Author of the article:
Don Braid • Calgary Herald
Date of publication:
04 Apr 2022 • 4 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 37 comments Dr. Verna Yiu, CEO and President of Alberta Health Services, speaks during a briefing on COVID-19 on October 12, 2021. Photo by Ian Kucerak / Postmedia
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The abrupt departure of Dr. Verna Yiu as CEO of Alberta Health Services was a shock to many health care workers who admired her calm, compassionate leadership.
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But its exit will be an even bigger shock for the system itself. It marks the late start of UCP’s plans for major healthcare reforms. Yiu’s five-year contract was extended last year for two years, until early June 2023. The only reason for this expansion was COVID-19. The government did not want to be upset during a pandemic. And Yiu, most will agree, was a consistent leader during the test. But now the government wants a new leader in health with a new five-year mandate for the reforms to come. Health Secretary Jason Copping acknowledged this when he said: “It’s time to move forward with an ambitious agenda to improve and modernize the health care system, and renewed leadership at Alberta Health Services will support these changes.”
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Plans include more private surgeries paid for by health care, reform and expansion of primary care networks, significant upgrades to continuing care, severe pay and pay cuts, and more in the health sector. Most initiatives have stalled due to the pandemic. What has really happened – the attempt to unilaterally reduce doctors’ salaries, for example – has led to political catastrophe. Now the government hopes to show results by the day after the election: May 29 next year, just days before Yiu’s term expires. There is no public indication that Yiu was a staunch opponent of the reform measures.
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But she took over as CEO in 2016 during the NDP years. She was sometimes very independent of UCP tastes. The government wants a CEO who is enthusiastic about controversial healthcare plans. Some specific irritants had also accumulated on the part of the government. In the Premier Jason Kenney cycle, the AHS was considered too slow to build capacity in the ICU. They also found Yiu’s alarm language when he spoke of the possibility of running out of space. Personally, I found her immediacy reassuring. Dr. Verna Yiu, with Prime Minister Jason Kenney and then-Secretary of Health Tyler Shandro at a pre-COVID press conference on March 3, 2020. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia Many in government, especially the rural UCP MLAs, resented her harsh approach to the vaccination mandate for health workers. When the policy softened recently, a note from Yiu to AHS staff said it was “in accordance with government instructions.”
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In the best of times, there is a significant suspicion in the countryside of the giant, focusing on the Edmonton health system. The pandemic gradually turned it into an aggressive hostility. To some members of the UCP, Yiu began to look like a dictator. The NDP has pointed to specific attacks on it in the legislature by UCP members such as Dan Williams and Shane Getson. Williams said the AHS was holding “a knife to the throat” of remote communities. NDP health critic David Shepherd claimed that Kenney fired Yiu in order to gain the support of extremists in his criticism of the leadership. That’s not the whole reason, but there is some truth in it. Yiu will definitely not miss these side effects of her job. She probably has some juicy complaints of her own. AHS officials were surprised to hear of her departure on Monday morning.
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They liked her, trusted her and respected her. People who worked with her say she was fair and consistent even under the most intense pressure. Maintaining this loyalty by most of its staff during the tough COVID-19 test was truly a sign of excellent leadership. Mauro Chies will serve as Interim CEO of Alberta Health Services. Photo by Alberta Health Services Interim Managing Director is Mauro Chies, Vice President of Clinical Support Services and Cancer Care Alberta. He is well regarded at AHS and his appointment, we hope, is a sign that Calgary’s new cancer hospital will not be lost in this mix. There will definitely be more departures. This government has a deep political and psychological impulse to clean up the pandemic symbols. On Monday, Dr. Dina Hinsow, Alberta’s chief health practitioner, appeared in court to defend her pandemic measures against legal challenges from the churches. It’s sad, really, how the heroes of a crisis can be themselves set aside. Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald. Twitter: @DonBraid Facebook: Don Braid Politics
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