Albertans line up for flu shots at Bonnie Doon Mall in Edmonton yesterday. Actual vaccination lines may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Heath Minister and de facto Alberta health Services chief executive Fred Horne. Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, who nowadays doubles as the unofficial chief executive officer of
Continue readingTag: Alberta Health Services
Alberta Diary: Alberta’s 13 most under-reported political news stories of 2013
Another aircraft takes off from Fort McMurray International Aerodrome loaded with CO2 captured from Alberta’s Athabasca bitumen sands. The gas will be stored in the basements of Russian buildings as part of a deal worked out through the province’s $2-billion “carbon capture” program. Actual Alberta carbon capture boondoggles may not
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A serious question for Albertans: Is the Redford Government out of control?
Whose House is it? In Alberta, not yours! Public service union members tried to enter the Alberta Legislature yesterday to protest Bills 45 and 46, and soon found the doors barred. Below: Some more of the 400 or so people who braved the coldest spot in Edmonton for an impromptu
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Running with Scissors: Another AHS CEO Bites the Dust
It’s like running with scissors. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. On Oct 17, 2013, Duncan Campbell took over as interim CEO of Alberta Health Services, replacing Dr Chris Eagle who abruptly resigned with two years left to go on his five year employment contract. Duncan
Continue readingAlberta Diary: More chaos at top of Alberta Health Services: CEO out after 1 month; 2-headed replacement found
Is this the management model in the Alberta Health Services executive suite? Actual Alberta health ministers or AHS administrators may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: AHS Administrator John Cowell, ex CEO Duncan Campbell, new co-CEO Brenda Huband and new co-CEO Rick Trimp (no relation). This just in! Alberta Government
Continue readingFalse positive: private profit in Canada's health care: Edmonton’s Medical Laboratory Proposal: A Private Insanity
I wrote the following post as an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal, October30, 2013. I hope it plays a part in halting the privatization of Edmonton’s medical laboratories. The Alberta government is proposing to give the private sector a 15-year contract to run medical laboratory services in Edmonton. This policy
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Janet Davidson is appointed Deputy Minister of Health
Janet Davidson The Redford government just passed an Order in Council appointing Janet Davidson Deputy Minister of Health. This decision has many implications, not the least of which is this: Will Ms Davidson continue in her role as Official Administrator of Alberta Health Services? Is she legally allowed to perform
Continue readingAlberta Diary: 70-plus AHS VPs over the side: Alberta doesn’t reinvent the health care system – sort of…
Another visually riveting moment in the history of Alberta Health Services – from left to right, CEO Chris Eagle, Health Minister Fred Horne and just-appointed Deputy Health Minister Janet Davidson at yesterday’s news conference in Edmonton, exactly as illustrated. Below: NDP Leader Brian Mason speaks for the opposition; new AHS
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Queue-jumping inquiry report surely wounds Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman
Wildrose Opposition Leader Danielle Smith, looking for all the world like a future premier, lands a few easy punches on the government after the release yesterday of the health care queue-jumping inquiry report. Below: Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman and former AHS CEO Stephen Duckett, both assailed in the report
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A(nother) Trip to the Mayo: The Power of Seamless Connections
For the record, the Soapbox family is not crazy about going to the US for medical care, but our eldest daughter (let’s call her “Missy”) has some serious health issues (I blame it on Mr Soapbox’s gene pool) and her GP refused to book the necessary appointments with specialists because—get
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Redford Government, Alberta Health Services Division, drops two political hot potatoes
Health Minister Fred Horne, at the wheel of Alberta Health Services, reverses course on some unpopular policies faster than you can say “take action to improve care.” The actual AHS does not actually resemble an NDP-orange Dodge Charger from Hazzard County, Alberta. Below: AHS Administrative Officer Janet Davidson, at right,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Health Services to be run from Vancouver Island? Top 99 execs to get bonuses after all?
Alberta Health Services CEO Chris Eagle, Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne and AHS Administrative Officer Janet Davidson at yesterday’s press conference in Edmonton. Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne began the day yesterday explaining why he may not be able to prevent Alberta Health Services’ 99 top managers from getting their
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The way the cookie crumbled: Fred Horne fires Stephen Lockwood, entire AHS board
The former Alberta Health Services Board, fired yesterday by Health Minister Fred Horne, as seen by the 99 top executives of the provincial health care agency. Actual AHS board members may not appear exactly as portrayed by the health minister. Below: Former AHS CEO Stephen Duckett, former AHS board chair
Continue readingAlberta Diary: AHS Chair Stephen Lockwood to Health Minister Horne on executive bonuses: ‘Drop dead, Fred!’
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne: it’s hard to imagine how he can come out of this fight with Alberta Health Services Chair Stephen Lockwood not looking foolish or weak. Below: Mr. Lockwood in a screen grab from his first news conference as AHS chair. Whatever happens next, it seems certain
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Protect the Rights of the Rich? The College of Physicians and Surgeons Grapples with Concierge Clinics
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said to Ernest Hemingway, “You know, the rich are different from you and me.” Hemingway replied, “Yes. They’ve got more money”.* I was sitting in a meeting of the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons when F. Scott Fitzgerald’s comment came to mind. It’s
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Pack the Senate with cheats, then call for reform, then take off for Peru? Good plan!
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, not pictured because he’s pretty well disappeared, has heeded the touristic lure South America, illustrated above. Below: Canadian Parliamentarian Joan Crockatt and U.S. Representative Davy Crockett. Note to Globe and Mail: There is a difference! Below them: Allaudin Merali. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was apparently grinding
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Trip to the Mayo Clinic: Your dime or mine?
Mayo Clinic seen from Cafeteria This past January Mr Soapbox and my youngest daughter (let’s call her Mini) went on a pilgrimage to the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Unbeknownst to them they were following in the footsteps of Ms Michele Lahey, former Chief Operating Officer of the former Capital
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Redford Government just can’t seem to stop fumbling health care expenses frenzy
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, right, helps Premier Alison Redford get ready to face Opposition questions about Alberta Health Services expense accounts. Alberta politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Health executives Michele Lahey, Sheila Weatherill, Alison Tonge. The clueless ineptitude of the Redford Government dealing with Alberta’s continuing
Continue readingAlberta Diary: AHS chair to politicians: Do as I say, not as I do!
10-4 Good Buddy! Why is Stephen Lockwood, above, getting to drive this truck, while Chris Eagle’s got the airbrakes ticket? Just wondering. Senior Alberta Health Services officials may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Stephen Lockwood; Stephen Duckett, with his politically fatal cookie. The newish chairman of the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Health Services trimmers toss out a couple of market-fundy myths to save cash
Alberta Health Services Board Chair Stephen Lockwood demonstrates how to trim a provincial health care budget. Actual AHS board members may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Lockwood in his official AHS portrait. Two pernicious and slightly dissonant myths that cloud discussion of public health care are
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