Alberta continues consultation on health services restructuring, adds MLA who blamed patients for heart attacks to file

Alberta Health says it is continuing to engage on its proposed overhaul, and a new person has come on board to get that done.

Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange was in Edmonton Thursday, saying that the province has heard “loud and clear” that healthcare workers and Albertans want to be involved in every step of what she calls “refocusing.”

The new “refocused” system will include creating four new organizations, one for each of acute care, primary care, continuing care and mental health and addiction, according to the province.

Despite the rearrangement, the province says it “anticipates” there won’t be any job losses for AHS staff working in frontline positions directly delivering care to patients in all health sectors.

In fact, the government says Alberta’s healthcare workforce is growing, with 331 doctors and more than 7,500 nurses added in 2023.

So far, 2,500 people have participated in in-person public engagement sessions on the restructuring matter, 10,000 in virtual town halls, and 18,000 in online feedback.

There have been requests for additional opportunities to engage, according to the province, so 22 additional face-to-face sessions have been added.

The government reports the need for strong system integration to drive “seamless patient experiences,” more opportunities for local decision-making, and the need for more healthcare workers, as common themes emerging in the sessions.

In-person engagement sessions will continue until mid-April, but the province says new opportunities for Albertans to have their say will be developed in the future.

The province is so committed to ongoing engagement with healthcare workers and other Albertans, in fact, it has added Livingstone-Macleod MLA Chelsae Petrovic to the list of people working on the file.

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Petrovic was elected in the 2023 general election and previously served as the mayor of Claresholm.

She has also been a licensed practical nurse (LPN) for more than 13 years.

Both Premier Danielle Smith and LaGrange have expressed confidence in Petrovic in her new role.

“With her health care background, she will bring a very important perspective to our refocusing work. The voice of every health care worker is critical to understanding what is actually happening on the front lines and what needs improving,” the health minister said. “Chelsae will help us incorporate those voices to strengthen the health system for all Albertans.”

Now the new Parliamentary Secretary for Health Workforce Engagement, Petrovic made headlines last April for suggesting on a podcast that people have heart attacks because they don’t take care of themselves, and then they make it the healthcare system’s problem.

“I see it in health care — maybe the reason why you had a heart attack was because you haven’t taken care of yourself,” she told the “Canadian Story” podcast. “You’re extremely overweight. You haven’t managed your congestive heart failure, you haven’t managed your diabetes, and there’s no personal accountability, but they come into the hospital, and it’s all of a sudden, it’s everyone else’s problem but their own.”

Petrovic later issued a statement saying her comments were taken out of context, admitting she could have chosen better language.

She repeated that sentiment when asked about her comments by a reporter during Thursday’s availability.

“I addressed that over a year ago and I stand by that statement,” Petrovic said. “My focus right now is to really create a positive relationship with our frontline staff and our frontline workers and that’s why the minister has brought me along and that will continue to be my focus going forward.”

Smith herself is no stranger to healthcare controversy, once suggesting that early-stage cancer is within a person’s control.

Alberta has nine parliamentary secretaries assisting ministers. Individuals in these roles don’t get extra compensation, according to the government.