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January 11, 2007


Honourable Dave Hancock
Premier Ed Stelmach
Minister of Health and Wellness
307 Legislature Building
#224 Legislature Building
10800 97 Avenue
10800 97 Ave
Edmonton, AB
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Canada T5K 2B6

Sirs:

Your promises for a "focus on listening to Albertans and meeting their priorities", and "to improve
Albertan's quality of life" reflects a personal interest in ensuring our most vulnerable citizens in care
experience a better safer life, and we are writing to you with the hope that you are prepared to fully
understand and address the serious and persistent deficiencies within our continuing care system.

We have had many years of personal experience with this system; we have spent years
documenting the testimonies of families from across the province in order to determine the nature
and extent of systemic problems within Alberta's continuing care sector; tracking and recording
abuse statistics issued by Protection for Persons in Care since 1998; conducting literature reviews
to understand why harmful conditions within residential settings exist and what could be done to
rectify them; drawing government's attention to where the system is breaking down and making
recommendations for change and improvement. In 2003, we were members a group of citizens
who made a submission to the Auditor General to request an audit of the continuing care system.

The previous Government responded to the 2005 Auditor General's Report on Seniors Care and
Services and the MLA Task Force findings to address some of the administrative issues affecting
seniors' care. But neither initiative addressed the quality, appropriateness or adequacy of the
nursing and health/medical care being provided in the facilities, or acknowledged the concerns of
the primary stakeholders ­ the recipients of continuing care services and their families.

Our recent report, An Inside Look at the Continuing Care Experience in Alberta, 2006, prepared
from family accounts of their experience submitted to our website
(http://www.continuingcarewatch.com/) illustrates that the same deficiencies we noted in 2003 (in
submissions to the Auditor General and the Government) continue to harm residents or place them
at risk of serious injury or preventable death.

We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how the problems in continuing
care in Alberta might be addressed by your government, and to share with you our knowledge of
successful initiatives of other jurisdictions.

Sincerely,

Carol Wodak
Bev McKay

Attachments:
· Submission to the Standing Policy Committee on Health and Community Living, 2003
· Submission to the Alberta Auditor General, 2003
· An Inside Look at the Continuing Care Experience in Alberta, 2006


March 20, 2007

Dear Ms. Wodak:

Thank you for your January 1 l, 2007 letter and attachments regarding Alberta's continuing care system. I
appreciate the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Government of Alberta.

You expressed concerns with the quality of care in Alberta's continuing care system and that recent
government initiatives have not addressed the issues. Please be assured that the continuing care system
remains a priority for this government. My department has been working closely with the Ministry of
Seniors and Community Supports and the nine regional health authorities (RHAs) on a number of
initiatives to improve quality and safety in the continuing care system.

It is clear that you are familiar with the MLA Task Force on Continuing Care, and their recommendations.
In response, government has taken action to improve quality of care through the release of new
Continuing Care Standards in May, 2006. My department is working closely with the RHAs towards the
full implementation of these standards by April, 2007.

The new health service standards offer an enhanced role for the client and their family in an individual's
assessment and care planning; improved monitoring and reporting processes by RHAs and Alberta
Health and Wellness; and recognition of wellness initiatives that focus on maintaining and improving the
health of continuing care clients. The standards also require that all health care aides providing continuing
care services, including home care, be trained to meet a set of provincial core competencies.

Work has also been done to address staffing concerns. In each of the last two fiscal years, Alberta Health
and Wellness has directed funding to RHAs specifically for increasing paid hours of nursing and personal
care staffing in long-term care facilities. Additional funding has also been allocated for the RHAs to
increase capacity for therapy, clinical specialists, clinical pharmacists, and case management
coordinators.

Increasing funding is only part of the strategy. My department is also working on a number of health
workforce initiatives to increase the availability of health care providers. For example, a Health Care Aide
Awareness Strategy is being designed to attract individuals to employment opportunities as health care
aides.

In terms of enhancing safety, government has provided funding for the purchase of safe lifting equipment,
a medication management review, and implementation of new care planning and assessment tools, as
well as the necessary infrastructure to support it.

I am confident that as we move forward, these new standards, combined with current initiatives, will result
in real improvements to quality of care and life for all continuing care clients in Alberta.

Yours truly,

Dave Hancock, Q.C.
Minister

cc: Honourable Ed Stelmach, Premier