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

Calgary Rural Diabetes Program

This service may provide:

• diabetes education/counselling in a virtual group setting
• one-to-one appointments with nurses and dietitians, which include an overview of the disease, complications, medications, exercise, and nutrition

Community Addiction and Mental Health Services - Rural

Working across the lifespan, clinicians work with individuals and families to identify goals of treatment as they relate to Addiction and Mental Health concerns.

Other services include:

• geriatrics (for individuals with cognitive decline)
• outreach
• urgent mental health care walk in ( times vary ) at Cochrane, Canmore, Banff and Airdrie Urgent Care Centers, Okotoks

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

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Program

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies supports pregnant and parenting women and teens (infants 0-6months) who face challenges with isolation, finances, physical or emotional health, healthy nutrition, family conflict and / or addictions. Offers these services:

• group support with nutrtition and prenatal health education
• one to one visits with a nurse, dietitian, and / or outreach worker
• referrals to healthcare providers or community agencies as needed
• free child birth education classes with AHS

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.

Mental Health Services

Provides programs and services for people experiencing mental health issues. Offers time limited and goal focused Mental Health Counselling that include:

• assessing, treating and follow up
• providing information
• referring people to other mental wellness services

Oral Health - Preventative Dental Services

Our goal is to improve the oral health of people of all ages, in Calgary and its surrounding areas. A healthy mouth is an important piece in a person's overall health. Healthy teeth and gums support good nutrition, speech, growth, development, learning, and social development.

Services include:

• Early Childhood Oral Health
• School Dental Health
• Preventative Dental Health for Adults & Seniors

Health Promotion Campaign

• Re-Think Your Drink

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.

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 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 Nutrition Counselling - Adult

The majority of teaching is one-to-one, 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. This service is available to rural communities only.

Additional Services:

• Nutrition Counselling (Dietitian) - Alberta Healthy Living Program
• Nutrition Counselling - Healthy Pregnancy Weight Gain

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

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.

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.

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.