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True North Health Advisory Council

True North HEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL

2015-16 ANNUAL REPORT

Healthy Albertans. Healthy Communities. Together.

2015-16 Annual Report 1


Table of Contents Message from the Chair of the Board, Alberta Health Services 3

Introduction 4

Who we are 4

What we do 5

How we are accountable 5

The 12 Health Advisory Councils 5

Council of Chairs 6

Combining the voice of Albertans with Alberta Health Services 6

Providing feedback to Alberta Health Services initiatives 7

Message from the Chair, True North Health Advisory Council 9

About us 10

What we have accomplished 11

Engage the public 11

Provide feedback and advice to Alberta Health Services 12

Promote and participate in activities that enhance the health of residents 13

What we have learned 14

Contact information 14 Appendix 1 – True North Health Advisory Council Map 15


True North Health Advisory Council Message from the Chair of the Board, Alberta Health Services

Advisory councils are an important part of the health care system in Alberta. Council members are passionate about health care and committed to their communities. Their activities over the past year have been a testament to that dedication. The conversations these volunteers have with their neighbours, networks, and local leaders, and the thoughtful input they provide to Alberta Health Services is greatly valued and appreciated. By listening to and speaking with the people across Alberta about health care services and the health matters that are important to them, advisory councils help identify current or developing health needs. They also ensure public input to plans or proposals that are being considered. The information they gather is provided to the Alberta Health Services Board and management, contributing to the decision-making process and ensuring timely awareness of what is working well within the health care system and what might be improved. Continuing to draw on Albertans for feedback will help us to meet our mission of providing a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.

On behalf of the Alberta Health Services Board, thank you to all advisory council members for your service, your commitment, and your hard work. You provide valuable insights which help us improve health care delivery. Sincerely, Linda Hughes Chair, Alberta Health Services Board


True North Health Advisory Council Introduction

Health Advisory Councils are a vital and valued connection between Alberta Health Services and Albertans, providing insights and input on a variety of health care initiatives, issues and plans. Members offer personal, community and regional perspectives to the province’s health care services, from development through to delivery. The councils act as advisory bodies to Alberta Health Services according to the Council Charter and Bylaws. Members are required to reside within the geographic area of the council to which they are appointed. Councils meet regularly with community members, Alberta Health Services project leads, and Alberta Health Services leadership. Established in 2009 under section 9(4) of the Regional Health Authorities Act (1994), councils are comprised of 15 members who are appointed by the Alberta Health Services Board of Directors. Members serve a three-year term, to a maximum of two terms, or six years.

Who we are

As Health Advisory Council members, we play an important role in supporting the strategic direction of Alberta Health Services by engaging members of our communities throughout Alberta in a respectful, transparent and accountable manner. Public participation is essential to improving the quality and accountability of health services. Working in partnership with Alberta Health Services is an important way to ensure that services are responsive and address the needs of those who use them.

We reflect the diversity of the urban and rural communities we serve across the province. We have a broad interest in health issues and the health and well-being of the communities in which we live.

Together, we are working to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.



What we do We are focused on ensuring the public’s thoughts and ideas on health care in Alberta are considered in health care service planning. We do this by: • gathering information and public input about health, health needs and health services for

residents of the communities we serve; • providing advice to Alberta Health Services regarding health issues, health needs and

health priorities, access to health services, the promotion of health and other matters; and, • promoting and participating in activities that enhance the health of residents in the

communities where we live. How we are accountable

We act as an advisory body to Alberta Health Services, providing input from the public to support the strategic direction of Alberta Health Services. In this role, we:

• provide a public perspective on what is working well in the health care system and where

improvement is needed;

• engage residents and report to Alberta Health Services what they are saying regarding health services in their area;

• play a role in considering information from Alberta Health Services about local issues or

trends; • provide feedback to Alberta Health Services on matters pertaining to health services and

delivery; • discuss creative solutions with Alberta Health Services for improving health care while

representing the diversity of the local and regional perspective; • provide a link between local communities and Alberta Health Services leadership; and, • help develop strategies to further engage the community on health care delivery.

