Health Quality Alberta

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This National Seniors Week, we’re highlighting resources that help Albertans take a more active role in their healthcare journey. These include tips for managing medications, tips for talking to your healthcare team, and a symptom tracker.

Translated resources are available for the South Asian community, Filipino community, and Chinese community.

Learn more about these resources and download them at https://ow.ly/IGwR50Z7ojG

This summer, Health Quality Alberta is looking forward to surveying residents and families about their experiences in Alberta’s continuing care homes.

This survey provides an opportunity to start and support conversations for meaningful improvements.

👉Learn more about who will be surveyed, why we are surveying, and more at hqa.ca/cch.

At the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, families whose children faced repeated hospitalizations shared they often felt overwhelmed and unsure where to turn for support. Many were unaware of the available resources or how to navigate the health system. They sought reassurance and guidance from someone who had lived through a similar experience.
A volunteer peer support model was changed to a formal, paid family mentor model to provide consistent, integrated, peer support to every inpatient family. In the first year, the mentors completed 1,172 family visits – a 554 percent increase over the previous year – with 100 percent of families saying they would recommend the program.

Congratulations to the Family Mentor Program team, a 2026 Patient Experience Award winner. 👏 Learn more: hqa.ca/awards

For many residents of northern Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, travelling to Edmonton for care is a major undertaking. The experience for Indigenous patients in particular can be marked by financial stress, language and cultural barriers, and isolation. Patients are often required to travel alone, facing complex diagnoses without an advocate and navigating airports and huge urban hospitals while medically fragile.

Goba Care provides mobile, on-the-ground support in Edmonton, bridging the clinical system and home community through navigation, advocacy, cultural connection, and material assistance. The program treats culture as a clinical necessity rather than an optional add-on.

Congratulations to the team at Goba Care, a 2026 Patient Experience Award winner. 👏
Learn more: hqa.ca/awards