MLA Armstrong-Homeniuk: Improving healthcare, student mental health

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As the school year begins, our government remains committed to expanding resources so students can thrive in their education.

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This September, we’ve added nine new CASA Mental Health Classrooms that provide an innovative way for students to get the mental health care they need while continuing their education and maintaining a social life.

We believe every person deserves an opportunity to pursue recovery, which is why we are embarking on this path of record-breaking expansions to mental health services for children and youth. In every mental health classroom, students will have access to teachers, educational staff, mental health therapists, and a wide range of professionals ready to support students in their pursuit of recovery. 

Improving healthcare

Healthcare is a key priority of our government and Alberta has been doing a phenomenal job of attracting more and more doctors and healthcare workers.

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To ensure that we can sustain and improve our healthcare system, we have made monumental improvements over the past year, including introducing a new primary care compensation model for family medicine and rural generalist physicians and a new model for nurse practitioners to strengthen our primary care network. These new models ensure that our front-line workers are supported with the necessary resources to continue administering lifesaving care to Albertans.

We have also introduced the Alberta Advantage Immigration program which has successfully nominated 122 healthcare professionals in 2023 and close to 300 professionals this year so far. This is a tremendous success that has increased rural recruitment of healthcare workers as 152 of them have chosen to work in rural communities. All of these improvements to our healthcare system have made an incredible impact on doctor, nurse, and other healthcare worker recruitment which was showcased in our Q2 update.

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According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Alberta has added almost 500 physicians since the second quarter of 2023. This showcases that Alberta is leaving no stone unturned to make sure Alberta’s primary care system is the best in Canada. 

Recognizing Rail Safety week

Every year, more than 2,100 North Americans are killed or seriously injured by unsafe behaviour near railway tracks and trains. All of these tragedies are preventable which is why we recognize Rail Safety Week, which runs from Sept. 23-29.

By educating ourselves and looking out for each other, we can put an end to rail-associated injuries and fatalities. For more information, please visit cn.ca/railsafety or operationlifesaver.ca. 

Please contact my constituency office at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns. 

Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk is the MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, which includes parts of rural Strathcona County, and Parliamentary Secretary for Settlement Services and Ukrainian Evacuees.

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