The 12 Health Advisory Councils

Alberta has a diverse population, from long-established communities to quickly expanding urban centres. As council members, we aim to provide a voice to our communities and a connection to Alberta Health Services.

The geographical boundaries of the councils reflect historical travel patterns of Albertans and ensure that more remote areas of the province have a presence.



Council of Chairs The Council of Chairs is comprised of 12 Health Advisory Council Chairs as well as two Provincial Advisory Council Chairs (Addictions & Mental Health, and Cancer). This group bring forth common concerns and input at a provincial level. The June 2015 meeting focused on governance and the development of a new board for Alberta Health Services. At the October 2015 meeting, the discussion was held about the terms for the Health Advisory Council members and the need for recruitment of council members. The Health Advisory Councils were pleased with the announcement of a new Board for Alberta Health Services in October 2015. A meeting was held in March 2016 with Alberta Health Services Board Chair Linda Hughes, Interim President and CEO Verna Yiu and the advisory council chairs. The Board approved recruitment to commence and adopted two changes to the bylaws: one for a formal application process for those whose two terms had expired; the second was a change to the election of Chairs from annually to bi-annually. Combining the voice of Albertans with Alberta Health Services Through participation on the following Alberta Health Services committees, Health Advisory Council members were able to bring forth the public perspective to planning.

Apple Magazine Editorial Council: Apple Magazine, a health and wellness publication produced by Alberta Health Services, includes a Health Advisory Council member on their editorial board to offer a public perspective to editorial planning meetings, story outlines, and review the magazine prior to publication.



Continuing Care Quality Committee: Both an urban and a rural Health Advisory Council member have input on the Continuing Care Quality Committee to bring forth the public perspective. The committee was developed to ensure quality and safe care are provided through coordinated and collaborative management to the monitoring, improvement and operational delivery of quality continuing care services in Alberta. Health Link and MyHealth.Alberta.ca: Two Health Advisory Council members participate on the provincial overview committee to provide the public’s perspective. The Health Link Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion of ideas, issues, and concerns related to the planning, implementation, evaluation of the Health Link service, and makes recommendations for action. It also advises and provides opportunities for Health Link service development and marketing opportunities in the five zones of Alberta Health Services. Health Link Alberta provides telephone health program and service advice as well as way-finding. MyHealth.Alberta.ca provides health information and tools, symptom overviews, videos and health care locator information for numerous health concerns.

Patient First Steering Committee: A member from the Council of Chairs was sought to bring a provincial public perspective to the committee. Patient First is an Alberta Health Services initiative that aims to identify and promote patient- and family-centred care practices through engagement with patients, clients residents and health care providers. Health Advisory Council members also sit on the Patient First Steering Committees in each Zone.

Providing feedback to Alberta Health Services initiatives The Health Advisory Councils partnered with Alberta Health Services to provide input on a number of key initiatives over the past year. Following is a sampling of these initiatives.

Influenza Immunization Campaign: Health Advisory Council members were invited to participate in a video project for the influenza campaign. Members were invited to take videos on their smartphone answering the question: I got my flu shot because… In addition, councils were also asked for flu-related story ideas to help highlight the importance of immunization. Protection for Persons in Care Act: Council members assisted in developing a new public reporting initiative for the Protection for Persons in Care Program. Alberta Health shared documents it planned to publicly post for the Protection for Persons in Care Program. The documents, available on the Alberta Health website, were the overview of decision summaries for cases of abuse in public-funded adult living facilities. Council members provided their perspectives on a number of questions posed to them about the documents. Change Day: Councils were invited to call into the launch of Change Day, a social movement that asked Albertans to make a pledge to improve their own health or the health care system. Helen Bevan, Chief Transformation Officer with the United Kingdom’s National Health Services Institute for Innovation and Improvement shared how to activate change agents, lead transformation, share knowledge, and build bridges. Staff, physicians and volunteers were called on to be part of Change Day. Change Day Heroes were sought and encouraged to share their pledge, and inspire their friends,



