Question about AHS

[Novo]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question but is AHS an elected body? I know they're funded by tax payers but at the end of the day where do the people who run it get the authority from? The premier?

Also let's say someone gets fired from AHS how do they find another job (not in LTC) if AHS is the only major healthcare entity in Alberta?

Thanks

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

The Board of Directors is elected. Their funding comes from a mix of Provincial, Federal and private sources. If you were fired from AHS, then you could apply with Covenant Health or a private company. You might be eligible for re-hire with AHS, depending on the reason you were fired, but AHS is the main Provincial health authority for AB.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

While AHS's board is an elected body, it's largely collection of what basically amounts to a bunch of political appointees. The org chart is 99 pages long. The government loves to state categorically that they are NOT running the show (especially when it comes to negotiations with the various unions - UNA, HSAA, AUPE and AMA) but it's painfully obvious that they are. They pull the strings and the board members dance. UNA will be exchanging proposals with AHS for contract negotiations tomorrow. The union is expecting a full package of rollbacks from AHS. Negotiations are going to be prolonged and very acrimonious and in the end, the government will be the one holding all the cards, since it's illegal for UNA members to strike. We only have to look at the way the physicians' negotiations have been handled to tell which way the wind is blowing.

As joanna73 said, if you've been fired by an AHS-affiliated facility, whether you'd be considered for other positions will depend a lot on why they felt compelled to take that action. If you've been terminated in your first 500 hours of employment, as the contract stands right now, they really don't need a reason and it's not considered to be the same thing as if you've been terminated for some heinous act. In that case, you'd be eligible for rehire on another unit or at another facility. Otherwise, it's Covenant or one of the private LTC employers like Citadel or one of the private surgical centres.