Alberta increasing home care funding to open hospital beds for COVID-19 patients
The Alberta government announced on Thursday funds to increase capacity for the home care system to make room for COVID-19 patients filling up the province's ICUs, but no new measures to reduce the spread of the virus, and no vaccine passports.
The province is spending $36 million to pay home care workers more and hire additional employees to care for more Albertans in their own homes, instead of hospitals.
"Increase in staffing will mean that we can move more patients home from the hospital when they are ready," Health Minister Tyler Shandro said.
Shandro said there are 400 Albertans waiting to be discharged from the hospital to go to their continuing care facilities.
"It's better for the system and other patients because it frees up opportunities for the next patient who needs it," Shandro said.
"It will help us get people home and preserve space in acute care, especially as we see the number of COVID-19 admissions rise."
'MUCH-NEEDED BREATHING ROOM'
Dr. Verna Yiu, Alberta Health Services' president and CEO, said the province is experiencing "significant capacity challenges," especially in intensive care units.
She explained Alberta typically has 173 ICU beds but the fourth wave has prompted AHS to open 93 surge beds to deal with the increase in admissions and give the system "some much-needed breathing room."
There are currently 231 people in ICU. About 70 per cent of them — 154 patients — have COVID-19 and 89 per cent of them are either unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, she said.
- Alberta reports 1,510 new COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths
- 'Boiling point': Alberta doctors warn of health system collapse as COVID-19 cases climb
"Although we stated that we're looking at a current capacity of 87 per cent, remember that this includes surge beds. If we did not create the surge beds, we would be over 130 per cent capacity," Dr. Yiu said.
AHS postponed all scheduled-elected surgeries in the Calgary Zone for the remainder of the week, and has also cancelled some non-urgent transplant operations and cancer surgeries where cancer is suspected but not confirmed.
- Elective surgeries cancelled in Calgary, Fort Macleod emergency room closed as COVID-19 surge continues
- Man needing brain surgery among hundreds left waiting as COVID-19 ICU patients increase
"The pandemic is having significant impact on many Alberta patients, not just those with COVID-19," Dr. Yiu went on to say.
"We currently just don’t have the capacity to provide that care while also ensuring we have the capacity to look after patients who are very ill with COVID-19, as well as patients who suffered trauma of some sort, such as injuries from a car accident or emergency like a heart attack or a stroke, so we have to postpone non-urgent scheduled surgeries to ensure that we have the space, the staff, physicians and resources we need to care for those who need it."
To also deal with the increase in hospitalizations, AHS is preparing to potentially open its pandemic response unit at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic in the near future to treat patients recovering from COVID-19.
The pandemic response units at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary are open.
VACCINE PASSPORTS
Reporters asked Shandro repeatedly about whether Alberta would introduce vaccine passports, but he said "it's not an easy answer," and instead pointed to businesses that have taken the initiative to require proof.
Premier Jason Kenney, who has continually denied the province would adopt vaccine passports, and Shandro have said the government is working on a downloadable QR for Albertans who want to go to restaurants, gyms and events that require proof of vaccination.
"If you are going to have a printable card, you are going to create a QR electronic code, that’s a vaccine passport," said Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt. "It walks like a vaccine passport, it quacks like a vaccine passport, it swims like a vaccine passport. It’s a vaccine passport, they just don’t want to call it that."
"They don’t want to mandate things, they want to decentralize it, they want to rely on private businesses. They don't want to have big government telling people what they can do and show us your papers, but they are creating a system that will allow private businesses to say, 'Show us your papers.'"
Many other jurisdictions across the country have adopted vaccine passports, and Shandro did say Alberta will look at their evidence.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING 14 suspects arrested in grandparent scam targeting seniors across Canada: Ontario police
An interprovincial investigation into an 'emergency grandparents scam' that targeted seniors across Canada has led to the arrest of 14 suspects, Ontario Provincial Police say.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.