EDMONTON — On May 4th Alberta Health Services (AHS) quietly announced that AgeCare was retained to operate Millrise Seniors Village in Calgary. AgeCare Health Services was tasked with overseeing the management and operation of Millrise effective immediately.

According to AHS, a COVID-19 outbreak at Millrise Seniors Village was initially declared at the site on April 15th, and on April 17th they brought in a health care manager to support day-to-day operations at the facility. It was not until the weekend of April 25-26 that AHS brought in an additional 20 AHS staff to support staffing levels and ensure infection control in this facility.

This National Medical Laboratory Week, thank you is not enough

April 27th to May 2nd is National Medical Laboratory week, and during this week Friends of Medicare joins voices across Canada in recognizing the invaluable and life-saving contributions of our country’s medical laboratory professionals. 

Now more than ever, Albertans are witnessing firsthand the direct link between the lab and their health. "In Alberta, this pandemic has shone a light on the impact that having publicly delivered and funded lab services has made in helping to flatten the curve by providing the capacity for timely and effective diagnoses for those impacted by COVID-19," says Sandra Azocar, executive director of Friends of Medicare. "Around the world, Alberta has led the way in the number of tests administered, thanks to the excellence of our lab professionals. Our lab, in spite of years of neglect from consecutive provincial governments, has responded admirably to this unprecedented health crisis, and will no doubt be pivotal to seeing Alberta through this crisis and beyond."

More action needed to relieve continuing care pressures now & going forward

EDMONTON — Seniors in Continuing Care facilities now count for over half of all COVID-19 deaths in Alberta (29 of 46). As of April 13th, the number of those who tested positive in continuing care facilities was 199 and rising. There is no data yet available as to how many workers who provide care to seniors have tested positive.

EDMONTON — According to the World Health Organization, World Health Day emerged from the First Health Assembly, held in 1948. The day is celebrated annually on April 7 to raise global awareness on specific themes related to health in order to highlight an area of importance for the World Health Organization. This year, World Health Day honors the contribution of nurses and midwives, and the critical role they play in our global health care systems.

EDMONTON — Today, Friends of Medicare is urging Albertans to take to social media to show our gratitude for our health care workers on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 virus, and for the public health care system on which we all rely. “We want to take this opportunity to thank all Albertans who comprise our public health care system,” says Sandra Azocar, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare. “Albertans will be rallying together to remind our leadership that publicly funded and delivered health care is our best defense against this crisis and others like it, as this pandemic has made abundantly clear.”

EDMONTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the extent to which our individual health is dependent on the health of everyone in our community. Public healthcare is our best defense against this crisis and others like it. However, our ability to endure crises and care for each other has been eroded through decades of austerity budgets, privatization and inadequate planning. Even during “normal times,” the health care system is at capacity.