March 24, 2023
March 24, 2023
We are working to urgently address four key priorities. They are:
Much of this work is underway. We will continue to use this update to highlight actions being taken to address our priorities.
Improving EMS response times
EMS Return to Service yielding early positive results
Reducing wait times for surgeries
Surgical wait-list update
Work continues on other AHS priorities including:
Digital health evolution and innovation
Workforce recruitment, optimization and retention
Shift work and sleep support
The time change and lengthier days can impact your sleep and energy levels, especially if you work shifts outside of typical hours. (more...)
Mental Wellness Moment — signs of caregiver stress
To mark National Caregiver Day on April 4, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell talks about how to identify and manage caregiver stress. (more...)
COVID-19 status and cases in Alberta
Information on variants of concern and wastewater surveillance. (more...)
TikTok banned on AHS mobile devices
Due to recent privacy and security threats to users and organizations, as of March 27, AHS is banning TikTok on all AHS mobile devices. (more...)
RAT recommended for workers with respiratory virus symptoms
As of April 1, rapid antigen tests (RAT) will be the recommended COVID-19 test for all workers with respiratory virus symptoms. (more...)
Front-door screener, greeter roles being discontinued
With respiratory numbers in the province continuing to decline, front-door screener/greeter roles are being discontinued as of March 31. (more...)
Use non-identifiable data for education purposes
Staff are reminded to only access information required for your role. (more...)
Code of Conduct refreshed following review
AHS has refreshed the Code of Conduct to make it easier to understand and use; however, the principles remain the same. (more...)
Report clinical adverse events using RLS
To identify patient safety problems and make improvements, report hazards, close calls and clinical adverse events using RLS. (more...)
EPS to honour service, sacrifice of two officers on Monday
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will honour the service of two officers killed in the line of duty, with a regimental funeral on Monday. (more...)
CEO message - understanding and addressing moral distress
The concept and impact of moral distress is discussed, as well as ways AHS can address it to better support our people. (more...)
Ethics Lunch 'n' Learn — when patient requests exceed options
Join the next session of the series on April 13 at 11:30 a.m. or April 14 at noon. (more...)
Rural sexual assault care course expanded
A new, online, micro-credential course is available for healthcare providers. (more...)
I am grateful for the kind messages I received from many of you regarding my appointment this week to the role of President and CEO. What makes this role rewarding is being part of the exceptional team we have at AHS, and having the opportunity to continuously improve patient outcomes and patient experiences — which, as you've seen in our top items, we're doing. I am proud to work alongside you all as we continue to address our key priorities.
To close this AHS Update, on behalf of everyone at AHS, I wish to offer condolences to the families, friends and members of the Edmonton Police Service who will be honouring the service and sacrifice of Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, who were recently killed in the line of duty, with a regimental funeral and celebration of their lives that will take place on Monday. Our thoughts are with everyone grieving their loss.
With enduring gratitude and appreciation,
Mauro Chies
AHS President and CEO
March 24, 2023
Please print and share with your teams as needed
We are working to urgently address four key priorities. They are:
Much of this work is underway. We will continue to use this update to highlight actions being taken to address our priorities.
EMS Return to Service yielding early positive results
The EMS Return to Service initiative has launched in Calgary Zone thanks to the efforts of the Calgary Zone emergency department (ED), acute and continuing care teams, and Calgary Zone EMS teams. We are seeing notable improvement in the system’s ability to respond to emergency events in the early days of implementation.
There has been a fluctuating reduction in EMS response times, day-to-day, and a positive indication in the early stage of the program. AHS EMS is also reporting a reduction in the need for surrounding communities to provide coverage within Calgary and, as such, there have been improvements in community coverage that extend beyond Calgary city limits. End-of-shift EMS overtime appears to be trending down, which is an important aspect of employee wellness. Calgary Zone ED measures are also holding steady or improving.
The collaboration and support between the ED, acute and continuing care teams, and the EMS teams has been outstanding. Lessons learned from the Calgary implementation are being shared across all zones as we prepare to continue rolling out this improvement initiative.
