10 Together

In 2016, the Northern Lights Health Foundation launched the largest campaign in their history. Through the $16 million Gratitude Campaign, the foundation has funded several important healthcare projects throughout the Wood Buffalo region.

In 2015, a newly renovated emergency department is opened at Pincher Creek Health Centre. The project is made possible with support from the Windy Slopes Health Foundation.

In 2015, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital becomes the second hospital in western Canada to offer patients the benefits of the Ekso CT ™ exoskeleton – a wearable robot that enables a person with any amount of lower extremity weakness to stand up and walk – as part of their rehabilitation therapy. This technology is funded through the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation.

In 2014, a new endoscopy system added to the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre. The system is capable of screening the entire colon, which is essential to effective screening of colon cancer. The equipment, in addition to four new colonoscopies and four gastroscopes, are funded by the Rocky Mountain House Health Care Donations Committee

In 2014, AHS celebrates the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital’s 125th anniversary.

In 2013, AHS announces that oncologists at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre are now performing an innovative breast cancer treatment that uses implanted radioactive seeds, each the size of a grain of rice, to eradicate remaining cancer cells weeks after the removal of a tumour.

In 2011, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation funds a Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) for patients of the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. At the time, the CAREN is the only clinical virtual reality simulator of its kind in Western Canada.

In 2011, the University Hospital Foundation launched the Brain Centre Campaign in support of the University of Alberta Hospital. Since then, the University Hospital Foundation has raised more than $50-million in cash and pledges from generous community members.

In 2010, a new Orthopedic Surgery Centre is opened at the Royal Alexandra hospital campus, which consolidates hip and knee surgeries into one, high-efficiency surgical environment. The new centre is supported by the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation.

July 25, 2018 - The new ambulatory care building at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital had its Grand Opening. The new building provides a bright new space for numerous clinics and services including lab services, Maternity clinic, Dialysis clinic and the new Margery E. Yuill Cancer Clinic; allowing patients to receive treatment in their own city close to their support system and eliminating the added stress of travelling.

October 12, 2018: The AHS Framework for the Comprehensive School Health Approach and companion guidance document were launched, establishing consistent provincial direction for school health promotion within AHS. Over 200 AHS staff members spanning all zones and numerous provincial departments contributed to the development of these documents between 2010-2012. The framework provides an evidence-based approach for building healthy school communities that AHS staff can adapt based on local context.

January 18, 2016 - The ReadyorNotAlberta.ca preconception health website was launched. The website was the first provincial resource to provide comprehensive, evidence-informed key messaging, addressing the modifiable risk factors influencing maternal and infant health outcomes and their importance to an audience that may not otherwise know to look for it. Content was developed and targeted to the needs of people of reproductive age (males and females 18-44 years) including those “ready” to start planning a pregnancy and those “not ready” to have a baby.

June 23, 2016 -- after more than 10 years of planning and almost five years of construction, Chinook Regional Hospital celebrated the official opening of the new ambulatory care wing. It was a great time to celebrate the hard work of design and construction teams as well as the staff who had to continue to provide care during the disruptions. This grand opening capped the conclusion of (most of) the construction at CRH and we ended with a new NICU and Labour and Delivery department, Day Procedures, Parkade, Emergency department. Of course construction never ends at the hospital -- last year work finished on the expanded Jack Ady Cancer Centre and next month the temporary medical detox unit will open.

From July to November in 2009 Public Health went live with the new CMPH module in the 7 Meditech HCISs. This work pulled together immunizations from 14 instances of various applications into one. In 2017 we brought in Edmonton Public Health and now in 2018 November 20 we will have Calgary Public Health working in the Meditech CMPH module. Public Health is the first department to have all users working in the same application. Now PH clinicians across the province share immunization data and electronic documentation via the Meditech EMR. This is a great accomplishment!

April 2, 2018 -- Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital opened North America’s first hospital-based supervised consumption service. It provides a place where inpatients can use drugs in a monitored, hygienic environment to reduce harm from substance use.

October 16, 2008 - AHS' first official Policy is approved by the AHS Board. The Delegation of Authority and Establishment of Controls for Commitments Policy delegates financial authority to AHS' Chief Executive Officer and authorizes the CEO to further delegate financial authority. This Policy, having been revised five times since then, is still in place and can be found at https://extranet.ahsnet.ca/teams/policydocuments/1/clp-ahs-pol-doa-establishment-controls-commitments.pdf.

September 2017- ODP Edmonton Expansion to help with the fentanyl crisis. The clinic hours were increased, as were the number of staff at ODP, by adding more nursing staff, addiction counselor, social workers, admin, and clinical technicians. We were able to increase the number of clients accepted to the program.

Empowering

Opening my e-mail on September 5, 2017 to find that AHS had been selected to receive recognition for not only Canada's Top 100 Employers but also Canada's Top Employers for Young People and Alberta's Top 70 Employers for 2018. I was shocked to receive three awards with our first application!

Largest Rural Capital Campaign - The Grande Prairie Hospital Foundation is currently undertaking the largest rural capital campaign in Alberta's history! We are so grateful for our Foundation partners.