Addiction and Mental Health - Domestic Abuse Response Team

Domestic violence can take many forms, including verbal, physical, sexual, psycological, emotional, spiritual, and the violation of rights which can happen in any relationship based on intamcay, dependency, or trust. The Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) offers specialized support to patients of all genders who are experiencing any form of domestic violence. Individuals do not have to be in a crisis to access the DART response, and can request a referral at select emergency departments, urgent care centres, and maternity units. Participation is voluntary and at no cost to the patient.

Although, as of November 30th, 2023, the DART project has sunset, domestic violence services are still being provided through localized shelter response, while individuals are present within the Alberta Health Services (AHS) or Covenant Health facility. Referrals of patients to the respective shelters remain confidential, nonjudgemental, and choice-based. A referral is initated through the patient or by an AHS or Covenant Health employee. A shelter responder will connect with the individual over the phone to conduct further assessment and provide the following services based on their needs.

• emotional support
• information and education about domestic violence
• assistance with safety planning
• information about and referrals to local supports, including financial assistance, counselling, food bank, etc.
• assistance with contacting local law enforcement and / or Children's Services
• access to safe accommodations, including emergency shelter or hotel

This service is provided by AHS or Covenant Health and external shelter service providers.

Adult Addiction and Mental Health Services - Assertive Outreach

Provide services to individuals with significant impairments of functioning due to severe and/or persistent mental illness,often affecting their daily functioning; difficulty accepting and maintaining treatment; lack of personal support systems; and may have coexisting issues related to substance abuse and/or justice involvement. Individuals must be willing to participate in the community or be clients leagally aligned to services through such programs as Community Treatment Orders.
Services Include:

• Medication/Psychiatric Support; administer, assess, monitor prescribed medications
• Teaching/education and prevention and promotion strategies for recovery focused care
• Advocate in referral to doctor and/or psychiatrist
• Support transportation for essential appointments
• Support social, cultural, spiritual, and personal meaningful activities for quality of life improvement
• Liaise with employment, finance and housing supports
• Provide support in activities of daily living; meal planning, grocery shopping
• Supportive counselling; crisis resolution, problem solving; social skills, coping skills' promote independence

Adult Community Services, Addiction & Mental Health

Services offered: assessment, individual psychotherapy, option to attend groups in some locations. Concurrent treatment is available with an addiction counselor if appropriate. Crisis Services are available through the local emergency department or by calling 911.

Cafeteria Services

Cafeteria services offer food and beverages at Alberta Health Services facilities. Catering services and vending machines are available at some sites. Each cafeteria services site team is dedicated to creating great food, inspiring healthy eating, and providing outstanding customer service to support the health of Albertans.

**Please note hours of operation may vary from site to site.

Cardiac Monitoring Services

Offers heart (cardiac) monitoring services, which includes:

• holter monitoring
• cardiac event monitoring
• blood pressure monitoring (while you do your regular activities)

Some sites may not offer all of the above services.

Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health Therapy

Services offered: assessment, individual psychotherapy, option to attend groups in some locations. Concurrent treatment is available with an addiction counselor if appropriate. Crisis Services are available through the local emergency department or by calling 911.

Continuing Care Services

Offers housing and support for adults with a wide range of health issues.

Services may include:

• on site care services by HCA, LPN and RN/RPN 24/7
• rehabilitation to support healthy aging
• social work
• nutritious meals and snacks (changes for special needs can be made)
• weekly room cleaning
• care management followed by physician &/or nurse practitioner.

Visit the Alberta Health Services Continuing Care website for more information.

Early Childhood Intervention Program

The program offers:

• information about development, behavior, play and parenting
• connections to community resources and services
• support to your family setting goals and planning for the future
• collaboration with your child’s health team
• services that are provided in various ways; in your home, in the community, virtual appointments or phone consultations

Emergency Services

If you have an emergency, call 911.

Emergency departments:

• take care of people that are very sick or injured on a priority basis. This means the sickest people are seen first. If you go to an emergency department for care that isn't urgent, you will not likely be seen right away.
• provide medical care, which includes assessment and treatment
• stabilize people and get them ready to transport to a higher level of care facility (if needed)
• provide follow-up care including referrals to a family doctor or specialist (if needed)

Emergency Department wait times are now available for Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer.

Get the right care when you need it, to learn more visit Know Your Options

This service may be impacted by the COVID pandemic. View the Hours of Operations to see if the location has been impacted. Visit https://ahs.ca/covid for up-to-date information.

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

General Radiography (X-Ray)

General Radiography uses x-rays to produce images of the structures inside the body, particularly bones. X-ray beams can pass through the body, but they are absorbed in different amounts depending on the density of the material they pass through.

Health Information - Access and Disclosure

In accordance with Alberta's Health Information Act, this is a service which enables the release of individually identifiable health information with or without the consent of an individual.