We're currently at an average of 109 per cent of pre-pandemic surgical volumes, and our total surgical wait-list for adults sits at 68,052. For comparison, in February 2020, before the pandemic, our total wait-list was 68,000.
Work continues on other AHS priorities including:
MyAHS Connect reaches 200,000 users
The MyAHS Connect patient portal has reached a new milestone, with 200,000 users now able to access their health information online. The portal has transformed the way patients in Alberta interact with their AHS healthcare providers, making it easier than ever to stay informed and in control of their health. See more details.
AHS shares Health Workforce Strategy
Over the last several months, we appreciate the efforts by our teams to attract, retain and optimize our skilled workforce, and provide a safe and healthy workplace where our people feel valued, respected and engaged. The Health Workforce Strategy (HWS) details how we are addressing immediate challenges and building on ongoing workforce initiatives to create a sustainable health system for all Albertans.
To meet our medium- and long-term workforce needs, the HWS organizes work under four pillars:
Guided by this strategy, we're certain to accomplish more and will continue to gain momentum on our progress to ensure we have the workforce we need to deliver high-quality healthcare into the future, in an environment where our people can grow and flourish.
Questions? Talk to your leader or review the strategy on Insite.
If you're feeling fatigued, there is help through Shift Worker Support to keep you healthy, support your well-being, and help you maintain a balance between your family commitments, social life and work.
To access Shift Worker Support, call the Employee and Family Assistance Program intake line at 1-877-273-3134. You'll connect with a specialist who will reach out to explain the supports available to you, and continue to check in as you access resources.
Physicians can contact the AMA Physician and Family Support Program, also a confidential 24/7 support line, at 1-877-SOS-4MDS for options and support.
Questions? Contact wellness@ahs.ca.
In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addictions and Mental Health with Alberta Health Services — talks about the signs of caregiver stress and how to manage it. National Caregiver Day is April 4.
Hospitalizations and ICUs
Information unavailable from source this week.
Variants of concern
Alberta Precision Laboratories continues to closely monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants. From Feb. 27 to March 6, an average of 57 per cent of positive samples were strain-typed by genome sequencing. Of those, 23 per cent were BQ.1.1, two per cent were other BQ.1 lineages and 59 per cent were XBB.1.5. Other BA.5 lineages and BA.2 lineages (including other XBB lineages) now make up the minority of cases. To date in Alberta, we have seen 726 cases of XBB.1.5 and 161 cases of other XBB lineages. At this time, there have been no Alberta cases of XBB.1.16, a lineage recently identified with cases reported predominantly from India.
Wastewater surveillance
Wastewater can provide an early indication of COVID-19 infection trends in a community. For wastewater surveillance comparing weekly averages:
The above interpretations were made from available data as of March 20 at 8 a.m.
In the coming days, AHS will remove TikTok, the social media platform, from all AHS mobile devices where it is installed and will block any future installations of the app on AHS mobile devices. TikTok has been identified internationally as presenting a privacy and security risk, and has been known to censor information. This change will come into effect on March 27 at 9 a.m., and mobile device users will have until Friday, March 31, to delete the TikTok app.
On March 27:
Removing TikTok from AHS devices follows similar steps taken by government organizations, including the Alberta and Canadian governments.
As of April 1, rapid antigen tests (RAT) will be the recommended COVID-19 test for all workers with respiratory virus symptoms.
Workers who have COVID-19 symptoms and a positive RAT, or are asymptomatic with two positive RATs at least 24 hours apart, are considered confirmed with COVID-19. Work restrictions and continuous masking will apply. Further details are available in this FAQ.
It's our shared responsibility to ensure workers are healthy at work to protect all AHS staff, patients, volunteers and visitors. Simple actions, such as staying home when sick and practising proper hand hygiene, can help reduce the spread of illness.
An updated version of the Attending Work Directive that reflects these changes will be posted on March 31. We appreciate your patience.
With respiratory numbers in the province continuing to decline, front-door screener/greeter roles throughout the province are being discontinued as of March 31.
