Alberta government moving EMS under new organization in health overhaul

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 6:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

As portion of the provincial government's determination to restructure the health-care system, changes are coming for EMS successful Alberta.

Emergency wellness services successful the state — including ambulances and paramedic care — volition beryllium transferred from Alberta Health Services to a caller enactment that volition go afloat operational on April 1: Acute Care Alberta.

"These changes volition let exigency wellness services to absorption connected improving efficiency, diligent information and effect times successful each parts of the province, portion besides being liable for gathering show targets and its ain workforce improvement and well-being," said Health Minister Adriana LaGrange successful her announcement Monday.

So far, the state has established 2 provincial wellness agencies: Recovery Alberta and Primary Care Alberta. The past remaining organization, Assisted Living Alberta, volition go a ineligible entity connected April 1.

As the organizations rotation out, LaGrange said the authorities is creating a centralized shared services exemplary that volition beryllium liable for quality resources and accusation exertion services crossed the full health-care system.

In addition, the Alberta authorities has allocated $60 cardinal implicit 3 years successful its latest fund to its EMS vehicles superior program. The backing from that programme is utilized to regenerate and upgrade aged ambulances, vehicles and different equipment.

"By strengthening the EMS system, we trim strain connected our hospitals. Fewer delays and proscription besides means patients are getting to the close attraction faster," said LaGrange.

In a statement, Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), said EMS workers request further backup much than they request caller equipment.

"No 1 calling 911 is disquieted astir whether it's EMS oregon AHS oregon Acute Care. They're disquieted astir who is arriving and however agelong it's going to take," said Parker.

Dr. Paul Parks, an exigency doc and past president of the Alberta Medical Association, agrees that much unit is needed — not conscionable with EMS, but crossed the full wellness system. He said if the volition of this determination is to amended integration of the system, past helium wants to spot Acute Care Alberta operating immediately.

"If they're conscionable shuffling the platform chairs connected the Titanic, that's not a bully thing. The vessel is inactive going down," said Parks.

"If they're going to determination the exigency wellness services into a caller bureau and let it to co-ordinate better truthful it tin program workforce, it tin program however galore ambulances we request and it tin co-ordinate with Covenant Health and with Alberta Health Services, past that would beryllium a amended thing. But we request to bash that ASAP."

LaGrange said she's expecting to person a followup study with recommendations to amended EMS by the extremity of March. The archetypal report, released successful 2023, recommended stepping toward privatization, which received pushback from unions similar the HSAA.