News
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Bill 30: Paving the way for privatization
On July 30, 2020, Friends of Medicare hosted an online discussion about the recently passed Bill 30 and it's impacts on both patients and health care workers. FOM's executive director Sandra Azocar, along with panelists Dr. Jillian Ratti and Dr. Lorian Hardcastle, sat down to explore the contents of Bill 30, discuss the ways that it opens the door to the privatization of our public health care, and answer questions from concerned Albertans.
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Open Letter: Defunding Lethbridge ARCHES SCS
If you or your organization would like to add your names as signatories to this open letter, please email [email protected].
Original Sent: July 16, 2020To: Jason Luan Minister, Tyler ShandroAssociate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Minister of HealthCC: Premier Jason KenneyPremier of Alberta
Open Letter: Defunding Lethbridge ARCHES SCS -
Bill 204 openly advertises the sale of blood in Alberta
Bill 204 openly advertises the sale of blood in Alberta
On July 8, 2020 MLA Tany Yao introduced Bill 204: Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. This work-shy, mere 3-page bill simply calls for the repeal of the Voluntary Blood Donations Act (2017). It offers no alternative to address our current dependency on US plasma-derived products, and no reason to necessitate this repeal, except to further this government’s never ending quest to privatize our public resources.
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Friends of Medicare’s initial statement on Bill 30
Friends of Medicare’s initial statement on Bill 30
July 6, 2020
The announcement of Bill 30: Health Statutes Amendment Act, made by Health Minister Tyler Shandro today, highlights this government’s demonstrated lack of commitment to Albertans’ public health care. If passed, the omnibus bill would make sweeping changes to Albertans’ health care, including repealing or changing 9 pieces of existing health legislation.
“Bill 30 represents yet another step in the systemic process of privatization that this government has been committed to since prior to the election,” says Sandra Azocar, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare. “It signals that this government is unable or unwilling to learn the necessary lessons from a pandemic that has made abundantly clear the importance of a responsive public health care system.”
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Albertans' blood and plasma supply under threat
Albertans' blood and plasma supply under threat
Friends of Medicare have learned that in the coming days. UCP MLA Tany Yao plans to table a private members bill, Bill 204: Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. With this bill, MLA Yao intends to repeal Bill 3: Voluntary Blood Donations Act, which was put into place to protect and enshrine blood and plasma as public resources under law, and to prohibit them from being treated as a market-based commodity. -
Albertans & Manitobans to rally online to Fix Seniors’ Care NOW
Albertans & Manitobans to rally online to Fix Seniors’ Care NOW
Today, Friends of Medicare, Manitoba Health Coalition, our allies, and advocates from across Alberta and Manitoba are taking to social media to call on our respective governments to #FixSeniorsCareNOW.The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating and disproportionate toll on Canada’s seniors. With approximately 82% of deaths coming from LTC facilities, this pandemic has exposed the real-life consequences of our governments' inaction. -
It's Christmas in May for contracted operators of continuing care centres
It's Christmas in May for contracted operators of continuing care centres
Yesterday, the Alberta government announced that they would be committing an additional $170 million for AHS-contracted continuing care facilities, to offset the loss of ‘revenues’ that have resulted from this pandemic. The announcement indicated that this funding is intended to be used for enhanced staffing and additional cleaning supplies, as well as to compensate continuing care providers for lost accommodation revenue. A total of $14.2 million will be provided every month, retroactive to March 15th, and until orders from Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health have been lifted.
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AHS review implementation must put Albertans and public health care at the forefront
AHS review implementation must put Albertans and public health care at the forefront
This week marks the 100 days which the Alberta Health Services (AHS) implementation team was given to report back on a detailed plan for which measures recommended in the Ernst & Young (EY) review would be implemented. The COVID-19 response has since put that on hold, but in the meantime, the pandemic has shone a light on the capacity and responsiveness of our public health care system, and has given Albertans pause when it comes to the wrongheaded direction that was recommended in this review.
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There's no room for profit & privatization in our seniors’ care
There's no room for profit & privatization in our seniors’ care
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.
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This National Medical Laboratory Week, thank you is not enough
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."