Health care changes will modernize hospital governance, says province
By Lethbridge Herald on May 2, 2025.
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald
The Alberta government on Thursday introduced legislation to enable the final steps to refocus the province’s health care system.
Under Bill 55, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, the government is making changes to five acts including the Provincial Health Agencies Act, Hospitals Act, Protection of Persons in Care Act, Health Information Act and the Public Health Act.
The province says the amendments will modernize hospital governance and support oversight of health foundations.
Amendments to the Provincial Health Agencies Act will include streamlining hospital designations by consolidating hospital types into one category called “approved hospital” which the government says will “promote consistency in terminology and regulatory oversight.”
Legislation will also replace “hospital boards” with the term “hospital operators” which the government says will reinforce accountability and operational clarity in hospital service delivery.
Amendments will also update hospital-related provisions to align with the refocused health system. This can be done, for example, by ensuring the minister of a particular health sector is responsible for approving hospital-related bylaws within that person’s sector.
Other amendments will facilitate the windup of community health councils and remove references to regional health authorities and health regions.
The province is transferring several functions that presently exist in Alberta Health Services to Primary Care Alberta which will be overseeing front-line health services including such things as immunizations and communicable disease control as well as health promotion.
Policy development, public health inspections and surveillance are to be moved to Alberta Health.
In a press conference, Alberta health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the amendments address several outstanding refocusing policy matters.
“These amendments will ensure that all components of the health care system can fully transition to our refocused health care system,” said LaGrange.
Three amendments to the Public Health Act will clarify health roles within the “refocused” health system, LaGrange said.
“Public health will be moved out of Alberta Health Services, strengthening public health’s role in protecting the well-being of all Albertans and allowing AHS to focus on delivering acute care services,” the minister added.
Primary Care Alberta will deliver public health prevention and wellness programs “aimed at empowering Albertans to reduce health risk,” the minister said.
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Attempts to couch the language by the current GoA in describing how health care will be delivered in Alberta is nothing more than an attempt at sleight of hand to thinly veil the chaos that has been created together with a determined rush to privatization.
Simply, this is a deflection to the most serious issue staring Smith fiasco and the UCP in their faces.
There is not one action by smith and.her minions have introduced or are planning that has improved the lives of Albertans. Almost every one has an ulterior motive or is meant to deflect attention from previous scandals. The only action that would benefit us is Smith’s resignation and an election call.