Alberta
Province pumps healthcare system – $100M boost for surgical suites, equipment, rural hospitals
From the Province of Alberta
A $100-million government investment will help hospitals across the province upgrade their operating rooms to provide thousands more surgeries to Albertans.
Large-scale renovations and some new operating rooms in Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie and Lethbridge will allow those hospitals to focus on providing more complex surgeries, leaving rural sites and chartered surgical facilities to provide additional lower risk surgeries.
“Albertans deserve a world-class health system that delivers the right care, in the right setting, at the right time. This funding from Budget 2020 will drive down wait times with necessary and overdue upgrades to hospital operating rooms and equipment across the province. Ultimately, we will make sure our health-care system has the capacity and the staff to deliver the best access to surgery in Canada.”
“This is great news for Albertans who need surgeries and want more access to quality health care in their home communities. This $100 million for capital projects will have a cascading effect, improving access to surgeries in big city hospitals, but also in rural communities across the province, so people can get care closer to home. It’s just the start of our government’s commitment to ensure the success of the Alberta Surgical Initiative. We are working exceptionally hard to ensure we build the best health system possible in this wonderful province.”
This capital funding is part of the government’s $500-million commitment in Budget 2020 to drive down wait times and provide all medically necessary surgeries within clinically appropriate times. Savings found through the AHS Reviewwill support this initiative.
The $100 million in capital funding will be spent on surgical infrastructure and equipment, including:
- Upgrades to 12 operating rooms at Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre. Low-risk surgeries will be moved out of the Foothills hospital and offered in Canmore, High River and independent surgical facilities in Calgary, relieving pressures on city hospitals with long wait lists.
- A fit-out of an operating room in Grande Prairie and converting space in the Edson Health Centre into a second operating room.
- Renovations at the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre so it can perform more endoscopy procedures and create more space in the Red Deer hospital to focus on more complex surgeries. Low-risk surgeries will also be moved out of the Red Deer Hospital to be offered in Innisfail, Stettler, Ponoka and Olds.
- Renovations to operating departments at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital, including the addition of one new operating room. Lower risk procedures will be moved to the Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre, the Grey Nuns Community Hospital and the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert.
- Renovations at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.
- Combining two smaller operating rooms into one larger space for more complex surgeries at Lethbridge’s Chinook Regional Hospital.
This capital investment will help AHS add over 17,000 surgeries this fiscal year to meet the four-year target that was set. Once the renovations are complete and less complex surgeries are being performed in chartered surgical facilities, up to 30,000 additional surgeries will be available to Albertans by 2023.
Yakk Stack By Sheldon Yakiwchuk
Prior to Trumps inauguration event and announcement was made that Trump would not be imposing the 25% tariffs…
Which means, Canada seriously dodged a bullet here.
And while the Liberals will most likely frame this as, their success in showing, Bad Orange Man, that they’re tough and ready to burn down what is left of our economy, throwing Alberta under the bus, first…through a nuclear option…
Premier Smith rode this challenge out like the true champion we knew that she would be.
It’s hard to say if this was a legality matter in the grander scheme…or if the 25% tariffs would have truly been as big of an impact on the US…
One thing is clear, however…
Smith was ready to go to the tables with the Trump administration and opt for diplomacy over threats…which should be what we expect from our leaders.
And should these 25% tariffs have gone through…I’m more than sure a Plan B would have been brought out in civil conversations, over screeching rhetoric.
“She’s treasonous”, they screeched.
“She’s supporting her friends in Oil and Gas”, they relent.
“She should put Canada first”, they echo…
And let’s just address these…
Is Walmart beholden to Campbells soup? Fruit of the Loom? Kraft?
Or does Walmart sell products that helps keep their doors open?
Walmart is not beholden to any product…just like Premier Smith isn’t. We have 26% of our GDP – the largest portion – owed to Alberta O&G, something that we have a limited trade partner with, due to the Liberal – Anti-Alberta/Anti-O&G/Anti-Pipeline attitude that wants to spend us further in debt with unreliable and expensive “Renewables”.
