March 14 2007
Docs’ new deal worth $579 million in package of increases
Health and Wellness Minister Dave Hancock teamed up with Alberta Medical Association President Dr. Jerry Kiefer to outline a few of the details in the new two-year “wage re-opener” contract announced March 13.
On the surface, the increase to physicians’ fees is 4.5% for each of the two years covered, but there are a number of other funding “envelopes” adding up to a total deal of $579 million. The Physicians Services line item in the 2006-2007 provincial budget was about $1700 million this year and Hancock admitted the deal represents a significant overall increase in the health budget.
The AMA agreement adds a new retention benefit, $47 million that is divided up as an annual bonus to doctors. The full $10,000 bonus is for doctors who have worked 20 years or more, doctors who work over 15 years in the province get $8,000, and the bonuses reduce further for doctors with less experience in the province. It is also reduced for “part-time” doctors who bill less than $80,000 a year.
Another new initiative is a $56.5 million “clinical stabilization benefit” to help in locations that are under pressure and in under-serviced areas. There was also additional special funding to address increasing practice costs, computerizing records and in a number of other areas. No dollars or details were released on how these programs would work.
For a bit more detail see albertadoctors.org and go to the President’s Letter for March 13, 2007.
UNA provincial negotiations continue
The provincial Negotiating Committee is back in with the representatives from Health Boards of Alberta Services this week. Already in the fifth week of talks the Committee has announced some progress, particularly on retention and resolution innovations. Contact your Local executive members for further details.
The Committee has also initiated bargaining talks at several other separate “tables” including:
Alberta Cancer Board
Bethany Care Calgary
Bethany Care Cochrane
Bethany Care Collegeside
Carewest Calgary
Capital Care Edmonton
The Good Samaritan Society (including Stony Plain, Southridge, Pembina Village, Millwoods Centre, Dr. Gerald Zetter Care Centre and Southgate Centre).
St. Joseph’s Hospital Edmonton
St. Michael’s Long-term Care Edmonton
Millwoods Shepherd’s Care
Youville Home St. Albert
These agreements are negotiated separately at the same time as the main provincial table.
Bethany Nursing Home Camrose, Rosehaven and St,. Michael’s Long Term Care Lethbridge have agreed to return the main provincial table represented by HBA Services.
Calgary Health Region pulls residents from Holy Cross
Last week the Calgary Health Region announced it is moving all residents from the Holy Cross Long-term Care facility because of concerns about fire safety and about care that fails to meet provincial standards. UNA nurses at the facility in Local #233 had just served notice to open negotiations for just their second collective agreement.
It is not clear what will happen to the facility or the nurses’ jobs when the patients are relocated, but the general expectation is that the centre will close and the nurses’ positions would be lost.
Local President Roni Gray says the nurses have concerns about staffing levels at the facility. “Our residents are not receiving terrible nursing care. Our PCAs and RNs are highly skilled and competent. What we don’t have (like most places) is enough of us. There are concerns over maintenance and the inevitable paper work but our hands on direct care is equal to any other long term care institution.”
UNA sponsoring members to Medicare conference
UNA is funding ten members at large to attend the S.O.S. Medicare Conference. The members will be chosen through a random draw. UNA members interested in being funded by UNA to attend may complete an entry form by going through UNA Net (see message in News) or download and print the entry form from the UNA website Members Resources page and return it to the UNA Provincial office either by fax (780- 426-2093) or by mail (900-10611 98 Avenue, Edmonton, AB. T5K 2P7) no later than 16:30 hours on April 2, 2007.
UNA helps sponsor SOS Medicare 2 Conference
United Nurses of Alberta is helping to sponsor a major Canadian conference on the future of public Medicare. S.O.S. Medicare 2: Looking Forward will bring together leading experts in what Tommy Douglas referred to as the Second Phase of Medicare’s development: changing the way health services are delivered and addressing the social determinants of health.
