On the heels of International Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31, the province launched its new health agency called Recovery Alberta on Sunday. The service will focus on delivering mental health and addictions services as part of Alberta’s health care restructuring.
Alberta Health Services will be reorganized into four different sectors operating within more defined parameters. AHS will work alongside primary care, continuing care and mental health and addiction care, which are in the process of branching off.
According to the province, more than 10,000 staff working in AHS addiction and mental health, and correctional health services, are moving to Recovery Alberta. They will continue to operate and manage contracts for about 1,650 psychiatric beds, 1,350 addiction detox and treatment beds, and health services for more than 4,800 people.
“This summer, I had the chance to hear from many front-line staff about the work being done to improve patient care by prioritizing mental health and addiction services,” Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams said in a statement.
“Together, we have an opportunity to make meaningful and lasting changes to improve the wellness of Albertans, and through Recovery Alberta, we will make it happen.”
The province says mental health and addictions have been an afterthought within the broader health-care system.
However, the transition of mental health and addictions services to Recovery Alberta is being questioned by harm reduction group Moms Stop The Harm.
Co-founder Petra Schulz says the province did not consult all groups that oversee addictions treatments and substance harm reduction. She believes the province doesn’t offer a variety of options to minimize substance abuse risks.
“We don’t really know fully how this is rolling out. The government hasn’t really consulted with the people most affected which are people using drugs, families and health-care providers,” Schulz explained to Global News.
“They focus on addiction treatment – mostly abstinence-based addiction treatment – and that is not what the evidence shows works for most people.”
On International Overdose Awareness Day Saturday, hundreds gathered at Victoria Park to remember loved ones who died as a result of substance overdoses.
Angela Welz has worked on Edmonton’s overdose awareness event since 2017 after her teenage daughter Zoe died from fentanyl poisoning the year before.
“We had some difficult situations in our family. We had some losses in our family that affected her,” Welz shared about losing her daughter. “We failed and the system failed her. My daughter did not deserve to die. She should have had access to drug treatment,” she added.
Welz says there’s a stigma surrounding those who are drawn to drugs. She doesn’t have much faith in the province’s response to curbing toxic drug deaths and overdoses even with the launch of Recovery Alberta.
She says while the province restructures its services, she will continue to help grieving loved ones on the ground level.
“Society just doesn’t understand what is involved with somebody who is taking drugs,” Welz said. “It’s affecting many more people. I think more people want to come out and express their grief with others who are experiencing the same thing.”
The province began tracking toxic drug deaths in 2016. According to the province’s substance use surveillance data, 2023 saw record-breaking toxic drug deaths in Alberta with 2,076 toxic drug deaths by all substances recorded.
According to the Province’s most recent data, between January and May of this year, Alberta has already recorded 602 toxic drug deaths. That’s 276 fewer deaths from the same timeframe in 2023.
— with files from Breanna Karstens-Smith