Health Care and Social Assistance

In 2016, 11.9% of jobs in this province were in the health care and social assistance industry. Much of the industry was funded by the province. Between 2017 and 2018, for example, the Alberta government will spend $21.4 billion to deliver health care to its residents. Its priorities include better access to primary and community-based health care, spending $249 million for the year. It also budgeted $81 million for addiction and mental health services. Another $15 million will go toward carrying out the recommendations from the Alberta Mental Health Review Committee. The provincial government also set aside $2 billion for home care and community care for seniors and Albertans with disabilities, creating prospects for rural service providers.  

The province’s 2017 commitment to add 1,000 new continuing care beds in communities across Alberta will increase the need for more health care workers. Other key strategies will produce similar results. These include expanding home care services, enhancing care for patients with dementia, increasing immunization rates, and strengthening food safety procedures. Improving maternal and infant health, and reducing the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, are also on the government’s agenda.