Alberta to move to hospital-based leadership

EDMONTON — In a video posted to X, premier Danielle Smith (pictured) announced the government’s latest plans for healthcare reshuffling, which includes eliminating all five Alberta Health Services (AHS) zones and moving to a “hospital-based leadership structure.”

In a statement to Postmedia from the Ministry of Hospitals and Surgical Health Services, it said moving away from “zone-based leadership” is expected to streamline decision-making and improve efficacy.

“AHS health zones are being replaced with health corridors to support an evidence-based approach to planning services, workforce, and infrastructure across Alberta’s four new provincial health agencies,” the statement said.

“These regional corridors reflect where Albertans access care and are informed by data on travel patterns, service utilization, and public feedback gathered during healthcare refocusing engagement sessions. This new structure will help identify gaps in the health-care system and guide future investments in both operations and capital projects.”

The changes will be fully implemented by summer 2026, according to the province. The Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, AHS and Acute Care Alberta will be designing and establishing a new leadership and management model with an interim model to be established by November 2025.

On the Alberta.ca website, the government noted:

How it will roll out:
Under a new hospital-based leadership model, on-site leadership teams will be responsible for hiring staff, managing resources and solving problems to effectively serve their patients and communities. While health zones will be eliminated, collaboration and integration between acute care sites will be facilitated through new regional corridors within the new decentralized system.

Performance management will be site-focused, with clear expectations set by Acute Care Alberta through a hospital-based management framework. Sites will be required to report to Acute Care Alberta based on established performance expectations.

As part of this refocusing effort, AHS will transition into a hospital service delivery provider. A review and redesign of AHS’ organization accountability and structural alignment will:

• reflect a hospital/health care site-based operational structure
• build local accountability that adheres to provincial standards
• ensure leadership aligns with a new hospital-based design
• ensure leaders have clear accountabilities and authorities
• provide a clear process for performance evaluation and reporting against site-based accountabilities, including budget
• align operations with health corridors to reflect how people access services

There will be standardized organization charts and role accountability summaries for all front-line staff and leadership positions for consistency across the system. These will be validated with front-line staff and leader engagement during the assessment process.

All hospitals will continue to follow provincial standards and guidelines. Acute Care Alberta will track performance across all sites to ensure consistency.

The new model will be launched on an interim basis in 2025 and will be adjusted based on results:

• AHS leaders and health care workers will be consulted throughout the process to help identify what is working and what needs improvement.
• Full implementation is planned for summer 2026.