Notice Board

The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) presents a session examining citizens' access to health care and the challenges facing the Alberta system.

Access Block — What is it and what are the challenges facing the Alberta Health-Care System?

Thursday, May 5, 2022 – 12 to 1 p.m. MDT

YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/vjvExXFjCOk

The speaker will define and provide examples of “Access Block” within our health-care system and discuss what it means for patients and patient outcomes. An overview of the current challenges and issues growing within our system that impair timely access to acute health care in our province will be considered.

Speaker:     Dr. Paul Parks MD, FRCPC

From 2006 to the present, Dr. Parks has been actively involved in provincial & national Emergency Department Overcrowding (EDOC) advocating for important access initiatives and changes. Since 2009, he has been advocating provincially for the open and unfettered ability for physicians to advocate on behalf of their patients and was actively involved in the government-initiated Health Quality Council of Alberta Review which concluded in 2012. This review stated unequivocally that both access block and physician intimidation were and still are significant issues in health care delivery within Alberta. Dr. Parks’ advocacy has been honoured with the Alan Drummond Advocacy Award in 2011; and the Public Interest Alberta Award in 2014.

Parks is currently an emergency physician at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, the president of the Section of Emergency Medicine for the Alberta Medical Association and a clinical lecturer at the University of Calgary’s Department of Emergency Medicine & Family Medicine. He was trauma team leader and clinical lecturer at the University of Alberta - Emergency Medicine. Parks is an emergency medicine examiner with the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and an emergency clinical network member with Alberta Health Services (AHS). In recognition of his teaching and resident mentorship, Parks received the University of Calgary’s Clinical Teaching Award, the Canadian Emergency Medicine Teacher of Year in 2007 as well as Outstanding Clinical Teacher of Medical Students from the University of Alberta.

Parks is happily married to his wife Samantha and proud father to two daughters. A movie buff, avid reader and participant and board director of the Medicine Hat Musical Theatre.  He is a craft beer lover and co-founder and co-owner of Hell’s Basement Brewery.

To ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember, you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.

Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthernAlbertaCouncilonPublicAffairs

For further information on the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, visit the SACPA website.