The Canadian Health Coalition is one of the prime movers of the conference, which is also billed as the Tommy Douglas Vision for Medicare Conference. The Coalition was itself formed after the first S.O.S. Medicare Conference in 1979 where Tommy Douglas gave a famous speech on protecting the future of Public Health Care.
Monique Bégin, Minister of Health and Welfare in the Trudeau Government was at the 1979 conference and is returning this year. Other major national speakers include: Shirley Douglas, (Tommy Douglas’ daughter), Stephen Lewis, Alan Blakeney, Roy Romanow (both former Premiers of Saskatchewan), as well as, Tom Kent, Principle Secretary to Prime Minister Pearson, and Judith Shamian, RN, PhD, LLD, Victoria Order of Nurses, and many others.
The Conference is being held in Regina, May 3 - 4, 2007.
Registered Nurse grad numbers going up
After disastrous cuts in Registered Nurse graduates in the province, the number of new nurses coming through the system is again rising. The most current data provided recently by Alberta Advanced Education is that there were about 1,484 graduates from Registered Nurse (RN) education programs in 2005/2006. They anticipate that will increase to 1,687 RN graduates by 2008/2009 (estimated) and with new college degree initiatives, in excess of 1,800 graduates by 2011/2012.
The hospital-based nursing schools were closed in the mid-1990s and the number of Alberta RN grads bottomed out at 440 in 1998-99 and was only about 500 in 1999-2000. The number of new nurses is gradually picking up now, but over 30% of the province’s 24,000 Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses are 50 and over and are coming up to retirement quickly. As many as 2,000 or more a year could be retiring in each of the next few years.
Parkland teachers vote 95% to reject offer, pressure mounts on Board
Five hundred and fifty teachers in Parkland School Division west of Edmonton are in the fourth week of their strike over total instructional time. Last week they voted 95% against a Board offer in a Labour Relations Board mandated vote that the school Board had demanded.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board also suggested the school Board had been attempting to “bully” the teachers.
Meanwhile, one School Board elected member has resigned and the Board overall is under tremendous pressure to reach an acceptable contract. The Board has refused a mediator and wants a provincially appointed Disputes Inquiry Board.
Friends of Medicare want review of health care regionalization
Friends of Medicare has asked the provincial Auditor General to do a value-for-money audit of health care regionalization in the province. They have asked the Auditor General to determine:
Has regionalization been effective?
Has regionalization improved health care access for Albertans?
Has regionalization changed the cost of health care administration?
Has regionalization increased the transparency and accountability of health care governance?”
“Albertans across this province are concerned about the delivery of health care in their region and the performance of their regional health authority,” said FOM Chair Gordon Campbell. “The questions we have asked reflect concerns with the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of the health regions and their performance with regard to health care access and administrations costs.”
“Friends of Medicare holds Fred J. Dunn and the office of the Auditor General of Alberta in high respect,” said Campbell. “The May 2005 Report of the Auditor General on Seniors Care and Programs was outstanding and has made a significant contribution to the concerns faced by Albertans living and working in long-term care facilities and supportive living settings.”
Canada Day never on a Sunday
Under the federal Holidays Act, Canada Day is always observed on July 1 unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case it is observed on July 2.
In 2007, this is the case and the official statutory holiday for Canada Day this year is Monday, July 2.
Talking about Alberta’s “democratic deficit”
Public Interest Alberta has published a special policy paper and kicked off a province-wide discussion on how democracy functions in the province.
“Alberta’s democratic deficit is at least as large as its infrastructure deficit, and the consequences are every bit as problematic,” says Larry Booi, Chairperson of Public Interest Alberta.
PIA is hosting eight public forums across the province on the topic. The remaining forum dates are: Athabasca (March 16th), Edmonton (March 17th), Camrose (March 23rd), Calgary (March 24th), and Grande Prairie (March 31st).
To view the discussion document and to register for one of the eight public forums, please visit PIA’s website at www.pialberta.org.
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