Albertans will be reminded that while screeners will no longer be in place on and after April 1, continuous masking will remain in place for all visitors, as well as staff, physicians and volunteers at all acute care, continuing care and community sites. Signage reminding Albertans about the AHS masking directive will continue to be in place at the entrance of AHS care sites. Resources to help support our staff in carrying out and enforcing our masking directive for those visiting an AHS site will continue to be available on Insite.
We want to extend our appreciation to everyone who joined the AHS team to assist with our pandemic response.
To keep patient information safe, it is important to only access the information required for the purposes of your role and responsibilities. Under no circumstance should identifiable patient data be displayed for educational or demonstrational purposes. Accessing health information that is not required for your role is a privacy breach.
If data is required for educational or demonstrational purposes, AHS staff should use non-identifiable data in accordance with the Use of Health Information – Education resource, or use the system's testing environment.
Questions? See Privacy Resources or contact the IT Service Desk.
We all share a responsibility to report suspected privacy breaches of AHS business, health or personal information. To report a suspected breach, use the online breach notification form.
AHS has refreshed the Code of Conduct to make it easier to understand and use; however, the principles remain the same.
The AHS Code of Conduct is one of the foundational anchors for AHS, along with our vision, mission, values and strategies. They all work together to guide what we do, how we do it and why we do it.
Visit Insite to learn more.
Questions? Email complianceofficer@ahs.ca.
To identify patient safety problems and make improvements, it is important to report hazards, close calls and clinical adverse events (CAEs).
AHS has a single, provincewide system for patient safety reporting called the Reporting & Learning System for Patient Safety (RLS).
All staff and physicians have a responsibility to report patient safety events. When you report a CAE, close call, or hazard though RLS, the submission is reviewed, trended and shared to help us learn as an organization. Reporting helps to identify patient safety problems and to make improvements.
We encourage you to consistently submit CAEs and other patient safety problems using RLS, available on Insite.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will honour the service and sacrifice of Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, who were recently killed in the line of duty, with a regimental funeral and celebration of their lives that will take place on Monday, March 27, at 1 p.m. at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Access to Rogers Place for the funeral will be limited to family, special guests, EPS members and invited supporters from within law enforcement, emergency services and military communities. The public is invited to pay their respects along the procession route and attend a live stream in the Ice District Plaza.
Healthcare is complex, and sometimes we have to act in ways that don't feel right to us. These situations can lead to feelings of guilt, self-doubt, anger or frustration.
You might feel like you weren't able to deliver the best possible care due to factors out of your control. This is what moral distress looks like. It can have a negative impact on our well-being. We know this takes a toll on all of us, and we want to help.
Joining the AHS Vlog to tell us more are:
More resources/information:
Many everyday issues in healthcare are complex with unclear answers. Identifying and thinking through challenging issues using an ethics lens can give insight into navigating them.
Ethics Lunch 'n' Learn Series explores common healthcare issues, identifies the ethical concerns at play, and provides an ethical framework for thinking through challenging situations.
Join the next session on when patient requests exceed appropriate treatment options:
Discover more sessions in the series.
A new, online, micro-credential course is available for healthcare providers.
The Rural Sexual Assault Care - Expanded Micro-credential prepares rural medical professionals to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care to survivors of recent sexual assault. The micro-credential is built upon the Enhanced Emergency Sexual Assault Services program, which focuses on the role and responsibility of healthcare professionals in assessment, intervention, evidence collection and court testimony. It's open to registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered midwives and physicians.
Government of Alberta bursaries are available for those working in rural Alberta to cover the cost of the course.
Learn more at NWP.me/Care
I am grateful for the kind messages I received from many of you regarding my appointment this week to the role of President and CEO. What makes this role rewarding is being part of the exceptional team we have at AHS, and having the opportunity to continuously improve patient outcomes and patient experiences — which, as you've seen in our top items, we're doing. I am proud to work alongside you all as we continue to address our key priorities.
To close this AHS Update, on behalf of everyone at AHS, I wish to offer condolences to the families, friends and members of the Edmonton Police Service who will be honouring the service and sacrifice of Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, who were recently killed in the line of duty, with a regimental funeral and celebration of their lives that will take place on Monday. Our thoughts are with everyone grieving their loss.
With enduring gratitude and appreciation,
Mauro Chies
AHS President and CEO