families and coworkers to get involved. Many council members pledged to be part of Change Day. Their pledges were uploaded to the Change Day website and shared through social media. We are AHS: Health Advisory Councils were invited to participate in We are AHS, an interactive photo project featuring the 123,000 physicians, staff and volunteers who make Alberta Health Services what it is – a caring organization with people who pour their heart and soul into providing service. Throughout 2016, We are AHS will introduce these people as well as patients and families through snapshots and personal stories. Every day in 2016, the We are AHS webpage is featuring a new quote and photo. It is a tribute to all who have made the decision to work or volunteer in health care Vision: Health Advisory Councils were pleased to be part of a significant engagement effort with staff, physicians, volunteers and external partners to create a new vision statement for Alberta Health Services.

The final statement displayed above is the result of a vote and more than 12,000 comments. The new vision statement demonstrates Alberta Health Services' commitment to patients, families, partners, and the passion for working together to care for Albertans. Values: Values help Alberta Health Services achieve this vision by providing a foundation for decision-making. They also help attract and retain the people who best fit the vision as well as the organization’s culture and goals. Values also have a direct impact on brand and reputation, providing stakeholders a set of criteria against which to measure performance. Therefore, it’s important that values reflect the heart and core of the organization –people– and its stakeholders. With this goal in mind, Health Advisory Councils were asked to validate draft value statements. People Strategy: Alberta Health Services developed a People Strategy, inclusive of staff, physicians and volunteers, designed to guide the organization as it evolves. Its goal is to strengthen the workforce and emphasize a workplace that values people, health and safety. Ultimately, the People Strategy aims to improve patient experiences and outcomes through greater workforce engagement. Prior to broad circulation, the document was shared with Health Advisory, seeking their input about the approach, the content and how the strategy reflected Alberta Health Services.


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True North Annual Report 2015-16

Message from the Chair, True North Health Advisory Council

On behalf of the True North Health Advisory Council, I am pleased to submit our annual report for 2015-2016. The report provides details about the activities and feedback from the past year. On behalf of council, I express our appreciation for the improvements that have been made to health care in our True North area of northwest Alberta. Our area continues to improve and to establish higher health care standards and procedures for our residents. The partnership between the True North Health Advisory Council, Alberta Health Services, the Northwest Primary Care Network (PCN) and the Northwest Health Foundation continues to be successful, as illustrated by the new endoscopy and colposcopy programs. These potentially lifesaving programs reduce the need for thousands of travel days for our residents. We are also encouraged by the increased use of Telehealth, giving our residents more access to specialized services without the travel. We are pleased that the health facilities in Fort Vermilion and La Crete have added site managers; we have received positive comments on the maintenance improvements made to all of our sites.

Although the delays restructuring the Health Advisory Councils and re-establishing the Alberta Health Services Board have been frustrating, we are encouraged and hopeful that the work the Council of Chairs began may now proceed in earnest. We thank our Community Engagement contacts Mary Mueller and her coworkers for their dedication and excellent work with us. Next year, the True North Health Advisory Council will explore opportunities to improve aboriginal health services.

We commend Dr. Heinrich Brussow the Area 1 Medical Director of North Zone, Angie Mann, Director of Clinical Operations in the North Zone and Clark McAskile, Executive Director of the Northwest PCN. Their hard work and dedication continue to make a huge positive difference in services available for our region.

We also thank the members of our communities in the True North area. We are thankful for the time they take to speak to us and their thoughtful feedback. We will strive to ensure there is always a way to have an active voice in the development of health care in our area. Sincerely, Mike Osborn, Chair, True North Health Advisory Council



About us

The True North Health Advisory Council was established in 2009 under section 9(4) of the Regional Health Authorities Act (1994) to enhance and develop partnerships between communities and Alberta Health Services. The True North Health Advisory Council area stretches from Indian Cabins in the north to Rainbow Lake in the west, continuing eastward to Garden River and south to the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement. Please see Appendix 1 for area map. The True North Health Advisory Council area is diverse and includes over 25 communities spread across 87,000 sq. - km of forests, fields, rivers and lakes — larger than the land mass of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island combined. The area includes 10 First Nations communities, one Métis settlement and a multitude of hamlets and rural communities. We move our meetings between Fort Vermilion, High Level, La Crete, Paddle Prairie and Rainbow Lake, the major communities in the council area. These communities can be found nestled along the Peace River and its tributaries, on lakes and expansive farmlands. Members live in communities across our council area. As council members, we aim to provide a voice to our communities and a connection to Alberta Health Services.

