Edmonton... In response to the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) review on infection prevention and control issues at St. Joseph's General Hospital in Vegreville and other acute care facilities in East Central Health, Health and Wellness Minister Dave Hancock named two official administrators to oversee the health region's operations, replacing the board.

"This is a necessary decision," said Hancock. "The relationship between East Central Health and St. Joseph's General Hospital has proven to be unworkable and so, in the best interest of patient safety and quality assurance, I have appointed two official administrators to be responsible for every aspect of health care delivery in the region. I want to thank the board members for their ongoing commitment, passion and determination to do what's best for their community, but it would be unfair, at this point, to ask them to find a solution to this untenable situation."

Effective immediately Mr. Jim Saunders (J.L. Saunders and Associates Inc.) and Health and Wellness Deputy Minister Paddy Meade will serve as official administrators for East Central Health, replacing the board.
The Board of Management of St. Joseph's General Hospital, appointed by the Minister in March, will continue to oversee daily operations at that facility. As part of its mandate, the board is required to submit a plan to the Minister to improve infection prevention and control (IPC) practices at the facility by September 30, 2007.

In response to one of the key findings of the HQCA report, Hancock also announced that provincial standards will be established to ensure appropriate and safe infection prevention and control throughout Alberta's health system. The provincial framework will also include performance measures, and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

"The report from the Health Quality Council is an important health report that brings together the critical areas of governance and patient safety, and highlights their impact on a health system," added Hancock. "Clearly there are broader implications in this report for how we deliver health services and we now have an opportunity to use the findings as a catalyst for system-wide improvement. This report will assist Alberta to further develop a culture of excellence in patient safety, quality assurance and infection prevention and control. It will assist government and regional health authorities to meet our obligation to provide a high level of assurance to Albertans with respect to the quality and safety of health services they receive."

In addition to the completion of the provincial prevention and control review,

Alberta Health and Wellness will:

• Develop provincial standards and measures for infection prevention and control, and monitor and enforce compliance
• Direct that all sterilization processes for East Central Health be carried out by Capital Health and the David Thompson Health Region until further notice
• Implement provincial guidelines for managing and preventing Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreaks in health care facilities
• Bring forward legislative and regulatory changes to ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities to confirm that regional health authorities are responsible for health services in their regions
• Ensure that voluntary operators work with, and be accountable to, health regions for services they provide, and that all practices are consistent with provincial policy and standards
• Work with health regions, voluntary health boards, faith-based voluntary organizations and other stakeholders to review the master agreement and service agreements to improve governance arrangements and clarify roles and responsibilities for quality and patient safety
• Clarify the authority of regional medical officers of health with respect to infection prevention and control and establish direct linkages to the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health
• Ensure that professional bylaws, standards of practice and employee codes of conduct make clear that anyone who becomes aware of a real or potential risk to patient safety is duty-bound to take appropriate and timely action
• Review the role, function and capacity of the Health Facilities Review Committee in the quality assurance process.

Any former patients who have questions or concerns following the release of the HQCA report are encouraged to call Capital Health Link toll-free at 1-866-408-LINK (5465).

The Minister asked the Health Quality Council of Alberta for the review after the region's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Gerhard Benadé, ordered the St. Joseph's General Hospital to stop taking new patients and to close its central sterilization room on March 16, 2007. The hospital was unable to contain an outbreak of (MRSA) and was employing inadequate procedures to sterilize surgical equipment.

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Backgrounder attached: Chronology of events.