New Alberta hospital agency to be up and running in the spring, minister says

Alberta's health minister says the province's new hospital agency will be operational next spring, months later than expected. Adriana LaGrange says hospitals now run by Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health will answer to the new agency, Acute Care Alberta.

The United Conservative Party government is breaking apart Alberta Health Services as part of a major overhaul and had originally aimed to have all four new organizations replacing the agency running before 2025.

LaGrange says the delay for acute care is necessary to ensure it succeeds. She says the province is establishing a working group to help the transition and has hired former Alberta Health Services president Dr. Chris Eagle to be an adviser.

Eagle served as leader of Alberta Health Services more than a decade ago but resigned partway through his contract because he thought the agency needed ``fresh eyes and fresh energy.''