Award Recipients

Held annually by Health Quality Alberta and its Patient and Family Advisory Committee, the Patient Experience Awards celebrate and help spread knowledge about projects or programs that improve the patient experience in accessing and receiving healthcare services. We are proud to recognize these teams.

2026 Patient Experience Award recipients

Alberta Children’s Hospital Family Mentor Program

At the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, families whose children faced repeated hospitalizations shared they often felt alone and overwhelmed. A volunteer peer support model was well received by families but difficult to sustain. The Family Mentor Program changed to a formal, paid mentor model to provide consistent, integrated, peer support to every inpatient family. Hear one mom’s story of how a family mentor with lived experience helped her navigate a difficult time. [Discusses complex medical needs and emergency care.]

Goba Care

For many residents of northern Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, travelling to Edmonton for care is a major undertaking. The experience for Indigenous patients in particular can be marked by financial stress, language and cultural barriers, and isolation. Patients are often required to travel alone, facing complex diagnoses without an advocate and navigating airports and huge urban hospitals while medically fragile. A mom describes how Goba Care kept her family feeling connected to culture and community while managing complex medical care for her baby and a long-term move to Edmonton.

Pediatric Interdisciplinary Neurodevelopmental Clinic (PINC)

Evolving scientific knowledge has shown many factors beyond prenatal alcohol consumption are relevant in assessing and diagnosing neurodevelopmental conditions such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. These include genetics, trauma, prematurity, co-existing health conditions, exposure to other drugs, and even social factors like poverty and racism. The clinic (PINC) widened its focus on understanding each child’s health and disability within their unique story and family history. Two moms describe how the clinic’s assessments were individualized, flexible, and focused on helping their children do what matters most to them in their daily lives.

Provincial Pathways

After receiving a diagnosis, patients across Alberta repeatedly shared they lacked clear, consistent information about what to expect on their care journey. The Provincial Pathways Unit worked with patient advisors from across Alberta to create a template for describing a patient’s journey, which was then used to create 20 diagnosis-specific pathways. Patient advisors shaped the language and design of them – and of the parallel clinical pathways for providers. Now, patients and providers can rely on guidance that matches. Hear a patient describe how this makes it easier for patients to take an active role in their health journey.

