Alberta Healthy Living Program - South Zone

Alberta Healthy Living Program (AHLP) services provided vary slightly from Zone to Zone. Some of the below services may be available via on-line or telehealth at some locations. Services may include information, education, techniques, and support to help improve your health and quality of life with a chronic condition. The program is based on a model that includes:

Health Education:

• Healthy Eating for Reducing Your Risk Class
• Taking Care of You Risk Reduction Class
• Grocery Store Tours
• Be Stroke Smart Class
• Diabetes Management Class
• Heart CHEC Class
• Energy Management Class
• Heart Failure Education Class
• Stress Management Series
• Managing Emotional Eating Series
• Sleep Health Series
• Weight Management Series
• Getting Started with Weight Management Class
• Chronic Pain Series

Self-Management:

Better Choices, Better Health - Learn self-management skills for the physical and emotional challenges of living with long-term health conditions. Better Choices Better Health

Better Choices, Better Health® - Online - This online workshop is available to Albertans interested in gaining confidence and building skills to manage their chronic conditions and develop healthier lifestyles. Family members and support people are welcome to join.

Exercise Programs:

Supervised Exercise - Learn how to self-monitor and stay safe while exercising. Improve your cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility with our 12 week program.

Specialty Care / Clinics:

• Asthma / COPD Specialty Clinic: Individuals and families of all ages will work with a Respiratory Therapist to work on better managing asthma or Congestive Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Assessment, treatment and follow up is offered in individual appointments
• Diabetes Specialty Clinic: Provides one to one assessment and follow up for those living with Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and / or Diabetes in pregnancy to individuals and families of all ages. Diabetes specialty also provides support and services to those requiring insulin pump therapy. Endocrine clinics with an internist or endocrinologist are available to pediatric patients, pregnancy patients and those interested in insulin pump therapy
• Cardiac Rehabilitation Program: Provides education, individual assessment, and follow up to those who have been impacted with various cardiac conditions. Patients along with their support people are also welcome to attend the 2 part Heart CHEC class and join the Supervised Exercise program
• Heart Function Specialty Clinic: (HFC) a comprehensive, multidisciplinary specialty clinic that supports patients with moderate and high risk heart failure. A physician referral is required and patients will be seen in for ongoing heart failure care in a team based care
• Outpatient Nutrition Counselling: Work with a Registered Dietitian to improve eating habits and address nutritional needs. Please see Nutrition Counselling for information
• Bariatric Specialty Clinic: This clinic provides medical, psychological and surgical interventions for weight management. See the Bariatric Specialty Clinic

For more information please visit the Alberta Healthy Living website.

Bariatric Specialty Clinic

This clinic provides medical, psychological, and surgical interventions for weight management and improving health. Support is provided to individuals with obesity who require complex medical management and / or surgical intervention.

The initial clinic assessment determines the patient's specific barriers to managing their weight. The next steps involve developing an individualized care plan with the patient which may include:

• behaviour modification
• counseling for nutrition, physical activity, and mental health
• drug treatment and/or bariatric surgery (surgical treatment for obesity)
• coordinating care and transitioning the patient back to their family physician with recommendations from the clinic

Clinic staff also assess whether bariatric surgery is an option for clinic patients. Not everyone participating in the clinic is an appropriate candidate for bariatric surgery; other treatment options may be determined to be more appropriate and successful long term. Please note, it takes several appointments and considerable time to determine eligibility for bariatric surgery.

Prior to referral or while waiting for an appointment, patients can self refer to attend group sessions for weight management and improving health with the Alberta Healthy Living Program (AHLP) Weight Management Series.

For patients who have had previous bariatric surgery outside of the Medicine Hat Bariatric Specialty Clinic, please visit:

• Adult Bariatric Revision Clinic

Diabetes Insulin Pump Therapy Clinics

Provides support for people of all ages with type 1 or type 3 diabetes who want to start using an insulin pump. An insulin pump is a device a person wears instead of giving daily insulin injections. It is portable and can be programmed. It’s about the size of a pager and delivers fast-acting insulin through a small tube that is put under the skin. The site has to be changed every 2 to 3 days.

For more information, please visit: Diabetes Insulin Pump Therapy | Alberta Health Services

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

Nutrition Counselling - Adult and Pediatric

By completing a comprehensive nutrition assessment and developing a nutrition intervention in collaboration with the client using evidence based guidelines. The dietitian provides nutrition counselling to help clients make diet, behavioural and lifestyle changes to manage a medical condition and / or improve their health. Nutrition counselling may occur on an individual basis or in a group session. Nutrition information and resources can be found on Alberta health Services’ Healthy Eating Starts
Additional Services:

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

Visit the PEAS (Pediatric Eating and Swallowing) website to find relevant information for families and care providers of children with an eating, feeding and swallowing disorder.

Nutrition Counselling - Pediatric Weight Management

In the Outpatient Dietitian Counselling program, families work one-on-one with a registered dietitian (dietitian) trained in Pediatric Weight Management. The dietitian will help the family work on healthy eating and active living habits and set realistic goals that focus on creating a healthy lifestyle. Areas of focus include nutrition, physical activity, sedentary time and sleep.

The dietitian and the family’s healthcare provider work together to ensure the family is supported in achieving their health goals. They can also assist in connecting the family with other supports as needed, such as physical activity, mental health, and community services.

The program’s aim is to help families achieve a lifestyle that promotes healthy growth and development in their children.

For more information visit the Outpatient Dietitian Counselling website.

Pediatric Diabetes Clinic

The pediatric diabetes clinic is managed by the Alberta Healthy Living Program and is supported by Alberta Children's Hospital pediatric endocrinologists. Pediatric endocrinologists provide outpatient, episodic care on site to children living with diabetes.