New Letter sent to Tyler Shandro, AB Minister of Health

 October 27, 2020

Dear Honourable Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health.

I am writing to you again to express and bring you my concerns on the decisions you have been making to Alberta’s healthcare system. I had originally wrote and emailed you on July 28, 2020. I had written and emailed to Premier Kenney expressing similar concerns on August 28, 2020 which I had cc’d you on. Then resent the original emails on September 25, 2020 and September 28, 2020 respectively. None of these emails have been returned with a reply or your comments. Needlessly to say it is disappointing and disrespectful to not received any replies. Time and energy are put in all my letters. You see Minister Shandro, I am a quadriplegic from a debilitating disease called Guillian Barre Syndrome (GBS), which has left to use a mouth stick to type every letter of every word in my letters. Therefore, it is not uncommon to spend 4 or more hours on a letter. As Alberta healthcare is important to me, I am willing to put in the time and energy to express my concerns and opinions to you.

In an Edmonton Journal article on October 15, 2020, you proudly shared from the release from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) where Alberta has increased their registered physicians & surgeons to over 11,000 physicians which is a net gain of approximately 246 more physicians. Yes, when I read this article, I was happy to read this as indeed Alberta is a beautiful place to live and we receive great healthcare from our physicians, which I have seen firsthand due to having a severe case of GBS. Minister Shandro, before we get too excited about seeing the net gain of physicians, shouldn’t we wait until January 2021 to see the 4th quarter report from the CPSA? Minister Shandro, there has been many articles from newspapers and online media, which has indicated many physician clinics and physician coverage especially in our rural communities and smaller cities have given their 3 month notice of leaving the province. Hearing about the closure of the Maternity Clinic in Medicine Hat which staff around 5 physicians who specializes in this field. Where are these women to go for prenatal care or women who are dealing high-risk pregnancies? Where are these women to find this service in Medicine Hat? I have read or seen posts of clinics closing in rural Alberta - Pincher Creek, Rocky Mountain and Cochrane for example. Have you not realize the damage and destruction yourself, Premier Kenney and the rest of the UCP government are doing to our healthcare system in Alberta? 

Being a Canadian, I have seen the benefits of having a national universal healthcare system from a young age. From October 1986 - October 1989, my family had to deal with my mom being diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer and then my sister being diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma twice (stage 2 to stage 3). They had to endure several surgeries and months of chemotherapy to eradicate this disease. Can you imagine the physical cost to my family in 3 short years if we had the United States privatization healthcare system? This does not include the emotional and mental toll when we face worrying about not being able to pay the bill. With our national universal healthcare, we did not have to worry if we could the hospital bill or not. We were able to focus on fighting cancer and become victorious and beating cancer each time. We received great access to specialists, physicians and treatment resources in both Thunder Bay and Toronto Ontario. Now there is me here in Calgary, Alberta. I was admitted to the hospital on September 9, 2016 directly to the ICU as I had to be put on mechanical ventilator to keep me alive. My first year I was in ICU, attached to life support with a tracheostomy and a feeding tube for 10-11 months due the complexity of my case. Throughout my stay in ICU, I was cared by internists and had physicians with specialities consulted - Respiratory; Ears, Nose & Throat; Neurologists; Psychiatrist; General Surgeon and a Neuromuscular physician. Plus the countless nurses, health care aides, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, speech therapists, and diagnostic imaging technicians. Furthermore housekeeping ensuring my room was cleaned at least once a day, bringing sufficient linens and other hospital products so I can continue to receive the wonderful care from Alberta’s healthcare professionals. Minister Shandro, I ended up staying in our acute care hospitals for a total of 700 days staying on a specialized rehabilitation floor and then on a transitional unit has I await placement to a long term care (LTC) facility. Can you imagine what my total hospital bill when I was discharged, Minister Shandro? Millions of dollars, millions. I am just your average Albertan, I do not have millions in my bank account to pay such a bill. Add to that, I have had 2 more admissions in 2020 requiring surgeries and an ICU stay (luckily it was only for a day). As I am a quadriplegic, I require total care for my daily basic needs and I should tell you I am only 50 years old. Where would I be living if I had to pay million of dollars for my hospital bill? Thankful my long term disability (LTD) covers my government subsidized LTC monthly costs with some extra to pay out-of-pocket each month for physiotherapy sessions as my LTC facility cannot provide this service at my facility. 