Membership list as of March 31, 2016

True North Health Advisory Council Current Members Mr. Michael Osborn (Chair) High Level Mr. Eric Jorgensen (Vice-Chair) Fort Vermilion Ms. Joyce Fehr La Crete Mr. Gord Burnell High Level Mr. Gary Callihoo High Level Ms. Susan Callihoo High Level Mr. Danny Friesen Fort Vermilion Ms. Mary Janzen La Crete Ms. Noreen McAteer Fort Vermilion Mr. Matthew Murphy High Level Ms. Joyce Parenteau Paddle Prairie Ms. Wendy Ward Fort Vermilion Mr. Waldemar Schroeder La Crete

Past Members Ms. Sandra Mann High Level



What we have accomplished Engage the public The True North Health Advisory Council promotes open council meetings and encourages members of the public to attend. Council moves the meetings from community to community as our main strategy to engage the public. This past year, council held meetings in Fort Vermilion, High Level, La Crete and Rainbow Lake. Council heard from many passionate citizens about the health needs and opportunities in their communities. FORT VERMILION Chemotherapy delivery: Residents were interested in providing a solution to support cancer patients who had to leave northern communities to receive services. Council members asked about the possibility of receiving chemotherapy treatments locally. We met with CancerControl Alberta and reviewed the methods to calculate cancer incidence investigations and the projected cancer workload. The current cancer rates in Fort Vermilion and area would not support a consistent practice, which could cause issues with competency, safety and quality care. Use of Telehealth for pre-op and post-op visits: Public input suggested more patient-centred care is required in the council area. They encouraged the use of Telehealth (also known as videoconference) equipment between patients and specialists. Residents in the council area are challenged with travelling long distances for specialty services because they live in the extreme north of the province. Many must take time off work to travel, and pay gas and accommodations for very short consultations. Council proposed using Telehealth for some pre-operative or post-operative consultations. Our Chair, Michael Osborn, corresponded with the Dr. Kevin Worry, Zone Medical Director about the increased use of Telehealth among specialists. Council looks forward to the support of the Zone Medical Directors in their work with urban specialists in the use of Telehealth help prevent the need for people to take long trips to urban centres. Housing for staff in Fort Vermilion: The community presented the need for long-term housing for health staff in their community. Shelly Pusch, Chief Zone Officer for the North Zone, advised that Alberta Health Services provides temporary housing for staff in some rural and remote communities, including Fort Vermilion. The community was encouraged to work with other partners to address housing issues in Fort Vermilion. RAINBOW LAKE Membership: A citizen from Rainbow Lake approached members of council asking about joining the Health Advisory Council. Council looks forward to recruiting a representative from that community. After-hours counselling: A member of the public in Rainbow Lake asked if Telehealth can be used to provide addictions counselling; the community lacks after-hours addictions services. Council members reiterated it would be good to have more access to services in the community via Telehealth. HIGH LEVEL



Grow your own staff: The council and Alberta Health Services leadership in the area continue to be very supportive of strategies to recruit and retain staff in the north. A Career Expo, held in November, highlighted health careers to high school students. Staff members, who attended local schools and returned to work in the area, were at the expo to support awareness of career choices. One solution proposed to ease staff shortages would provide funding for licensed practical nurses as an incentive to take upgrading to become a registered nurse. Local residents unable to leave the area and wishing to pursue their education, can access the Athabasca University online program. Council encouraged the use of comparable incentives to recruit staff in the council area, noting that the Alberta government incentives differ from what was proposed. Additionally, the incentives provided by Alberta Health Services differ from High Level to Fort McMurray. LA CRETE La Crete Health Centre: Council recommended that operating hours be increased at the La Crete Health Centre as a solution to provide better services to residents. However, increasing operating hours was not possible at that time.

