Alberta government looks to improve primary care system through grants

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on November 8, 2024.

Team-based health care is the path of choice for increasing access for all Albertans, says the province, which is continuing to make moves hoping to strengthen the primary care system.

The government says it is actively working to increase access to primary care for all Albertans by implementing recommendations from the Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS), a crucial step in that direction.

Currently, this comes in the form of grants to both urban and rural health-care centres, to enhance access to such care in rural areas, attract more health-care providers to these regions and expand integrated support services for vulnerable Albertans.

“These grants are another way we are strengthening primary health care across the province so more Albertans will have timely access to the care they need,” said Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.

The province will invest $30 million over two years into four community health centres in Edmonton and Calgary.

In addition to this, the province announced $12 million invested over two years into a Rural Team Recruitment Grant and a Municipality Supported Clinics Grant to improve team-based primary health care.

“These grants are wonderful news for rural Alberta,” said Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health. “They will support municipalities so they can improve primary care for their residents and will draw more primary care providers to rural communities across the province.”

The Rural Team Recruitment Grant will support hiring additional non-physician team members to increase capacity and improve access within their clinics, while the Municipality Supported Clinics Grant will assist rural municipalities or regions in taking over ownership or support the operations of existing primary care clinics within their communities.

Expressions of interest for the rural primary health-care grants are being accepted until Nov. 29.