Health Minister Tyler Shandro (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet (Lethbridge News Now)

$400 MILLION

10 more continuing care beds for Red Deer on top of previously announced 150

Jul 10, 2021 | 12:53 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta has announced more care beds for communities across the province, while bringing back “a new and improved” Affordable Supportive Living Initiative (ASLI) program.

The program allows the government to provide up to 50 per cent of funding for building costs, followed by operational costs to run continuing care facilities.

Over the next four years, $400 million in operational funding will be set for new publicly funded continuing care beds. In total, over 6,000 beds will be added or replaced at continuing care centres in Alberta.

24 communities were identified through a procurement process that requires operators to pay for the capital cost of building new beds. This year, 343 beds will be added in Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, High Level, Medicine Hat, Valleyview and Westlock. That’s in addition to the 2,600 beds added in 26 other communities in 2020.

Below is a list of communities receiving new beds (and how many they will be getting) in 2021:

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• Calgary: 190
• Edmonton: 13
• High Level: 25
• Medicine Hat: 31
• Red Deer: 10
• Valleyview: 15
• Westlock: 59

Alberta’s Minister of Health Tyler Shandro said, “the previous government cancelled ASLI (the Alberta Supportive Living Initiative program) in their first year in office and clearly didn’t have a plan to add new beds to the system or replace dilapidated facilities with shared rooms that don’t allow for privacy.”

“We’re fixing that by bringing back a new and improved version of ASLI that will take care of our seniors and provide the high-quality care they deserve.”

A Friday morning news conference with Shandro can be viewed below.

Below is the list of communities where beds were previously announced, including for Red Deer in May of this year:

• Lethbridge: 102
• Airdrie: 148
• Bassano: 34
• Brooks: 14
• Calgary: 552
• Camrose: 40
• Canmore: 60
• Coleman: 44
• Drayton Valley: 74
• Drumheller: 26
• Edmonton: 859
• Fort McMurray: 67
• Fort Macleod: 5
• Fort Saskatchewan: 122
• Grande Cache: 4
• Hythe: 75
• Manning: 18
• Medicine Hat: 114
• Oyen: 20
• Paddle Prairie: 12
• Ponoka: 30
• St. Paul: 12
• Red Deer: 150
• Spirit River: 52
• Valleyview: 15
• Whitecourt: 50

The Facility Based Continuing Care Review Report found more than 8,000 beds in facilities that are over 50 years old and no longer meet current design requirements for safe and modern care.

“Alberta needs to bring many more continuing care beds online and expand access to quality homecare. I’m disappointed to see Tyler Shandro focus so much of his attention on increasing privately operated beds instead of strengthening the public system,” said NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.

“Shandro said nothing Friday about what levels of care will be provided with this funding. We know that supportive living level 4, and dementia care, will be in great demand in the coming years. I hope he will focus this spending on projects that meet Albertans’ health needs, and not simply ones that maximize the operator’s profit margins with lower levels of care.”

Shepherd added he’s disappointed the announcement didn’t address critical staffing shortages at healthcare facilities across the provinces.

Friends of Medicare, meantime, called the announcement a “no-money miracle” approach.

“This announcement was more of the same old, repackaged with a no-money miracle as a selling point,” says Sandra Azocar, Executive Director. “It’s just more proof that this government lacks any type of innovative and new approaches when it comes to providing care to the people who need it.”

Adds Azocar: “Businesses seeking to profit from their industry don’t want to undercut their revenues by spending more than they bring in. In another industry in which seniors’ lives and wellbeing aren’t on the line, this might be considered business savvy; in continuing care, it is morally reprehensible.”