What does Alberta get from renewables?
A higher cost for energy, in an affordability crisis, created by the same people who continue to push them…sounds like a terrible deal, for Albertans, and something a true leader would Not Favor.
When Walmart sits down to hash out a deal with Heinz, are they committing treason because they haven’t shown their allegiance to their own, ‘Great Value’ brand Ketchup?
No…other provinces have their own industries and resources, which they are free to continue developing independent of the federal government, as is suitable and supportive of their own economies…Alberta isn’t competing with them, nor Canada as a whole.
Alberta through industry and resource, actually supports Canada through a grand imbalance on “Equalization Payments”…
As do we through paying 50% more into the Canada Pension Plan, than we actually get out of the Canada Pension Plan…to the tune of a $334 Billion Dollars.
And as for this “Team Canada”, horseshit…
The title Premier of Alberta, should hold some clues as to who Premier Smith should be advocating for…as she is the Premier of Alberta and Not the Prime Minister, nor leader in the Liberal Party that has created this fiasco, to begin with.
Rail, as they may…other provinces can’t cast a vote in her support, either way…
None of the other provinces, through Members of Parliament, nor through Premiers, came to support Alberta and our economy through a number of Federal Bills that railed on our provincial resources…
Worse yet…these hypocrites cash cheques from our province, while telling us how to diversify our economy…to which I’d state one thing unequivocally…
If we wanted to be a Have Not Province…like you are…we’ll come and ask you for your advice.
Until then…
I’ll hold my Alberta Flag Higher than my Canadian…
And be proud today, of having the only Premier in the country of Canada, worthy of any praise today!
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement, welcoming the U.S. tariff reprieve and calling for strategic action:
“Alberta is pleased to see that today President Donald Trump has decided to refrain from imposing tariffs on Canadian goods at this time as they study the issue further.
“We appreciate the implied acknowledgement that this is a complex and delicate issue with serious implications for American and Canadian workers, businesses and consumers given the integration of our markets, along with our critical energy and security partnership.
“Avoiding tariffs will save hundreds of thousands of Canadian and American jobs across every sector. As an example, declining to impose U.S. tariffs on Canadian energy preserves the viability of dozens of U.S. refineries and facilities that upgrade Alberta crude, and the jobs of tens of thousands of Americans employed at them.
“Despite the promising news today, the threat of U.S. tariffs is still very real. As a country, we need to immediately take the following steps to preserve and strengthen our economic and security partnership with the United States, and to avoid the future imposition of tariffs:
- Focus on diplomacy and refrain from further talk of retaliatory measures, including export tariffs or cutting off energy to the U.S. Having spoken with the President, as well as dozens of governors, senators, members of congress and allies of the incoming administration, I am convinced that the path to a positive resolution with our U.S. allies is strong and consistent diplomacy and working in good faith towards shared priorities. The worst possible response to today’s news would be the federal government or premiers declaring “victory” or escalating tensions with unnecessary threats against the United States.
- Negotiate ways to increase what Canadians and Americans buy from one another. As an example, the United States should look at purchasing more oil, timber and agricultural products from Canada, while Canada should look at purchasing more American gas turbines, military equipment and the computer hardware needed to build our growing AI data centre sector. Finding ways to increase trade in both directions is critical to achieving a win-win for both countries.
- Double down on border security. Within the next month, all border provinces should either by themselves, or in partnership with the federal government, deploy the necessary resources to secure our shared border from illegal drugs and migration.
- Announce a major acceleration of Canada’s 2 per cent of GDP NATO target. This is clearly a shared priority that benefits both of our nations. There is no excuse for further delay.
- Crack down on immigration streams and loopholes that are known to permit individuals hostile to Canada and the United States to enter our country, and restore immigration levels and rules to those under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
- Immediately repeal all federal anti-energy policies (production cap, Clean Electricity Regulations, Impact Assessment Act [Bill C-69]) and fast track Northern Gateway and Energy East projects pre-approvals.”
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