EDMONTON – As Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky considered his capital spending priorities, 150 concerned people attended a town hall Thursday evening demanding the redevelopment of Alberta Hospital Edmonton.
The town hall was part of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ ongoing campaign to secure funding for the redevelopment of AHE. Albertans have also sent 500 letters to MLAs demanding redevelopment since March, and more than 300 attended a rally next to the hospital grounds in late April.
“After a full year of campaigning for redevelopment of Alberta Hospital Edmonton, many people still have a passion for the issue and continue to lobby for the improvement of mental health services,” said AUPE Executive Secretary-Treasurer Bill Dechant, who attended the event.
“This is the kind of public support that is needed if we want to secure the future of Alberta Hospital,” he said.
Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky was invited to attend the town hall by McClure United Church, which hosted the event as part of their speakers’ series. Zwozdesky declined the invitation.
Speaking at the event, AUPE President Guy Smith praised the efforts of every Albertan who contributed to the campaign for redevelopment, telling the audience that “if it wasn’t for people like you and everyone else who stood up and demanded that the AHE stay open, the hospital might not be here today.”
Other speakers at the town hall included Diana Gibson of the Parkland Institute, Noel Somerville of Public Interest Alberta’s Seniors Task Force, and Friends of Medicare Executive Director David Eggen.
Gibson pointed out that Alberta would have to add 1,300 mental health care beds just to meet the per capita average in other western countries. Somerville decried the plan to displace 150 long-term care beds at Villa Caritas in West Edmonton by closing the geriatric psychiatry unit at Alberta Hospital.
“Villa Caritas was intended to replace long-term care at the aging Edmonton General Hospital and there are many disappointed families around the city who donated a significant amount of money to see that happen,” said Somerville.
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For more information:
Bill Dechant, Exec.-Secretary Treasurer, AUPE – 780-930-3302 or 780-232-3870 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE – 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
Click here for a gallery of images from the meeting.