Parkland Report Confirms NDP Falling Short on Long-Term Care Promise

Report finds Alberta's continuing care is 79% privatized with no significant improvement since the election of the NDP Government.

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Alberta Government to recommit to their election promise to create "2,000 public long-term care beds over four years" in light of damning evidence provided in today's Parkland Institute "Losing Ground: Alberta's Residential Elder Care Crisis" report on long-term care in Alberta. Further steps should be reviewed and taken to phase out private continuing care entirely, in keeping with their election promise to "end the PCs' costly experiments in privatization, and redirect the funds to publicly delivered services."

Cold Lake Continuing Care Lockout Another Sign of a Broken System

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Government of Alberta to take steps to fix a broken continuing care system in light of today's news that Points West Living have served notice to lockout their staff in Cold Lake as of September 29.

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Alberta government to change the public discourse when it comes to long-term care in Alberta in light of today's announcement highlighting the opening of a private for-profit continuing care centre approved by the previous government.

“Evidence is clear that for-profit facilities provide reduced care hours compared to their counterparts in the public sector. Experience tells us that staff face significant issues with for-profit companies like AgeCare. To top it off the public is kept in the dark with no transparency for the millions in operational funds that are handed over to these health profiteers,” said Executive Director Sandra Azocar.

Friends of Medicare are partnering with BloodWatch.org advocate Kat Lanteigne and touring Alberta September 12 – 16 to campaign in support of voluntary plasma collection and against the private for-profit plasma lobby.

Accountability and Transparency Needed for Long-Term Care Operators

Friends of Medicare are calling for accountability and transparency for private for-profit operators like Park Place Seniors Living in light of today’s announcement from Alberta Health that they will be opening 99 beds in Edmonton’s Villa Marguerite.

Kenney's Health Care Record Demands Answers

Friends of Medicare are calling on Jason Kenney and all future contenders in the PC Leadership race to be clear with Albertans on health care. 

Despite a long record in politics and on health care Kenney did not talk about health care or where he stands on private or public care in his lengthy campaign launch on July 6.

Last week our Executive Director Sandra Azocar was in Winnipeg to present to the Board of Directors of Canadian Blood Services. She urged for action to support our voluntary blood and plasma collection while saying no to paid plasma.

You can read the text of Sandra's submission here.

Private Health Care Not There for Albertans During Downturn

Friends of Medicare are renewing their call for an audit of all private boutique clinics in Alberta in light of reports from CBC news of Calgary's Copeman clinic "discouraging patients who can't pay special fees from seeing their (Copeman's) doctors."

Following today's CBC story on the Copeman clinic Friends of Medicare are calling on the Provincial and Federal Governments to take responsibility for protecting the interests of patients and our public health care system. The story highlighted instances of both patients and Alberta Health Services paying for services, with additional strain on our public purse through tax deductions for Copeman patients.

Lab Report Confirms Lack of Evidence to Support Privatization

Friends of Medicare are encouraged by today's release of the Health Quality Council of Alberta
report confirming a lack of evidence was gathered to support the privatization of Edmonton and Northern Alberta lab services.