Provide feedback and advice to Alberta Health Services Transferring patients out of the area Last year, council provided feedback to Alberta Health Services about concerns that patients were being transferred out of the area without shoes, clothes, wallets and phones, among other personal items. In addition, patients had difficulty returning to the community by their own means. Area leadership presented a transfer strategy to address the concerns. Physicians are asked to tell patients and their families when they are being transferred out, and that they must return by their own means. Posters and pamphlets have been developed with information that includes what to bring along when being transferred out. The information includes phone numbers to acquire clothing, accommodations and flights. The poster and pamphlets will be sent to each Alberta Health Services site in the area, the Northwest Primary Care Network, doctors’ offices, health centres and nursing stations in First Nations communities. Rural Health Services Review Council was pleased with the engagement process the Alberta government adopted to develop the Rural Health Services Review Final Report. The report’s themes (access, accountability and sustainability) were developed from the engagement process; it provides a synopsis of the information gathered and recommendations for each theme. True North Health Advisory Council provided the advice that the report should be read and acknowledged. Distribution of naloxone Alberta Health provided a directive to Alberta Health Services to ensure emergency medical



responders and emergency medical technicians are trained to administer naloxone. Promote and participate in activities that enhance the health of residents Mobile Diabetic Screening Initiative

The Mobile Diabetes Screening Initiative (MDSi) is based at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. MDSi uses a field team of health professionals to travel to rural and remote communities in Alberta to screen for diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, particularly in off-reserve aboriginal communities. The program, funded by Alberta Health and Wellness, was part of Alberta's 10-year Diabetes Strategy (2003-2013).

Council was impressed with the strategy to take services to populations that need them. We advised Alberta Health Services that North Zone wants to continue to provide the service. It is in the budget for approval for 2016/17.

Health promotion position and mental health positions Council’s feedback was that many organizations are involved with providing health services to the people in our area and we questioned: • the recent Alberta Government report on addiction and mental health; • the working relationship between Alberta Health Services, First Nations and Inuit Health

Branch; • hiring an aboriginal liaison; • the role of the Wisdom Council; • the work of the Provincial Advisory Council of Addiction and Mental Health; • the role of the travelling team in North Zone; and, • the immunization rates in the council area. Physician recruitment The community of Fort Vermilion reported that the rotational model for physician coverage in the community does not provide five-day-a-week clinic care, or the opportunity for residents to build a relationship with a family doctor. The emergency department is always very busy because of the short clinic hours. The resolution is to post two positions for full-time permanent family physicians in Fort Vermilion. Council reported on a meeting they attended with the College of Physician and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA). We were pleased to have the opportunity to ask about: • emergency fly-outs; • transferring people to urban sites without their wallets or clothing, and the issues they

experience when they are discharged in the urban centre; • referral patterns and abuse of prescription drugs; and, • representatives from the CPSA encouraged the use of Telehealth.



What we have learned

The True North Health Advisory Council is well established and widely recognized by citizens in the council area. We are pleased that many members of the public attend our meetings to provide feedback. Council members are passionate about health care services in their communities.

We look forward to regularly taking the voices of our residents to the new Alberta Health Services Board during our Council of Chairs meetings.

The North Zone has many barriers to services, including geographical distances. We appreciate the recognition of these barriers and the support we receive from the leadership in the North Zone, who understand the meaning of rural and remote.

We will continue to advocate for consistent and high quality health services in our community. And we will continue our efforts to engage meaningfully with the public, bringing public feedback and concerns forward to enhance health services in our communities.

Contact information

Council website www.albertahealthservices.ca/about/page12814.aspx

Council email

[email protected]

Community engagement telephone number 1-877-275-8830

Learn more about the True North Health Advisory Council

Watch the North Zone Health Advisory Council Video

Follow us on Twitter

Find us on facebook


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Appendix 1 - True North Health Advisory Council map


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