After explaining my background Minister Shandro, I have a simple question - Why do you, Premier Kenney and the rest of the UCP government have this obsession since gaining power in 2019, to change Alberta’s public services (ie. healthcare, education, provincial parks, provincial driving test instructors and changing union healthcare professionals in charge of linens and housekeeping) to outsourcing or to privatization? In light of the recent decision of Premier Kenney, yourself and Dr Verna Yiu (AHS President and CEO), to outsource specifically linens under housekeeping - I still cannot see how this is helping to improve the bottom line - AHS budget. Even with outsourcing, AHS will still have to pay for this service which will be a part of the annual AHS budget, correct? Being under the current practices, can you, Premier Kenney and Dr. Yiu promise us (Albertans), that the standard of sterile cleanliness of linens we have in-house at our hospitals, will remain when outsourced to private companies? I realize these are not linens, but it is still an example the importance of keeping things like housekeeping/linen services in-house, surgical instruments must be cleaned and kept sterile before each surgery. Any contamination could lead to infections involving anti resistance drug organisms like MRSA or VRE or Staphylococcal which leads to increases to all hospital resources and possible fatal outcomes. I know it always comes to money (the bottom line) but were there discussions before the final decision was made of weighing the risks to outsourcing hospitals linen services and the rewards for Albertans in providing the best healthcare you can?

At a press conference you held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 discussing the issues the Alberta government with physicians regarding palliative care. Minister Shandro, you been  negotiating a new contract with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) since you ripped up their contract in February 2020 before it expired. Still not understanding why you felt the need to rip up their contract suddenly. It feels it was a breach of contract on your end as the contract had not expired. Anyway, at this press conference, you said I quote, “It’s not about the money, it’s about respect.” And then you said just a while later at the same press conference, you said I quote, “Any time someone says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” So Minister Shandro, were you lying to Albertans when it comes to negotiating a contract with our physicians? Regarding your statement that it’s about respect, but I am sorry Minister Shandro your actions documented in the news towards our physicians and surgeons - you have not show them any respect or even wish to find a resolution to a new contract. I have learned that if one expects respect from others, they too must give respect to others. Minister Shandro, along with Premier Kenney have not shown any respect to any of Alberta’s healthcare professionals and everyone else who support these healthcare professionals to enable us Albertans to receive the best care possible in our province. Same goes with having trust - Minister Shandro, Premier Kenney and the rest of the UCP government, trust is not assumed given, it is earned through your words and actions. Unfortunately, since your tenure began I have neither seen respect given by yourself, Premier Kenney or your UCP government; nor can I trust this UCP government because you continue to lie to Albertans about your secret dealings to privatize our healthcare system, such as approving your support for a private orthopaedic surgery facility in Edmonton earlier this year. How can expect having confidence in the UCP government to make the right decisions to improve my healthcare needs, when they make closed-door decisions like this one which supports large corporations. I think you made a truthful statement, Minister Shandro - “Any time someone says it’s not about the money, it’s about money.”. Please explain to me, how much money will the UCP government, wealthy donors and large corporations receive by privatizing our healthcare system Minister Shandro?

Minister Shandro,I have noticed living through this global Covid-19 pandemic it has highlighted the gaps in our provincial healthcare system which needs to be fixed to ensure the continuing high-level quality of care Albertans receive. The newest example is due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak at Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) on both the medical cardiac unit (unit 82) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU is the cardiac ICU - unit 103A). The FMC is the facility treat patients not only come within the Calgary Zone, but patients are coming from the South Zone and part of Central Zone as well. With FMC’s outbreak on the cardiac units, procedures done in the OR (open heart surgeries, valve replacement surgeries, and other cardiovascular surgeries) along with procedures performed in the cardiac catheterization labs (coronary angiogram, coronary angioplasties, insertion of pacemakers, cardiac ablation or cardiac conversions for heart arrhythmias) - these were all postponed or diverted to Edmonton’s University of Alberta. Just as I saw in my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario which is in the Northwestern portion of the province. Our hospital performed coronary angiograms, but if the patient needed more we did not have the resources necessary. Therefore, patients were forced to travel to Southern Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton) away from their support system which is vital in anyone’s recovery. Around 2005, our hospital finally received resources and cardiologists who could perform angioplasties for the NWO region. It allowed our hospital to treat their cardiac patients in a timely manner saving lives and potential lower risk of damage to the heart too. Why couldn’t you investigate if hospitals in Medicine Hat or Chinook General Hospitals in Lethbridge could receive a cardiac catheterization lab to improve the quality of South Zone citizens cardiac health? 

