Updates from AHS
Active health advisories
As part of AHS’ commitment to the health and safety of Albertans, AHS releases health advisories related to air quality, cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), heat, boil water, federal notices, wildfire and flood resources and safety information, food safety news, COVID-19 information, environmental public health orders, public health travel notices and health enforcement notices.

View a full list of currently active health advisories. 
AHS long-COVID clinic closures
The Alberta Health Services (AHS) Long-COVID Inter-Professional Outpatient Program (IPOP) initiative has ended, as the temporary funding for the program has concluded.

Referrals will not be accepted effective immediately from all IPOP clinics (South Clinics at Rockyview General Hospital, Peter Lougheed Centre, and Community Accessible Rehabilitation; and North Clinic at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic).

Patients undergoing active treatment with the clinic will receive a transition plan from their care team. Patients currently on the IPOP clinic waitlist will be notified of the closure before the end of August and provided with a list of self-care resources and encouraged to contact their primary care provider or Health Link for assistance with managing their specific long-COVID symptoms.

Dedicated AHS Resources for health professionals are available and include care pathways and toolkits, and a long-COVID Functional Screening Assessment Tool and Symptom Checklist to help providers determine what rehabilitation supports may be required for their patients moving forward.

The following resources will be provided to patients:
• Health Link (dial 8-1-1 available 24/7)
• Rehabilitation Advice Line: 1-833-379-0563 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• AHS: Getting Healthy After COVID-19: Resources for Patients
• Helping You Feel Better after COVID-19 Videos and Self-Guided Learning (Videos) 
• MyHealth.Alberta.ca: After COVID-19: Information and Resources to Help You Recover

AHS thanks you for your understanding and cooperation during this transition period. 

Questions:  PHC@AHS.ca.
Clinical guidance for Listeria exposure
A national Listeria outbreak linked to Silk® and Great Value plant-based beverages has been declared by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Alberta has one case; Canada has 18 cases, 13 of which resulted in hospitalization and 2 in death.

Risk factors:
Individuals most at risk for serious infection are:
  • Neonates
  • People over 60 years of age
  • Those who are immunosuppressed
  • Pregnant people
Symptoms 
Depending on the type of infection, onset can be anywhere from a few hours to 4-12 weeks. Following are symptoms broken down by infection type:
  • Acute Self-Limited Febrile Gastroenteritis: Fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle pain. Usually resolves without treatment.
  • Invasive Listeriosis (septicemia): Fever and chills (with or without prior gastrointestinal symptoms).
  • Invasive Listeriosis (meningoencephalitis): Fever and change in mental status, with or without meningitis (headache, neck stiffness).
  • Infections in pregnancy: Fever, myalgia, abdominal or back pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea (usually in third trimester).
Recommended approach to those exposed to recalled products:
  • Asymptomatic: No testing; counsel on symptoms.
  • Symptomatic with risk factors: Blood cultures, possible stool testing, consider empiric treatment.

More information

Connect Care clinical documents: Address delivery method update
Starting August 25, 2024, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Connect Care will be able to deliver more clinical documents and results to providers at specific locations/clinics (typically where you see the patient, rather than a single default community location). To facilitate these improvements, your location and delivery method set-up in Connect Care may need to be updated. In early July, providers who work at more than one location/clinic and/or have electronic delivery (eDelivery) direct to their EMR Inbox were sent a letter via fax (or in a few cases, by mail) to the location which AHS has on record as your primary/default location. This letter asks you to confirm results delivery methods and locations. Changes to this information need to be returned to AHS by August 19, 2024. 

Full details: Document and Results Routing Optimization Address-level Delivery Method (Specific to Provider Location/clinic) (albertahealthservices.ca).

Updated Pathway Development Toolkit available on Alberta’s Pathway Hub
The Provincial Pathways Unit has launched its newly updated Pathway Development Toolkit. Designed to guide the development of clinical and patient pathways, this toolkit continues to establish provincial standards in Alberta. It outlines recommended phases and important considerations for the co-design of clinical and patient pathways, accompanied by supportive documents, tools, and resources to ensure a consistent approach across clinical areas.

The toolkit is readily available on Alberta’s Pathway Hub in the ‘resources’ section.

For any questions or feedback, please connect with the Provincial Pathway Unit at AlbertaPathways@ahs.ca.
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