Locals tapped to guide creation of continuing care agency

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 31, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge cardiologist and medical director of Chinook Cardiology is being tasked by the provincial government to lead a committee overseeing the establishment of a provincial agency for continuing care.
Dr. Sayeh Zielke will chair the committee to establish Assisted Living Alberta. The launch of the new agency was announced in Calgary on Thursday by Zielke and Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services.
The new agency is to provide Albertans with access to a “comprehensive  system” of continuing care with a range of wraparound services.
Nixon told a news conference that ALA is to become an official entity on April 1 and be operational later this year.
Zielke is one of three Lethbridge residents on the transition  committee. The others include Robin James, the Chief Administrative  Officer of Lethbridge Housing Authority,  and Dr. David Stewart of  Family Medical Centre.
“I’m truly honoured to be playing a role in helping transform Alberta’s continuing care system and to be working with an incredible team as part of the transition committee,” said Zielke, who urged Albertans to have their voices heard by engaging  with the province on an online survey that will be open until March 3  at Alberta.ca/lead-the-way”This is our opportunity to transform, integrate and elevate the care that we provide to our community within the continuing care sector.”
In October of 2023, Premier Danielle Smith and Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health, announced a refocusing of health care in Alberta in an effort to fix the system so Albertans “can access health care that  they need when and where they need it,” said Nixon.
As part of that refocusing, four different priority sectors are being  created, including primary care, acute  care, mental health and  addiction and continuing care.
Last fall, Nixon was appointed by Smith as the sector minister responsible for continuing care.
Alberta is growing at unprecedented rate and with the growth there is  a greater demand for health services and supports, said Nixon. And the  population is aging with just over 800,000 seniors now living in the  province. About 2,500 Albertans turn 65 each month and by 2046, one in  five Albertans will be 65 or older, said Nixon.
“Because of this, over the next 10 years, demands for continuing care services in Alberta is projected to grow by 80 per cent,” a rate  increasing faster as people live longer and with more complex needs, said Nixon.
He said it’s important that older adults, people with disabilities, those suffering homelessness and other vulnerable populations, have access to the support they need to maintain their quality of life and  live and age with dignity.
The province has challenges within the continuing care system that need immediate attention, the minister added, noting federal studies show that 75 per cent of Albertans enter the continuing care system  through acute care which is well above the national average.
Assisted Living Alberta is intended “provide Albertans access to a comprehensive system of continuing care with a full range of wraparound services, including medical and non-medical supports, home care, community care and social services,” says the province.
According to Nixon, inefficiencies exist that the government will be addressing. Through ALA, “we will prioritize addressing a person’s complex needs of care rather than focusing on simply providing medical care for a particular diagnosis” and will bring together the medical care  Albertans rely on “with the power of the social service organizations and non-profits that provide support to create true wraparound  services based on the needs of each Albertan,” he said.
Zielke, he said, “is not only an expert in the field of cardiac care, she’s also a fierce advocate for the needs of patients as well as promoting wellness in our communities which makes her a great leader  for this work,”
Zielke and her committee will be conducting roundtables with care providers in the coming months to build on the ongoing consultation that has been taking place across the province, Nixon said.
“This is a big process. And we are going to take the time to get it right,” the minister added.
“The new agency will align medical and non-medical supports and  services, increase continuing care spaces, reduce wait times, and  provide comprehensive wraparound supports for Albertans who require  different levels and types of care,” said the government in a media release.
In her own statement, LaGrange said improving health care is a top priority for the Alberta government which she said is committed “to addressing the urgent need for enhanced assisted living services  across our growing province.”

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