May 8, 2023
EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services (AHS) continues to closely monitor the provincial wildfire situation, and is reminding Albertans how to access care and support as needed.
Approximately 300 people have been evacuated from healthcare facilities in their home communities due to wildfires, and AHS is ensuring they are cared for and supported until they are able to return home.
AHS is providing healthcare support to reception centres in North, Edmonton, and Central Zones to ensure that those who have been evacuated are safe, comfortable, and cared for. This includes mental health, public health, nursing, home care, and pharmacy staff.
Patients who are expected for assessment or treatment for a cancer diagnosis in an evacuated area should call the Cancer Centre Transition Team toll-free at 1-888-432-8865. Our team will work with you to ensure your assessment or treatment remains as uninterrupted as possible.
All appointments with laboratory services, mental health and public health in evacuated communities are postponed at this time. Clients will be contacted directly by AHS to be rescheduled as soon as possible. Home care clients impacted by evacuations are being contacted to arrange for alternative home visits and support from nursing teams.
Four AHS acute care hospitals – Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre, Edson Healthcare Centre, Fox Creek Healthcare Centre, and High Prairie Health Complex – remain evacuated and closed due to the risk of nearby wildfires. No evacuations were required over the past 24 hours.
In addition, Evansburg Health Centre/Good Samaritan Pembina Village, East Prairie Community Health Services, and Rainbow Lake Community Health Centre were evacuated late last week and remain closed.
Evacuated patients and continuing care residents are being cared for in safe and appropriate settings. All zones are opening care spaces to accommodate those in need.
These relocations took place using EMS ground and air transport options and chartered buses as required. Whenever possible, patients and residents are being accompanied and supported by staff.
AHS continues to contact families of loved ones to share patient/resident location information, and all zones are actively working to ensure patients and residents are safely cared for in temporary locations.
AHS is also working with provincial and municipal leaders, as well as community partners, to be ready to return patients and residents to facilities as communities reopen. AHS is also prepared in the event that other sites are at risk from wildfire.
We are extremely grateful to our frontline staff, physicians, EMS crews and supporting agencies, who have gone above and beyond to ensure impacted patients and residents continue to get the care they need.
We are also grateful for our partner organizations, including several continuing care organizations, that continue to support these efforts, and are appreciative of our community partners and volunteers who continue to answer when called upon for their support.
AHS has been working to identify additional staffing supports across all zones to ensure patients, residents and our care teams continue to be appropriately supported.
If you have an emergency, please call 911. EMS resources remain in evacuated areas to provide support to those who need.
AHS provides wildfire resources for Albertans at AHS.ca/wildfire, including mental health, air quality, and emergency planning links.
AHS also has resources and services available to help you and your loved ones cope with healthcare needs and stress in this difficult time. Experiencing an evacuation can be stressful and overwhelming. If you need to talk, call the Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642 or Health Link at 811.
Other mental health resources that are available include:
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.
