Baby Steps

Each community has classes designed to meet the needs of parents and topics may include:

• adjusting to parenthood
• your baby's communication
• nutrition for baby and mom
• infant health and safety
• mom's health
• parenting skills

For more information, visit the Before, During, and After Birth website

Breastfeeding Support

Offers support to clients with questions or concerns about infant feeding. Specialized nurses help to prevent and manage common infant feeding concerns, such as:

• assisting parents with basic position and latch
• poor latch
• inadequate milk transfer
• nipple or breast pain

Can also provide strategies for lactating and infant feeding if a parent:

• needs to be separated from the infant
• has twins, triplets
• premature infants
• infants with medical concerns

Child Car Seat Education Clinics

Clinic teaches the proper procedure to install child safety seats in vehicles.

Clinical and Metabolic Genetic Services, South

The Clinical Genetics team provides genetic assessment, screening, diagnosis, genetic counselling, and treatment (when available).

The Inherited Metabolic team provides diagnosis, lifelong treatment, monitoring, education and support for individuals and families impacted by metabolic conditions.

Both services focus on patient and family centred care and, as well, are actively involved in research to best support quality care for patients and families.

For additional information related to the specific services offered by Clinical Genetics Subspecialties please search directly for;

• Cardiogenetics Clinic
• General Genetics Clinic
• Genetic Connective Tissues Disorders Clinic
• Hereditary Cancer Clinic
• Inherited Metabolic Disorders Clinic
• Neurogenetics Clinic
• Prenatal Genetics

Genetic outreach centres, located in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer, have genetic counsellors available to see patients and families closer to home. In cases where a geneticist MD is required, a geneticist from Calgary travels monthly to all sites to provide medical genetic consultations.

For more information visit the Clinical & Metabolic Genetics website.

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

Office of the Medical Officer of Health

The MOH is responsible for:

• The overall health of Albertans
  monitoring and reporting (to the public and to the Health Authority Board) on the health status of the population. This is done through health and disease surveillance. Advocate for changes in policy that will improve the health of residents (e.g., smoking by-laws, bicycle trail systems, intersection safety and red light campaigns).
• Communicable Disease Control
  Works to control the spread of communicable diseases and manage outbreaks. Also responsible for STD and TB follow-up and control, and for infection control in the community. For immunization information visit https://www.immunizealberta.ca/
• Safe and Healthy Environments
  Gives direction to Environmental Health service programs to ensure food safety, safety and minimum standards for housing, daycares, swimming pools, etc. and to programs that promote healthy physical environments. Report a concern or request service from AHS EPH (Environmental Public Health) at https://ephisahs.albertahealthservices.ca/create-case/
• Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention
  Responsible for chronic disease prevention (heart disease, obesity, stroke) for injury prevention, healthy aging, and preventing low birthweight in babies
• To ask a question or send a message about a government program or service: Alberta Health, visit https://www.alberta.ca/contact.cfm#jumplinks-3.

Medical Officer of Health | Alberta Health Services

Population Health Promotion Program

The Population Health Promotion Program (PHPP) provides services on an individual client basis as well as to high-risk groups and the broad community utilizing a population health approach. The population health approach focuses on the entire range of individual and community factors that determine health. The Key ”Determinants of Health” include: Income and Social Status, Social Support Networks, Education and Literacy, Employment and Working Conditions, Social Environments, Physical Environments, Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills, Healthy Child Development, Biology and Genetic Endowment, Health Services, Gender, Culture.

The overall goal of this approach is to maintain and improve the health status of the entire population, reduce the incidence of disease and injury, and to eliminate inequities in health status between population groups.

Services encompass a continuum of health action from pre-conception to old age. Specific strategies are in line with those described in the World Health Organization’s Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) and include:

• Developing Personal Skills
• Strengthening Community Action
• Creating Supportive Environments
• Building Healthy Public Policy
• Community Needs Assessment and Program Planning

The program links with Provincial Population and Public Health Programs to deliver a wide range of health promotion interventions, including:

• Oral Health Program
• Injury Prevention
• Tobacco Reduction
• Health Equity
• Poverty Reduction Initiatives
• Health Promotion Education
• Population Health Surveillance
• Low German Speaking Mennonite Community Health Representatives - act as advocates for LGSM clients and their families through interaction with the health care system and other community services

Postpartum

Provides nursing care and support which may include:

• postpartum primary caregiver health assessment and infant assessment
• breastfeeding support
• infant feeding support
• information about parenting and baby care
• referrals to healthcare providers or community resources as needed

Prenatal Education

Classes can be booked online: Prenatal and Postnatal Class Registration - South Zone

If you have trouble with the online registration process, please email us atSZ.prenatalpostnatal@ahs.ca, or call 403-388-6668 (Lethbridge and area) or 403-502-8215 (Medicine Hat and area).

For questions and for upcoming rural sites class availability, please call the Lethbridge or Medicine Hat office, or contact your local Public Health site.

Visit ahs.ca/prenatal to view virtual tours for Chinook Regional Hospital and Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and to review many other prenatal and postnatal resources.

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

Services provided by Public Health Nurses may include:

• immunizations
• communicable disease control (including Tuberculosis)
• prenatal / postnatal education
• postpartum caregiver / newborn support
• breastfeeding / infant feeding support
• health promotion / disease and injury prevention services
• school health services
• preventative oral health services for children
• referrals to other health care and community services as needed

Community Health Centres

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.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Confidential services may include:

• birth control information, prescriptions and supplies
• no-cost birth control for those who qualify
• emergency contraception (e.g., morning after pill)
• STI, HIV, and syphilis testing
• STI treatment
• pregnancy tests
• pregnancy options decisions support (parenting, adoption, abortion)
• post abortion check ups
• general information and support after a sexual assault
• vaccine information (e.g., Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and HPV) and administration of provincially funded;vaccine for eligible clients

Not all services are available at all clinics. Contact a clinic directly to book an appointment.

For information about clinical services across Alberta visit our Website

Health promotion and education services include:

• sexual health educational presentations to various groups
• teacher support for the sexuality part of the Alberta Education Curriculum

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.