Edmonton Journal ePaper

UCP announces initiatives to improve health care

STEPHANIE BABYCH sbabych@postmedia.com Twitter: @Babychstephanie

As his time as Alberta premier comes to a close, Jason Kenney announced three new commitments to improve the province's health system.

Hours before the selection of a new leader of the United Conservative Party, Kenney held his third news conference in two days at Mount Royal University's nursing simulation lab early Thursday morning. The province issued dozens of news releases this week ahead of the vote.

The outgoing premier announced Thursday an additional 50 intensive-care unit beds are open across the province; an agreement has been reached with the Philippines government to recruit nurses; and the province is committing $3.5 million to expand education opportunities for internationally educated nurses.

Kenney said waiting for his successor to be announced wasn't going to stop him from doing the work that he committed to when he got into public service years ago.

“I got up this morning to come here to get things done,” he said to applause. “Some people say, `Well, why don't you just gear down the past few months or why did you stick around the past few months?' It's because we had a lot of work to do, and there still is.”

After committing to opening an additional 50 ICU beds earlier this year, Kenney said the beds are now open in 12 hospitals across the province. The Edmonton zone has opened another 18 beds, while 13 have been opened in the Calgary zone, eight in the Central zone, six in the South zone and five in the North zone.

“This boosts ICU capacity by 29 per cent,” said Health Minister Jason Copping. “When the beds are not in use, the nurses and other staff assigned to them will support other areas of the hospital.”

Alberta now has a capacity of 223 ICU beds.

Copping said the pandemic highlighted the need for more permanent ICU capacity, increased number of staff and greater flexibility with hospital resources.

The need for more hospital staff prompted officials to pursue an agreement with the Philippines to make Alberta a preferred destination for Filipino nurses, Kenney said.

At the news conference, Kenney and the Consul General of the Philippines, Zaldy Patron, signed a memorandum of understanding intended to encourage the recruitment of registered and licensed practical nurses to the province's health system.

“This is an important step forward with Philippines but, of course, Alberta would be open to similar agreements with other countries that have an important source of talented newcomers,” said Kenney.

Patron said the deal will be a big help for Filipino nurses who are thinking of coming to Alberta, and those who are already in Canada but are still unregistered.

“Our Filipino nurses are worldclass and are known for their competence, work ethic and compassion. This MOU will provide them with the opportunity to reach their full professional and human potential here in Alberta,” said Patron.

In an effort to reduce barriers for all internationally educated nurses, Kenney also announced the expansion of nurse bridging programs and clinical placements, and the creation of an online platform to help them navigate the system.

Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said MRU is the only Alberta post-secondary institution offering a full bridge to Canadian nursing program, which has about 120 seats. Other bridging programs are offered at Bow Valley College, Macewan University, Norquest College and the University of Alberta, each requiring varying degrees of additional training.

Advanced Education will now collaborate with universities to expand the number of seats in existing bridging programs as early as January, Nicolaides said.

An initial $3.5 million will go toward opening more opportunities for internationally educated nurses.

Hana Sahyouni, an internationally educated nurse studying at MRU, arrived in Canada seven years ago after working as an ICU nurse in Lebanon.

Despite applying to the bridging program in 2017, Sahyouni wasn't accepted until 2022 because of the wait list.

“I came to Canada seeking a better life opportunity and dreaming to work in one of the leading public health systems in the world . ... But because of the licensing process, I've been out of practice for more than seven years,” she said.

“Extending the program is great news for us. This will make a huge difference in the lives of many Albertans.”

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2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

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