For health information, please contact the hospital or health care centre where you received treatment.

For detailed instructions, frequently asked questions and forms, please visit Access & Disclosure | Alberta Health Services.

Health Information / Records Management

Completes patient charts, collects data, data entry and coding, collects patient information, dictates notes, and transcribes inpatient and outpatient charts.

Home Care

Helps people of all ages who live at home and need medical support, which may include:

• care after surgery
• short-term and long-term care
• palliative and end-of-life care
• respite services
• equipment for short-term loans

An AHS case manager and Registered Nurse meet with clients and help decide which services they need. This service also assesses applications for long-term care, supportive living, and facility respite care.

The Continuing Care Access Line toll free number (1-855-371-4122) is available for new patients and their family to call if they have questions or inquiries about accessing Home Care services in their community (during and after regular business hours).

Hospitals

To access contact information and a list of services offered, select a hospital.

Search through a complete list of progams and services, or hospital and facility information with the following:

Find Healthcare:

• Progams & Services
• Hospitals & Facilities

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

Laboratory Services

Laboratory Services provides collection of blood and body fluids for tests ordered by your doctor or healthcare provider including a comprehensive range of routine and specialized lab testing and clinical consultations:

• blood and body fluid sample collection
• biochemistry and toxicology
• electrocardiogram (ECG)
• genetics and genomics
• urinalysis
• transfusion medicine
• hematology
• coagulation studies
• microbiology
• public health testing
• serology
• surgical pathology
• cytopathology
• autopsy pathology
• student practicum training for medical lab technologists and medical lab assistants

Note: Some locations may not offer the full range of testing. To confirm availability of a specific test, contact the location.

APL Booking Line: 1-877-702-4486 or book online.

Nutrition Counselling - Adults and Pediatric

The majority of nutrition counselling occurs on an individual basis, however, group sessions may be offered to promote enhanced learning of clients. Nutrition information and resources can be found on Alberta Health Services’ Healthy Eating Starts Here and at MyHealth.Alberta.ca.

Additional services:

• Nutrition Counselling (Dietitian) - Alberta Healthy Living Program
• Pediatric Weight Management

Occupational Therapy - Outpatients / Community

Provides services such as:

• assessment
• evaluation
• learn to live with a disability
• manage a chronic disease
• with end-of-life care
• rehabilitation
• treatment
• education
• health promotion

Services are available at outpatient hospital clinics, community health centres, patient’s homes and continuing care / long term care centres.

Note: Services may vary by community – please call for more information.

Palliative Care

Supports people and their families during the dying process and at the end of life. Services are offered in different places, including at home, in health centres, and in continuing care centres.

Services include:

• assessing and dealing with symptoms
• giving end-of-life care options
• planning care at home
• offering counselling and support
• helping people access care and resources outside the area

Patient Email Well Wishes

As part of our support for patient care and comfort, friends and family of inpatients at hospital and health care facilities can send well wishes via email. Sites participating in the program will receive the message, will ensure that the message is only "well-wish" (any other type of communication will be deleted) and will arrange for delivery within 3 business days. A couple of important reminders - the electronic delivery system is not a secure connection, so please don't add any confidential information to your message. Plus the "well-wish" system does not allow for replies or confirm receipt / delivery confirmation.

Patient Food Services

Patient Food Services overarching objectives are to:

• Offer quality food and food choice, to support Patient Centered Care
• Work with the whole care team to ensure that Meals Matter
• Foster a positive meal experience that results in enjoyment of meals, as well as improved satisfaction and food intake that supports recovery
• Provide menus that are based on “Canada’s Food Guide” and that are adaptable for therapeutic requirements
• Offer appealing food that encourages eating for health
• Provide meal service styles appropriate to the patient population (e.g. tray service, dining room service) and meal delivery systems that support safe high quality food served at appropriate temperatures to the correct patient / resident

PFS delivers more than 31,000 patient/resident meals each day within AHS facilities.

Patient Information

Services offered:

• responding to patient location inquires
• providing direction on a patients whereabouts

Pharmacy Services

Pharmacy Services are provided by:

• pharmacists monitoring drug therapy to ensure it is appropriate for the patient and making therapy recommendations
• pharmacists providing direct patient care by reviewing patient clinical status and drug therapy, identifying drug-related problems, and working with the healthcare team to resolve them
• the pharmacy department providing a safe, accurate, and timely drug distribution system

Physiotherapy - Outpatients / Community

Rehabilitation service for patients who have recently been discharged from hospital or are recovering from surgery.

Provides services such as:

• assessment
• consultation
• evaluation
• treatment
• rehabilitation
• education
• health promotion

Services are available at outpatient hospital clinics, community health centres, patient’s homes and continuing care / long term care centres.

Note: Services may vary by community – please call for more information.

