With Cochrane’s rapid population growth placing pressure on local health services, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has responded with new staffing-- but questions remain about whether the increase will be enough to meet rising demand.
Barb Shellian, Director of Rural Health for AHS (Calgary Zone), spoke at the June 2 Committee of the Whole meeting, outlining efforts to address the town’s urgent care needs.
“I've come to love and really respect this community,” Shellian told council. “It’s a community that wants the best for its residents-- and I’m willing to work in any way I can to achieve that goal.”
Shellian has been involved with health care in Cochrane for 22 years and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Cochrane Community Health Centre.
“I remember what it was like when there wasn’t a community health centre, when services were scattered across multiple buildings,” she said. “It wasn’t the one-stop shopping we have today.”
Working with Coun. Susan Flowers and other local advocates, Shellian helped launch the Cochrane Health Team, a group that was instrumental in creating the Community Health Centre, which opened in February 2011.
Today, the facility employs 150 staff, most of whom are Cochrane residents. Services offered include:
- Urgent Care Centre
- Rapid assessment
- Follow-ups for youth in collaboration with Alberta Children’s Hospital
- Cast Clinic
- Pediatric Asthma Clinic in collaboration with Alberta Children’s Hospital
- Alberta Precision Laboratories
- Diagnostic imaging
- Home care
- COPD & asthma management
- Addiction and mental health services
- Environmental and oral health programs
- Speech therapy
- Chronic disease management
With all these services offered amplified by the increase of population in town, patient volume has risen.
“For context, in 2023 we had 36,032 visits,” Shellian said. “This past fiscal year, that number rose to 42,321. Staff were staying until 2, 3, even 4 a.m. to treat people who were still waiting at 10 p.m.”
After more than 18 months of advocacy, AHS secured funding recently for four full-time nursing positions for urgent care-- positions that had previously gone unfunded.
“We’re really happy about that,” Shellian said. “Many areas in AHS struggle to recruit staff, but here in Cochrane we have no unfilled vacancies in urgent care, and we have a long list of casuals eager to work.”
Additional physicians have also joined the roster, thanks to Medical Director Dr. Simon Warwick, who Shellian called “one of the best.”
“He’s well connected to emergency physicians in the city, and that’s allowed us to bring more doctors on board,” she said. “The more doctors we have, the faster patients can be seen.”
The Cochrane model is gaining wider recognition. A recent visit from then-health minister Adriana LaGrange led to Cochrane being labelled the “gold standard” for urgent care.
“She toured the site and was very impressed,” Shellian said. “She told us we were the gold standard, and now new urgent care centres being developed across Alberta are being modelled after us.”
That recognition extends beyond the province. Healthcare leaders from Regina recently visited Cochrane for advice on setting up their own urgent care facility.
“I’m really proud of the nurses, physicians, and administrative staff here,” said Shellian. “They’re providing a level of care that’s now recognized across Canada.”
But even with the accolades, challenges remain.
“We get a lot of praise from patients and families, but, of course, there are some who aren’t happy,” she admitted. “We deal with complaints as quickly as we can.”
One of the most common concerns is the hours of operation, currently limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
However, changes to those hours are no longer under AHS jurisdiction due to a major restructuring of Alberta’s health governance. Decisions about service expansion now fall to Matt Jones, Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, and the newly created Acute Care Alberta (ACA).
“There have been concerns raised with the minister and my supervisor about our hours,” Shellian said. “But AHS no longer has accountability for expanding or changing services.”
Despite this, Shellian said current staffing levels and efficiency suggest that longer hours may not be needed-- at least for now. She confirmed to Councillor Alex Reed that wait times have gone down for the centre and the staffing is keeping on pace with the population growth in town.
“If we ever start having staff staying until 3 or 4 a.m. again, that would indicate the need,” she said. “But right now, we’re clearing the waiting room efficiently by 10 p.m.”
Aside from pushing for extended hours, Shellian suggested improving existing services, particularly with equipment upgrades.
“An additional X-ray machine would really help us move patients faster; especially on busy days at the cast clinic,” she said. “We also have the space and capability for ultrasound, but we don’t currently have one. That’s a gap.”
Another way to ease strain on urgent care, Shellian said, is through public education.
“People need to understand when to come here and when to use other resources,” she said.
Coun. Flowers echoed that thought, encouraging residents to use Health Link (811) or call 911 when appropriate.
“Calling 811 can help answer your questions at night, and paramedics can often treat you on the spot if you call 911,” she said.
While no major changes are guaranteed, council emphasized the importance of continued community advocacy.
“When we worked together years ago to bring the health centre here, it was community advocacy that made the difference,” said Flowers.
Shellian agreed, noting that community surveys helped build the case back then, and can do so again.
“It’s easier than ever now to do virtual surveys,” she said. “If you believe this is a community need, use your networks and advocate.”
