Adult Day Program

Provides up to 6 hours of wellness program. The program offers:

• activities, recreation, and exercises
• blood pressure and weight monitoring
• help with medication
• basic personal care
• rest breaks
• meals and snacks

Environmental Public Health - Water Sample Bottle Pick-up and Drop-off

Drinking water, beaches and swimming pool water can be tested. Chemical water sampling testing is available and looks for common chemicals and trace metals found in water. Bacteria water sampling tests water samples for indicator bacteria to ensure water is safe.

For additional information,

• Environmental Public Health - Drinking Water
• Sample Your Water - Environmental Public Health
• Testing your drinking water in Alberta

Immunization - Adult Services

This service provides routine immunization for adults. Suggested immunizations:

• a booster dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)(dTap) every 10 years
• dTap vaccine for pregnant women every time they are pregnant
• Hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) for unprotected adults born in 1981 or later. Some adults born before 1981 may need this vaccine if they are at risk for hepatitis B (e.g. health problems, type of work, lifestyle, contact with the virus)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for adults up to and including age 26 years who did not get it in school.
• Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine for adults whose immunization records do not show the recommended number of doses of measles, mumps, or rubella vaccine
• Chickenpox vaccine for unprotected adults
• annual influenza vaccine
• pneumococcal vaccine for all adults 65 years of age and older and adults with certain health problems

To find out which vaccines are recommended for you and to book an appointment for immunization, call your nearest community / public health centre. If you are not sure where your nearest community / public health centre is, you can call Health Link at 811. Bring any immunization records you have to the appointment, especially if you were immunized in another province or country.

For more general information about immunization go to ImmunizeAlberta.ca, Immunizations at myhealth.alberta.ca, or call Health Link.

Immunization - Infant and Preschool Services

Alberta Health Services provides routine immunization for infants and children across Alberta. Immunizations are free of charge for infants and children who live in Alberta.
Immunizations are recommended for infants starting at 2 months of age. Routinely recommended vaccines include: diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal, pneumococcal, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox), and influenza.

For the routine immunization schedule, go to immunizealberta.ca.

Additional vaccines may be needed depending on your child’s health conditions or other risk factors.

Immunization is effective. Other than providing safe drinking water, no other health intervention works as well as immunization to reduce disease and death rates. Immunization protects whole communities. The more people who are fully immunized in a community, the safer everyone is.

Immunization is safe. It is much safer to get immunized than to get the diseases that vaccines protect against.

For more information, and to book an appointment, call your nearest community/public health centre. If you are not sure where your nearest community/public health centre is, call Health Link at 811. Bring your child’s immunization record to the appointment, especially if your child was immunized in another province or country.

For more general information about immunization, go to immunizealberta.ca, Immunizations at myhealth.alberta.ca, or call Health Link at 811.

Immunization - School Services

Each year, Alberta Health Services, Public Health reviews immunization records for students in grades 1, 6, and 9 to see what immunizations each student needs. A consent form is then sent home with an information sheet for each vaccine recommended for the student. No immunizations will be given in school without consent from a parent or legal guardian. Immunizations in this program include:

• Grades 1, 6, and 9: Any routine childhood and school vaccines that may have been missed according to a review of the students immunization record on file
• Grade 6: Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine for students who have not already completed a hepatitis B immunization series and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
• Grade 9: diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (dTap) and meningococcal (Groups A, C, Y, W-135) conjugate vaccine

Lactation Services

Offers breastfeeding / chestfeeding support to:

• parents who have breast/chest concerns e.g. latching, sore/painful nipples, yeast, mastitis, milk supply, pumping, weaning
• babies with tongue-ties, yeast, latching problems, slow weight gain, failure to thrive
• prenatal counselling regarding nipple concerns, concerns with breast/chestfeeding, breast surgery, concerns with breast/chestfeeding previous children or need support

A breast / chestfeeding resource for doctors and healthcare providers.

Postpartum Community Services

Services include:

• newborn assessments including checking for jaundice
• postpartum assessment for new mothers includes physical and psychosocial assessmetns including domestic violence
• support with infant feeding including lactation consultants to help with breastfeeding
• parenting information
• information about newborn care, safety, growth, and development
• referrals to social worker support as needed
• referrals to doctors and community services as needed

Public Health Services

Community Health Centres provide a wide range of health services, which may include:

• Antenatal Community Prenatal Program (ACCP)
• Best Beginning
• Early Start Parent Drop In
• Postpartum Services
• School Health Program
• Well Child Services

Rural Pediatric Allied Health

Services support the development of children and youth to participate in meaningful activities of daily life at home and in the community. Focus is on the early years and early intervention to prevent health complications and improve long term health and wellbeing. We want to understand what's important to your child and family. Services are goal-driven; starting and continuing services is based on having functional reasons / goals for rehabilitation. Therapists will work with parents to provide the tools and strategies to apply in the context of their home and life. Therapy may look like 'play', depending on your child's age. We will work together so you and your child are supported to move to the next developmental stage or between providers and services. Services are provided by phone, zoom and in person sessions as determined by your therapist. They may be in a group or one to one. Services provided are related to (neuro) developmental conditions and / or medical conditions.

The program offers occupational therapist, physiotherapist, speech-language pathologist, and social worker (navigation) services to children and youth 0 - 18 years and their families. Services are provided for children and youth with a variety of needs, for example:

• hearing (e.g. responding to sounds, noise, voices, words)
• moving (e.g. sitting, crawling, walking, coordination)
• using hands (e.g. playing with toys, using utensils)
• taking care of self (e.g. dressing, toileting, doing chores, sleeping)
• equipment needs (e.g. wheelchair, walking aides, adaptive aides)
• physical symptoms (e.g. muscle / joint tightness, head shape, sensitivity to noise or touch)
• managing emotions (e.g. behavior, becoming overwhelmed)
• communication (e.g. understanding directions, babbling, using words and sentences)
• clear speech (e.g. being understood by others, stuttering, voice quality)
• feeding and swallowing (e.g. coughing, gagging, choking, choking, psychosocial factors impacting mealtime routines and feeding relationships, limited/restricted diet)

More advanced feeding supports are available (Okotoks location only) for babies and children with developmental, neurological, and medical conditions requiring a coordinated approach (e.g. medical instability or risk of deterioration, safety risk, aversion to oral feeding, disturbances in oral intake leading to nutrition / hydration risk).

We work closely with our pediatric rehabilitation partners to ensure referrals go to the right place and services are offered within the most appropriate program.

School Health Program

This service offers:

• public health nursing to support all schools in the Calgary Zone
• public health nursing assists school communities with health resource navigation and partners with school communities to promote health and develop strong, supportive communities
• school aged immunizations through school-based programs. Routine immunization programs occur in grades 1, 6 and 9

Well Child Services

Provide appointments for:

• routine vaccination (2, 4, 6, 12, 18 months and 4 years of age)
• health education, health promotion and support for parents related to adjustment to parenthood, breastfeeding, infant feeding, nutrition and healthy eating, normal growth and development, etc.
• health assessment and screening to identify health concerns
• information and referral to community services, and community partnerships

There are 20 Community Health Centres (7 urban and 13 rural) across the Calgary Zone.