Postpartum Community Services

Provides a wide range of services related to post-partum assessment and care.

Preschool Oral Health Services

Fluoride varnish helps protect your child's teeth from tooth decay (cavities). It slows down decay already started.

Your child needs four fluoride varnish visits, six months apart, to best protect their teeth. Fluoride varnish is painted on your child's teeth. It takes less than one minute to apply. You can hold your child during the visit.

You can also ask any questions you may have about protecting your child's teeth.

If your child is diagnosed with asthma by a doctor, bring their quick reliever medication to the appointment. If your child feels anxious with dental visits it may trigger asthma symptoms.

This provincial prevention service is available across Alberta.

For more information and eligibility, visit our website: Preschool Oral Health Services

Public Health Breast Pumps

Breast pumps are available for short term loan at Community Health Centres. Contact your local Community Health Centre for details.

Public Health Nursing

The four areas that are covered by public health nurses include:

• maternal, child and family health
• communicable disease control
• school health
• health promotion

Public Health Parent and Baby Drop In Services

Contact your local Community Health Centre for service options or to speak with a public health nurse. Information provided may include:

• breastfeeding and infant feeding
• healthy eating
• parenting
• growth and development
• injury prevention
• diseases and immunizations

Information and support may be offered in one-to-one, and/or group sessions so parents can connect with other parents and caregivers.

Public Health Postnatal Services

Services are offered to parents who:

• have been discharged with their baby
• have been discharged while their baby is still in the hospital
• are adopting
• have chosen adoption for their baby
• had a stillborn baby
• are dealing with loss due to a neonatal (newborn) death

Public health nurses contact families within 48 hours after discharge from the hospital. Services are offered according to the situation and discussion with the family and may include health assessments of the newborn, mother and family; information about what to expect and when to seek medical attention; feeding support and referrals to community services.

Registration

Patient Registration registers:

• and pre-registers patients and collects demographic and financial information
• patients for inpatient admissions, ambulatory clinic appointment, and emergency department services

Respiratory Therapy - Outpatients / Community

Services include:

• home oxygen assessments
• arterial blood gases (ABGs)
• respiratory education (Asthma & COPD)
• spirometry
• tobacco cessation
• artificial airway management
• trach change
• pulmonary rehabilitation

Respite Care

Short-term care provided in a continuing care living centre for persons living at home to provide a break for their caregiver.

School Oral Health Services

Services are offered to eligible schools and may include:

• fluoride varnish, provided to kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2
• dental sealants, provided to Grade 1 and Grade 2

A child diagnosed with asthma must have their short acting asthma reliever medication with them to receive service.

Social Work

Services may include:

• Conduct assessments and develop interventions to alleviate social and personal problems
• Identify needs and gaps and connect patients with community supports and resources
• Empower clients to cope and problem solve during or after injury, disease or illness
• Assist patients and families to navigate the healthcare system and address legal and financial issues impacting care
• Provide information/education on important resources and legislation (e.g., power of attorney, guardianship, child welfare, and Protection for Persons in Care)
• Provide support and resources to promote physical and mental wellbeing while also addressing social needs

Speech Language Pathology - Outpatients / Community

This service provides assessment and treatment for:

• communication
• rehabilitation
• fluency and swallowing disorders
• neurological / degenerative diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
• make sounds correctly / reduce stuttering
• thinking skills (like memory, problem solving, and verbal reasoning)

Services are available at outpatient hospital clinics, community health centres, patient's homes and continuing care / long term care centres.

Note: Services may vary by community - please call for more information.

Stroke and Geriatric Empowerment Unit

Provides assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation to clients who have had a stroke or require further rehabilitation therapy following surgicall interventions. Clients who expereince a deficit or a sudden onset of cognitive impairment and / or decline in their daily functioning are also treated along with geriatric assessments on an inpatient basis.

Switchboard

These services include:

• answering incoming telephone calls
• transferring telephone calls and
• giving out authorized telephone numbers

Transition Services Continuing Care Counsellors and Social Workers

Helps people in all areas of health care, their families, and caregivers by providing:

• short-term counselling to help manage change
• grief counselling
• in home visits
• referrals to other specialized services or resources
• support groups for caregivers (in some areas)
• information on housing options, advance care planning, and end-of-life planning
• referrals to other healthcare providers and agencies, as needed
• cognitive assessments

Service is offered in people's homes, at lodges, hospitals, continuing care centres and supportive living residences.

Tuberculosis Testing

Offers free tuberculosis (TB) skin testing to eligible Albertans. The Mantoux skin test is not recommended to diagnose TB.

Testing is done at public health centres throughout the province:

• North Zone
• Edmonton Zone
• Central Zone
• Calgary Zone
• South Zone

If you are not eligible for free testing but still need to be tested there will be a charge for the test.

For travel or work related TB testing contact the Travel Health Services in your area.