AHS Podcasts

Aug. 31, 2023, is International Overdose Awareness Day. In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health — talks about the importance of reducing stigma around addiction.

This week's CEO Podcast shines the spotlight on some important work being done at AHS to support children with pediatric feeding disorders. Difficulty eating and swallowing is associated with significant health risks and increased use of medical services, not to mention family stress.

The Pediatric Eating and Swallowing Project — or PEAS — is working to enhance and standardize interdisciplinary practice around eating, feeding and swallowing, to get the best outcomes for our patients and their families.

Over the past three years, their work has resulted in fewer emergency visits and hospitalizations due to pediatric feeding disorder, more families receiving a care plan, more timely access to services, and a high satisfaction rating from families.

Joining AHS President and CEO Mauro Chies to tell us more are:

• Nancy Whelan, speech language pathologist, Children's Rehabilitation Services,

Vermilion Community Health.

• Dr. Justine Turner, medical lead of the Pediatric Home Nutrition Support Program.

In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health with Alberta Health Services — talks about how getting outdoors, especially in green spaces, can improve one’s mental well-being.

The Summit: Marian and Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience opened in Calgary earlier this year. Joining the AHS Vlog to talk more about this youth mental health facility are program manager Ryan Clements and Saifa Koonar, President and CE) of the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation.

In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health with Alberta Health Services — talks about the importance of monitoring your mental health even after a disaster or emergency has passed. There can be a delayed response or reaction that requires attention or, in some cases, professional treatment.

As a healthcare organization, AHS is trusted with huge volumes of confidential information, and a lot of the work we do depends on our IT infrastructure. Every person at AHS has an important role to play in safeguarding privacy and information security in our organization—and that’s where InfoCare comes in.

InfoCare is the main source of support for privacy and information security matters at AHS, and it promotes organization-wide awareness of these key topics.

For the past month, we’ve been holding the first- nnual InfoCare celebration at AHS to recognize the importance of these topics. Joining the CEO Podcast to tell us more about the positive impact InfoCare has on AHS and how they support staff are:

• Victoria Lane, Chief Privacy Officer and Legal Counsel

• Robert Martin, Chief Information Security Officer

This final episode for spring 2023 interviews expert Doug Gross who spends his time learning more about long COVID research, leading research studies and interpreting data around COVID-19 and long COVID.

Calgary’s new cancer centre opens next year, enabling patients to access to comprehensive cancer care services in a world-class facility. Joining the CEO Podcast to tell us more are Dr. Don Morris, Clinical Department Head of Oncology and Facility Medical Director for the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the new cancer centre; and Wendy Beauchesne, CEO, Alberta Cancer Foundation.

In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health with AHS — talks about the common phases that many people go through when dealing with a disaster.

Patients and families are at the heart of everything we do and it’s important they share their healthcare experiences with us. Their feedback helps improve our programs, services and the care we provide.

We encourage people to speak with their care team. They can also share their feedback with our Patient Relations department, which listens and responds with privacy and respect, gathers information and follows up on patient or family concerns.

There is also the Office of the Alberta Health Advocates through the Ministry of Health. It empowers Albertans to be effective advocates in their own health and healthcare, and provides support and advocates for a healthcare system that is responsive and accountable to the people being served.

Joining the AHS Podcast to talk about their roles are:

• Sharon Berry, Patient Concerns Officer & Executive Director, Patient Relations

• Catherine Douglas, Health and Mental Health Advocate, Alberta Health.