected to be voted on by the Legislative Assembly today. Twenty-three (23) organizations have signed an open letter to demand that this legislation not be passed into law because of the dangers it poses to Alberta seniors and their families. The letter was emailed to Premier Kenney, Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro and UCP MLA Richard Gotfried, the sponsor of this bill. The open letter will be tabled today in the Alberta Legislature by MLA Christina Grey, Critic for Labour and Immigration & Official Opposition House Leader. 

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Govt review of AB's continuing care system simply changes who pays, who benefits

June 01, 2021 2:45 PM

June 1, 2021
EDMONTON

Government review of Alberta's continuing care system simply changes who pays, and who benefits
Yesterday, the Minister of Health and MLA Richard Gotfried announced the release of the final report of the Facility Based Continuing (FBCC) Review Panel. This 15 member panel was appointed by the health minister to discuss issues relating to the FBCC Review, being conducted by MNP LLP, a chartered accountancy and business advisory firm. This review is intended to serve as a reference for the impending legislative review which will see the consolidation of 15 pieces of current legislation that oversee our current continuing care system.
 
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Friends of Medicare's statement in recognition of National Nursing Week 2021

May 11, 2021 3:53 PM

 

Nurses deserve to be valued and respected beyond National Nursing Week
 
May 10th to 16th marks this year’s National Nursing Week. Friends of Medicare would like to take this opportunity to recognize the instrumental role that nurses play throughout every aspect of our health care system—a role that has been amplified and become all the more vital as we battle the disastrous consequences of a worldwide pandemic.
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Privatization & profiteering continues as K-Bro is awarded sole contract for laundry & linen services in Alberta

April 27, 2021 4:55 PM

April 27, 2021
EDMONTON

Privatization & profiteering continues as K-Bro is awarded sole contract for laundry & linen services in Alberta
Today, K-Bro Linen Inc. announced that they had been named the successful bidders for the Request for Proposals put out by Alberta Health Services in October 2020. They will become the sole providers of laundry services for AHS across the province of Alberta. While this news comes as no surprise, it is a disappointing indication that this government is bent on perpetuating privatization experiments within our public health care system.
 
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FOM joins Canada-wide call for national LTC standards amid COVID-19 deaths

April 27, 2021 9:00 AM

April 27, 2021
EDMONTON

Friends of Medicare joins Canada-wide call for national long-term care standards amid COVID-19 deaths

Today Friends of Medicare joins provincial and territorial Health Coalitions from across the country, Canadians 4 LTC, advocates, family members, and seniors for a National Day of Action for Long-Term Care Standards. All across Canada, we will be virtually protesting the failure of our federal and provincial governments to set national standards for long-term care. The scale of suffering and preventable death in Canada’s long-term care homes throughout the pandemic has precipitated a moral obligation for meaningful change. However, our political leaders have failed to lead.

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Auditor General’s report sets a clear path to improve wait times via public solutions, not private expansion

April 23, 2021 2:29 PM

April 23, 2021
EDMONTON

Auditor General’s report sets a clear path to improve wait times via public solutions, not private expansion

The Auditor General’s report, Alberta Health Services Use of Publicly Funded CT & MRI Services, released on April 22nd, shows clearly that AHS has lost control of this important part of our health care system.

The recommendations made by the Auditor General made it clear that AHS and government can, if they choose, utilize unused capacity in public hospital operating rooms and diagnostics, organize access to care more effectively, scale up proven innovations in the public system, and ramp up capacity to improve access to care. Wait list, equity, and timeliness issues were clearly laid out and solutions provided. If unnecessary testing was curtailed, as has been started with MRIs in some provinces, funds could be redirected to needed care elsewhere in our public health care system. Better wait list management, improvements in primary care, and proven innovations in the public system have made a dramatic difference where they have been implemented.

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Bill 70 prioritizes the long-term care industry over the lives of Albertans

April 22, 2021 4:39 PM

April 22, 2021
EDMONTON

Bill 70 prioritizes the long-term care industry over the lives of Albertans

Bill 70: COVID-19 Related Measures Act, introduced today, intends to ensure legal protection for health services facilities—including continuing care operators—facing lawsuits over illness or death due to exposure to COVID-19. If passed, Bill 70 will prevent families from being able to seek answers and hold care homes responsible for negligence of their loved ones. 

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