AHS Virtual Health
Quality Virtual Care - Anytime, Anywhere
Virtual care provides an opportunity for care continuity throughout the spectrum of care, supporting individuals who are in self-isolation, unable to attend an AHS clinic or facility, living in rural and remote areas, or when the patient and provider cannot be in the same location.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, AHS has expanded access to healthcare services through the addition of virtual tools to better meet the care needs of patients, including:
- Implementing Zoom
- Assessing clinical priority for ambulatory care visits
- Developing self-help tools, guided webinars, and supported advice for some program areas to help integrate technology
We want to hear from Albertans, physicians, patients and families, healthcare providers, and AHS Advisory Council members, to help inform our long term virtual care strategy to support the future of healthcare in Alberta.
Share your stories here
We want to hear stories about innovating using technology during COVID and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic required a lot of people, programs and physicians to pivot how they communicate, provide care and services, and work together. Share your stories about innovation in healthcare to inform and inspire others.
Goodbye Mealtime Struggles is a class offered in the Central Zone to support families with young children who are experiencing mealtime struggles and stress. This program has been offered for several years as an in-person class in various communities across the zone through a partnership between Public Health Dietitian's and Children’s Rehab Occupational Therapists. When the COVID-19 pandemic brought our in-person group education to a halt, these teams worked quickly to re-design the class to be offered virtually using the Zoom platform. The first Goodbye Mealtime Struggles Zoom class was offered in June 2020 and has continued to be offered on a monthly basis. Attendance at these classes has been great with close to 60 families having participated to date. Feedback from participants has been extremely positive and our teams have recognized that offering this class virtually has improved access for families across the zone. The in-person class was offered only in communities where the population and demand existed as well as where there were trained facilitators available to lead the class. As such, access was limited. This is no longer a barrier. Offering the class virtually allows families from any location across the zone to attend on a date that works best for them. In addition, parents are able to attend the virtual class without having to arrange childcare, removing yet another barrier. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged individuals, families, teams and providers in ways we could never have predicted. The expansion of virtual healthcare services to meet needs and continue to serve is certainly a bright spot to be celebrated!
“I will definitely be recommending this course to ALL of my PH families, so please continue to offer it online because it definitely increases our ability to access the content in a rural site. I feel like the info you presented is very user friendly, and I love that one of the goals is overall a general enjoyment of the mealtime experience for the child and the parent." – a Public Health Nurse participant
Our Public Health Nutrition team has offered in-person infant nutrition classes for families in the Central Zone since prior to AHS forming. When the COVID-19 pandemic brought our in-person group education to a halt, our team worked quickly to re-design our class to be offered virtually using the Zoom platform. We offered our first Zoom infant nutrition class on May 13th, 2020 and have continued to offer these zoom classes consistently twice a month. We have had great attendance at these classes with close to 130 families having participated so far and feedback from participants has been very positive. Our team has also recognized that offering this class virtually has reduced barriers for families in our zone to be able to access the class. In smaller, more rural communities, in-person infant nutrition classes may have only been offered once or twice a year and were often at risk of being cancelled if registration numbers were low. This is no longer a barrier. Families from any location across the zone can now access a class virtually, choosing a date that works best for them and allowing participants to attend a class when they are ready for the information. Our team acknowledges the value that this offers in providing timely education and person centered support. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged individuals, families, teams and providers in ways we could never have predicted. The expansion of virtual healthcare services to meet needs and continue to serve is certainly a bright spot to be celebrated!
Jocelyn Armstrong (on behalf of the CZ PPH Nutrition Team)
"Highly educative! Before now I was struggling with feeding my 6months old baby. I am glad I attended the class. Thanks" – an Infant Nutrition Class participant
"This was great! I appreciated the videos. I had previously looked at the handouts provided via the AHS website prior to hearing about this course, but going through the information in depth more was helpful. Thanks so much for the information."- an Infant Nutrition Class participant
During COVID restrictions in the Spring, I was connected with Stephanie, PT by Zoom from Rehab Oncology. I was experiencing a lot of pain and felt helpless because so many services were restricted or closed. She was able to identify the source of my pain and give me therapeutic exercises to resolve the issues. Thank you Stephanie.