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Gene Zwozdesky says hiring freeze does not apply to delivery of services and care must be improved for seniors.
Edmonton (25 May 2010) – Health science professionals are "the backbone of the entire health care system," says Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
“If you want to know what’s going on in the health care system, then you’ve got to talk to the people who work in the trenches,” Zwozdesky told delegates at the annual convention of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE).
One of the first people he contacted after becoming president was HSAA president Elisabeth Ballermann, Zwozdesky recalled.
"I mean, the fact that HSAA represents health care professionals employed in close to 200 disciplines is pretty unique in itself,” he said.
During a question and answer period, Zwozdesky said the hiring freeze announced by the Alberta government for budgetary reasons does not apply to health services.
“There is a hiring freeze in the bureaucrat side of Alberta Health and Wellness, on the policy and strategic side of things, but over here on the delivery side of health services there is not,” he said to loud disapproval of delegates.
Lesley Baker, a delegate and new board member from Calgary, asked the minister about problems faced by senior citizens.
"Seniors without family in this province, are faced with only having one shower or a bath a week," she noted.
“We need to fix that," answered the minister. "Our seniors deserve proper care. They are the pioneers of our province.”
Larry Brown, national secretary-treasurer of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), was the featured speaker at the convention. He discussed the fallout of the global economic recession on public sector workers in Canada and "the myth" that health care costs are exploding in Canada.
In other business, J.R. Berube captured HSAA’s 2010 Barb Mikulin Award, recognizing a member’s contribution to the union and the community. Berube is a respiratory therapist at Edmonton’s University of Alberta Hospital. She is also a HSAA board member.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE