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
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.