Our local chapter serves the residents of Red Deer and surrounding communities in Central Alberta including Lacombe, Ponoka, and Sylvan Lake.
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Chapter Chair
Brenda Reid
[email protected]
Red Deer
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No matter where you live, or who you are, you and your family deserve timely access to quality public health care — when and where you need it.
That's why Friends of Medicare and well-known public health care advocate, Dr. Paul Parks are touring the province to hear from Albertans on what we are experiencing in our health care system, and to discuss what changes could make our lives and our health better.
EDMONTON — The 2025 provincial budget will be tabled in the legislature next Thursday, February 27th. Heading into the budget, the provincial government continues to roll out their expensive and chaotic restructuring of public health care in Alberta, while doubling-down on their failing privatization strategies.
Last week, the Alberta government sent out a post-budget update on the Red Deer Hospital project, which included their plans for Phase 2 of the project to include: “construction of an ambulatory care building using a public-private partnership (P3) delivery model.” P3s are well known to be more expensive, while harming public services. Previous attempts to use a P3 model to build labs and hospitals in Alberta have repeatedly been fought against and rejected by patients and health care workers.
EDMONTON — Following yesterday’s leaked documents, Danielle Smith’s government followed through on announcing a massive restructuring of public health care in Alberta, as well as a new Alberta Health Services Board chaired by a former conservative cabinet minister, Lyle Oberg. None of this was part of the UCP’s platform in this year’s election.
After years of unprecedented pressures on our public health care system, health care workers and patients in this province are seeking certainty when it comes to something as important as our public health care system. They aren’t looking for changes of this scale being directed by politicians, rather than health care experts and community needs.
This Op-Ed by FOM's Executive Director, Chris Gallaway, originally appeared in the Red Deer Advocate on May 20, 2022.
Friends of Medicare to participate in events in five cities calling on the provincial government to put people before profit
Premiers' demand for federal dollars through increased Canada Health Transfer must have strings attached to ensure it goes to improving health care for all
The Council of the Federation, made up of the 13 provincial and territorial premiers, are meeting tomorrow with a focus on their united push for an increase in the Canada Health Transfer that the Federal government provides. Over the past two years, many of the premiers have used the ongoing pandemic as a justification to call for an unconditional increase in health funding.
“Even during this global pandemic our provincial UCP government has repeatedly shown they can’t be trusted to prioritize our public health care system over their ideological push for corporate tax cuts, layoffs, funding cuts and privatization,” said Chris Gallaway, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare.
Friends of Medicare will be standing today in support of Albertans with disabilities, who are currently supported and cared for under publicly-run Direct Operations at homes and respite centres in Edmonton and Calgary.
Approximately 200 guardians of disabled Albertans were given notice on June 10th that the UCP government was “exploring alternative service delivery”—code for privatization—of Edmonton’s Rosecrest home for children, the Hardisty and Balwin respite centers, Edmonton group homes, and Calgary’s Scenic Bow home.
About 10 central Albertans joined protesters on their way to Health Minister Tyler Shandro’s Calgary constituency on Wednesday.
Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta chartered a bus for Albertans concerned about the UCP government’s cuts and privatization to the provincial health-care system and seniors care.