Major investments in Health Care in Calgary and Edmonton

The Alberta Cunstruction Magazine reports there's a lot of work to be done in the years to come.

For Health and Wellness for just the two regions, there’s more than $1.6 billion worth of work. For advanced education, there’s $250 million for Calgary and more than $400 million for Edmonton over the next four years.

A number of factors are driving the construction boom in health care facilities: an aging population, an increase in population in high-growth areas such as Fort McMurray, and a desire to keep Alberta on the leading edge in research, technology, and world-class facilities.

The Alberta government reports funding for Health and Wellness is up $1.3 billion (12.2 per cent) for the 2007–08 budget year.
Over the next three years, the Alberta government has slated $2.6 billion for health facilities, including $250 million to replace the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Grande Prairie, $221 million to cover cost escalation on health projects that have already been approved, and $26.4 million for the Northern Lights Health Region to build infrastructure for health care providers in the regions and new community health clinics.
In addition, a helicopter platform will be added at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre.

Money will also go towards 30 previously approved projects.
Those include construction of community health centres in Red Deer, Calgary, and Edmonton, as well as long-term care facilities in Red Deer, Edmonton, High Prairie, Vermilion, and Vegreville.

The new multi-use facilities will offer excellence in health care for patients and learning opportunities for post-secondary students.

For instance, the Edmonton Clinic, a partnership between Capital Health and University of Alberta, models itself after the Mayo Clinic, a one-stop shop that houses multiple clinics in one place.
Construction, expected to open in 2011 at a cost of $909 million, begins this year.

In Calgary, 2008 marks the first full year of work on the $1.25-billion South Health Campus. The campus will bring together wellness, health research and education on a 44-acre campus located at Deerfoot Trail and 196th Avenue SE.

The 160,000 sq.m health campus will consist of heath services, including surgery and operating rooms, pediatrics, obstetrics, mental heath, as well as emergency and outpatient services. It will also focus on wellness services and research and education. Phase I is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011.

Alberta might eliminate health premiums

It's for the first time Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is talking about the possibility of eliminating health care premiums as part of his party’s next election platform.

Even though Alberta has been awash in surplus cash for years, the Progressive Conservative government has resisted the idea of dropping health premiums, which only exist in three provinces.
But now Stelmach is signaling that a policy change may be in the works for premiums, which cost $1,056 per year for families and $528 for singles.

Earlier this week Ontario's premier McGuinty announced that despite soaring government revenues, health tax is not going to be scrapped for Ontarians. (read related article here)

“The revenue is close to $1 billion,” he told The Canadian Press in a year-end interview.
“There are a number of ideas coming forward from people that are looking at developing policy positions for the campaign. But we’re far from making any kind of decisions.”

Health Minister Dave Hancock said he has been talking to government caucus members for months about how the province can eliminate or at least reduce health premiums for some people.
Hancock says he would like to see the province create incentives for people to lead healthy lifestyles. "Whether we collect it as a premium or we collect it as tax, we should give people credit for the things that they do to remain healthy," he said Wednesday in an interview.

The message to Albertans would be: "We can take health-care premiums off, but you have to do something for it."

“That’s what I’m promoting, that we take a look at how you can earn your premium back by doing some pre-screening tests, by engaging in health activity, those sort of things.”

The group Friends of Medicare was delighted to hear that the government appears to have had a change of heart over health premiums, which are also charged in Ontario and British Columbia.

“This is the time to get rid of these premiums. We’ve never been wealthier,” said Suzanne Marshall, executive director of the Edmonton-based lobby group.

Edmonton Sun

Revolutionary Home Health Monitoring Solution announced

Patients with chronic illnesses may soon be able to monitor their vital signs, such as pulse, blood pressure and glucose levels, and send the information to their doctor from a cellphone, researchers announced yesterday.

A new handheld high-tech device, dubbed the Home Health Monitoring Solution, has been developed by technology giant LG Electronics in partnership with Capital Health in Edmonton and the University of Alberta.

The prototype of what officials described as a first of its kind uses new sensing technology to allow patients to send their physiological information wirelessly to their health-care provider.

Eventually, it may be configured to be built right into a cellphone just as photography and music capabilities are today.

Neil Wilkinson, chairman of the Capital Health Board, said the gadget could potentially be used by patients with diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions that require frequent checkups.

It could be particularly useful for seniors with limited mobility, patients who live in rural areas and those on new medications who require constant monitoring.

Neil Wilkinson, chairman of the Capital Health Board, said the gadget could potentially be used by patients with diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions that require frequent checkups.
It could be particularly useful for seniors with limited mobility, patients who live in rural areas and those on new medications who require constant monitoring.

Kwyro Lee, an executive vice-president of LG Electronics who travelled to Edmonton from South Korea to take part in yesterday's announcement, described the Alberta government as a "matchmaker" for initiating the partnership between researchers in the province and his company's engineers.

Dr. Lee, who is also head of LG's research institute, said he hopes to create a new medical device that will help patients not only in Alberta, but across the continent.

The first stage of tests in the three-year project is set to begin next month.
It will involve monitoring blood pressure, pulse and temperature.
Down the road, glucose levels and other blood chemistry markers will be added as features.

Read the full story here

Edmonton health region renovates residences to lure nurses

Capital Health is spending $1.2 million to renovate a residence, apartment building and house to attract health workers from other countries to Edmonton.

A former nurses' residence at the Misericordia Community Hospital and an apartment building connected to the Royal Alexandra Hospital will provide temporary homes for 77 nursing recruits from other provinces and overseas.

Capital Health is also renovating a five-bedroom house near the University of Alberta Hospital.

"One of the biggest challenges these new nurses are going to face is housing and by providing the new temporary accommodations we're hoping to ease their transition to both Edmonton and Canada," said John McPhail, vice-president of the health region's human resources in a news release last Friday.

The renovations, which include new flooring, paint and sprinkler systems to meet current fire codes, are expected to finish in March 2008.