In your announcement on September 9, 2020 about funding towards Palliative Care Services, I did not hear if any monies will be allocated towards the building of Palliative or Hospice facilities throughout Alberta. Thank you Minister Shandro removing the co-pay cost component to the medications these citizens who are palliative. The last thing they need to worry about is if they can continue to pay for the drugs they need to remain comfortable. According to Stats Canada, the population of Calgary by December 2017 was approximately 1.5 million Albertans. Minister Shandro, are you aware how many designated hospice beds are available in Calgary? Approximately 150 beds to service ALL Calgary Zone. That is it ~ 150 beds for a population of 1.5 million! Shameful in my books. One of the latest facilities offering hospice beds is at my Community Care facility AgeCare:Skypointe; offering 15 hospice beds for the community. We are the only facility in the NE quadrant to offer such an important service. According to Stats Canada in the 2016, the population of the NE quadrant was just under 550,000 citizens. 4 years later, the population in the NE quadrant has increased and with AHS funded we have 15 beds to be offered to these citizens. Disgraceful in not having more options other than a hospital for those who are facing end of life situations. Definitely an under service area in Alberta’s healthcare system as I am sure other Alberta Health Zones are facing similar circumstances too. 

Of course, the major area in healthcare that the Covid-19 pandemic has unveiled is the broken system in long term care (LTC ) facilities as well as senior residences in Alberta as well as across Canada too. I have been living in a LTC facility for the past 2 years. It has given me an unique insight of what LTC facility living is like during these uncertain times. I feel I must use my voice, experiences and observations to advocate to improve the conditions in LTC facilities for myself; in addition, for my fellow residents who might not have someone advocating for them and for my staff to improve working conditions. That would be for another letter. 

Minister Shandro, I hope this time I will receive a reply on addressing my concerns and answers for any questions I had. You can contact by email at laura2travel@yahoo.ca. Thank you for your time and commitment to maintain and improve the quality of our healthcare for all Albertans. 

Sincerely yours. 

Laura Jean Rutherford, CHIM

cc’d:

Honourable Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta 

Honourable Erin O’Toole, Federal leader of Conservatives Party of Canada, Leader of Oppositon

Honourable Prasad Panda, MLA Calgary-Skyview 

Honourable Rajan Sawhney, UCP Minister of Community and Social Services 

Honourable Rachel Notley, NDP Leader of Alberta, Provincial Leader of the Oppositon

Dr. Deanna Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer 

Honourable David Shepherd, Alberta’s NDP Health Critic

Honourable Heather McPherson, NDP MLA Edmonton - Strathcona 

Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Honourable Chrystia Freeman, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Minister of Finance

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Medical Officer 

Honourable Patty Harju, Federal Minister of Health  

Honourable Don Davies, Federal NDP critic for Health

Honourable Matthew Jeneroux, Federal CPC critic for Health

Honourable Travis Toews, Alberta Minister of Finance & President of Treasury 

Mr. Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary

Dr. Christine P. Molnar, MD, FRCPC, President, Alberta Medical Association 

Dr. Katharine Smart, President-elect, Canadian Medical Association 

Dr. Vishal Bhella, President, Alberta College of Family Physicians

Dr. Scott McLeod, Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta 

Ms. Shirley Schipper, President, College of Family Physicians of Canada  

Mr. David Weyant, Chair for Alberta Health Services Board

Dr. Verna Yiu - President/CEO of AHS  

Dr. Sid Viner - Calgary Zone Chief Medical Director 

Dr. Nicholas Etches, Interim Calgary Zone Lead Medical Officer