Health care authority shifting to acute care

By Lethbridge Herald on June 18, 2025.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

The Alberta government is aiming to reduce what it says is bureaucratic involvement in the way the province’s hospitals are run by moving to a facility-based  leadership structure.

With the former Alberta Health Services zones to be eliminated, acute care sites will be integrated into seven regional corridors.

The province on Tuesday said the zone-based leadership structure of AHS is too bureaucratic and complex, lacking flexibility and the responsiveness to effectively support hospital facilities and staff.

On-site leadership teams are going to to be responsible for various  task hiring staff, adopting necessary technologies and managing  resources.

Hospitals will be able to meet the needs of patients, their facilities and workforce in real time, says the province, because they “will now have the flexibility to respond, freedom to adapt and authority to act.”

In a statement, Premier Danielle Smith said that what works in Edmonton or Calgary doesn’t always work elsewhere.

“That’s why we’re cutting through bureaucracy and putting real decision-making power back in the hands of local hospital leaders, so they can act fast, hire who they need and deliver better care for their communities.”

The seven regional corridors will be operated under a new leadership model which emphasizes site-level performance management, with clear expectations to be set by Acute Care Alberta. Site operations will be managed by through a hospital-based management framework.

“This change will enable the local leadership teams at those hospitals to make site-based decisions in real and tangible ways that are best  for their patients, families and staff. Acute Care Alberta will provide oversight and monitor site-level performance, and I’m  confident overall hospital performance will improve when hospital leadership and staff have more authority to do what they know is best,” says Chris Eagle, interim Chief Executive Officer of Acute Care Alberta.

When hospital-based leadership is implemented it will only apply to  acute care facilities. An interim model is to be established by November with full implementation by the summer of 2026.

The Alberta NDP responded to the announcement with a statement by Calgary MLA Luanne Metz, a physician, who said the change is the latest  bungling of the health care system by the UCP.

“This announcement is one more step towards implementing the UCP  government’s plan to hand control of our publicly paid-for hospitals to private operators.

“What happens when a hospital starts to run out of money? Private  operators need to make a profit. They achieve that by focusing on  simple medical issues and when patients become complex, Bill 55 allows them to discharge patients.

“Albertans should not expect hospitals to make a profit, nor should we  use public money to pay corporate profits. Instead of focusing on the  basics: hiring more doctors, treating staff with respect, getting down  ER wait times and getting people the surgeries they need, the UCP  government is focusing on who orders supplies, said Metz.