Cowell contract to administer Alberta Health Services extended to end of year

Dr. John Cowell's appointment to run Alberta Health Services as its sole administrator was extended to the end of the year Friday

Dr. John Cowell's contract to run Alberta Health Services has been extended to the end of the year.

Cowell was appointed in November, 2022, after Premier Danielle Smith fired the board of Alberta Health Services.

His mission, as defined by the premier, was to improve EMS response times, decrease emergency room and surgical wait times, and add more staff.

He was paid $360,000 and will get that amount again for the extension.

Minister of Health Adriana Lagrange said in a release that she was happy with Cowell's work running AHS.

"I am pleased by the progress made under Dr. Cowell’s leadership in the immediate areas of action he was tasked with," Lagrange said.

"We already have tangible results Albertans can see. I look forward to working with him over the next six months to continue improvements in health care delivery until a permanent governance structure for AHS is developed."

The province said that since November, there's been a 17 per cent decrease in wait time at emergency departments, in addition to a drop by almost half in EMS response times for the most urgent calls in metro and urban areas, to 12 minutes.

NDP RESPONDS

The opposition NDP says Cowell has failed to make a significant positive impact.

"Danielle Smith promised that under Dr. John Cowell's leadership the entire health-care system would be fixed in 90 days," said NDP health critic David Shepherd in a release. "It is now 218 days since his appointment and Albertans are still experiencing 15-hour wait times at major hospitals, random obstetric closures, severe staff shortages in rural emergency rooms, ongoing lab service delays and the continued exodus of Alberta doctors and health-care workers to other jurisdictions.

"Despite Danielle Smith's claims, there is still a crisis in Alberta health care and neither the UCP nor Dr. Cowell has a plan to fix it," he said, continuing. "There are still tens of thousands of Albertans with no access to a family doctor. Meanwhile, the UCP continues to reinforce a lack of transparency on performance measures in health care, no leadership from newly-sworn health minister Adriana LaGrange, and a coordinated campaign to politically interfere in the health-care system, as we learned this week from Dr. Esther Tailfeathers."

"Albertans deserve to hear directly from the health minister and Dr. Cowell about a real plan to end the crisis in health care and to answer questions about the UCP's ongoing political interference in the administration of health services."

COMMITTMENT TO SERVICES

Cowell said in a statement that he would continue prioritize improved services as well as working with the mental health and addiction ministry to improve clinical services and outcomes for those experiencing addiction.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead AHS and improve health care services for all Albertans," Cowell said. "AHS continues to address priority areas and drive measurable, meaningful improvement.

"We are fortunate to have the best health care workers in the world, and as an organization, we are focused on step-by-step improvement that is already leading to better access to care.

"I’m also looking forward to working with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction and improving clinical services, resources and outcomes for Albertans needing support."