The appointment will take effect on Feb. 1 to coincide with the establishment of Acute Care Alberta as a legal entity.

By Eli J. Ridder

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The Alberta government on Wednesday appointed a temporary chief executive to oversee its hospitals and emergency care division, a move the New Democrats said was an example of an unstable health care system under the ruling United Conservatives.

Dr. Chris Eagle will start as interim president and CEO of Acute Care Alberta the day the agency becomes a legal entity on Feb. 1.

The agency, charged with speeding up access to care and reducing wait times, is one of four new large divisions created by the restructuring of Alberta’s public health care system that started in 2024.

Engle said in a statement that he was looking forward to supporting provincial efforts “to create an improved acute care system that will make sure Albertans have access to the best health care services they need, no matter where they live in the province.”

Andre Tremblay, deputy minister of Alberta Health Services, has been appointed interim president and CEO of Alberta Health Services.

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In the past, Tremblay has been deputy minister at Education, Agriculture and Forestry, and Transportation. This is also his second leadership role at Alberta Health, having previously served as an associate deputy minister.

With both appointments being in the interim, the AHS board of directors will begin the search for a permanent president and CEO immediately, according to a news release.

Naheed Nenshi, leader of the New Democrats, said the appointments Wednesday make up the latest example of the UCP undermining health care and creating chaos for patients and staff.

“Danielle Smith and Adriana LaGrange keep attacking acute care by firing CEOs and appointing more insiders instead of fixing the very real problems Albertans are facing,” Nenshi said in a statement.

“Emergency rooms across the province are closing and nearly a million Albertans don’t have a family doctor.”

The Alberta Medical Association, an organization that represents doctors across the province, has criticized the “silos” created by the separate agencies.

Both the NDP and AMA say the province is more focused on shifting management around than addressing core issues like employee retention.

“This is now the fourth CEO and the fourth Board Chair the UCP has gone through since 2021. Alberta now has six health care organizations each with their own management layer and the UCP still cannot get it right,” said Nenshi.

“Their incompetence is putting patients at risk.”

The Alberta government did approve a long-awaited new doctor pay deal in December that was hailed as a win for family physicians. In October, resident physicians also signed off on a new four-year compensation agreement with the province.

Premier Danielle Smith hailed the health care system restructuring as her greatest achievement in 2024 in a year-end interview with CHAT News.