Previous award recipients

2025 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Alberta Virtual Pain Program
The Alberta Virtual Pain Program offers easy and timely access to people-centred interdisciplinary care and evidence-based non-pharmacological resources for people living with pain. Patients can self refer. This accessible approach removes major barriers to care – including challenges in getting a diagnosis and referral – which are especially common among patients without a primary care provider, patients in rural communities, and at-risk populations. See how the program helped patients manage their pain and reclaim joy in their lives.
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Calgary Zone Music Therapy Program
Palliative, neurological, and critical care hospital patients experience high rates of anxiety, distress, confusion, pain, and poor sleep. Patient distress in ICUs is commonly managed with sedation, especially during prolonged stays. The Calgary Zone Music Therapy Program offers an evidence-based, non-drug, pain and anxiety option. Learn how Certified Music Therapists use music in acute care to enhance health and well-being.
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Edmonton Diabetes and High-Risk Foot Clinic
Diabetes care has historically been fragmented, requiring patients to visit separate clinics for specialist appointments, foot and nail care, wound care, diabetes education, insulin pump training, and mental health support. Communication between these services was often minimal, creating an overwhelming burden on patients and their families. The Edmonton Diabetes and High-Risk Foot Clinic consolidated services under one roof. One patient shares how the clinic – where she feels less judged and more supported – has made her life much easier.
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My Next Steps
Created by patients, for patients, My Next Steps is a resource that empowers patients to be actively engaged in their own discharge planning. Patient advisors with lived experience worked with staff to design, test, and implement the guide across acute care sites in Alberta. Hear how My Next Steps is helping to improve transitions in care to reduce the risk of readmission or return visits to emergency.
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2024 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Aunties Within Reach
Aunties Within Reach is a dedicated team of Indigenous full-spectrum birth workers providing resources such as pre- and post-natal care, infant feeding, and safety planning in Indigenous communities in northern Alberta. See how the Aunties are filling the gaps in care between western and traditional ways of being and knowing.
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Medical Abortion Clinic
Significantly reduced wait times mean patients can be seen by the Medical Abortion Clinic early in their pregnancy for counselling around the options available to end or keep the pregnancy. Patients can self-refer. For rural Albertans, virtual care greatly improves access to healthcare during a difficult time, and it removes the stress of travel and time away from family supports. Learn about this low-cost, harm-reduction, and safe alternative to surgical abortion in a clinic or hospital. Discusses stress of unplanned pregnancy, sexual assault, and personal safety.
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Incremental Dialysis Program
Rooted in partnership between patients and healthcare providers, the Incremental Dialysis Program was implemented across most of Alberta. Instead of the typical three times-a-week schedule, eligible patients have a gentler twice-a-week approach to dialysis at a healthcare facility. Patients were involved in designing the solution, every step of the way. Hear from two patients who describe the toll dialysis can take, and the difference to quality-of-life incremental dialysis makes possible.
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Medicine Within Programs
Recovery Alberta community mental health and addiction outreach services in Lethbridge and the Honouring Traditions and Reconciliation Society created the Medicine Within Programs to focus on addiction and mental health healing practices deeply rooted in Indigenous cultural traditions. Acknowledging the interconnectedness of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, a comprehensive wellness strategy integrates traditional healing ceremonies, traditional medicine plants, and mindfulness practices. See how a community-driven approach supports recovery through resilience, identity, and strength-building in individuals, families, and communities. Discusses personal loss due to addiction.
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2023 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Advanced Cancer Support in Virtual Rehabilitation and Exercise (ACTIVE-North), northern Alberta
ACTIVE-North is an eight-week interdisciplinary program offering individualized support in pain management and rehabilitation to northern Albertans with incurable cancer. Delivered to people in their homes via Zoom, it significantly reduces the travel burden for people in remote communities. Watch the uplifting story of a Grande Prairie woman who regained the energy to make music. *Discusses palliative cancer care.
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Family Integrated Care, provincewide
Implemented in 14 neonatal ICUs in Alberta, Family Integrated Care has improved the experience of parents in feeling included in their preterm baby’s care. Hear from a dad who describes how the care of pre-term babies has changed since the birth of his first child. *Shows preterm infants in ICU.
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Indigenous Support Line, Alberta Health Services Indigenous Wellness Core, northern and southern Alberta
The first of its kind in Canada, the Indigenous Support Line is a toll-free, confidential phone service that connects Indigenous callers and service providers with Indigenous health professionals. Learn how the line is providing culturally respectful support and helping change the experience of Indigenous patients.*Discusses past trauma in healthcare.
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Pediatric Eating and Swallowing Project (PEAS), provincewide
The Pediatric Eating and Swallowing (PEAS) Project grew from a strong desire to improve care for children who have a feeding disorder. An estimated 35 per cent of typically developing children and 80 per cent of developmentally vulnerable children have eating and swallowing difficulties, associated with significant health risks, family stress, and expense. Hear one family’s heartwarming experience getting help for their young daughter.
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Distinguished Initiative - Telemonitoring to Reduce Adverse Events for Hospitalized Patients, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton
To improve patient safety, telemonitoring was introduced for at-risk patients on high-flow oxygen. Sometimes, patients inadvertently remove their oxygen mask while asleep. If that goes unnoticed, their oxygen saturation level may fall dangerously low. To ensure constant monitoring, portable cameras are set up at the bedside, sending a live video feed to a trained attendant who continuously monitors multiple patients and can notify a nurse when something goes wrong. In one year, telemonitoring detected 162 times in which patients removed their oxygen and 954 instances where a patient’s oxygen level fell too low. The number of patient falls declined by 75% and there were fewer transfers to ICU. Patients and caregivers say telemonitoring reduces anxiety and enhances overall patient experience.
Distinguished Initiative - Congruence Couples Therapy initiative at Addiction Services, Edmonton
Congruence Couples Therapy is an enhancement to existing services within Addiction Services Edmonton that combines addiction and couples counselling to include the client’s partner when appropriate. In the traditional approach to addiction treatment, clients and partners were seen separately. Without a coordinated plan for recovery and relapse prevention, couples often grew farther apart. Using this innovative, evidence-based model, couples work together to create a coordinated recovery plan, align expectations, and resolve challenging issues. This relationship-based approach has led to significantly improved symptoms in addiction, as well as better outcomes in mental health, emotion regulation, and reduced life stress, helping couples embark on a joint journey toward sustainable recovery.
2022 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Complex Care Hub – Rockyview General Hospital and South Health Campus, Calgary
The Complex Care Hub provides a Home Hospital care model as an alternative to traditional hospitalization for patients with complex conditions who require hospital-level care but are able to sleep at home. Watch how they supported a young mom experiencing a difficult pregnancy.
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Infant Preschool Assessment Service (IPAS) at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton
The IPAS team sought to improve access to early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, made more difficult during the COVID pandemic, by developing a tool for virtual assessment. Hear one family’s experience getting help for their young son.
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Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton
Real-time integration of radiology, surgery, and pathology for early breast cancer patients is reducing the frequency of repeat surgery for patients. Watch the uplifting story of one woman with a family history of cancer whose own experience was made better through this program.
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Low-Stimulus Immunization Clinic – Public Health, Vaccination Services, Calgary Zone
This clinic was created in 2021 to support neurologically diverse clients in accessing COVID-19 immunizations. Clients include those with severe needle phobias, PTSD, autism, and a variety of other neurodiversities. Learn how they helped a young teen overcome his severe needle phobia.
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2021 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Hope Hallway
Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) two adolescent mental health units at the Foothills Medical Centre collaborated with patients, family, staff, and community artists to design and create the Hope Hallway. The Hope Hallway transforms the traditional, institutionalized feel of the hospital to one that is teen-friendly, hopeful, comforting, and engaging. Content includes discussion of mental illness/hospitalization.
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Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) at AgeCare
The medical assistance in dying (MAID) program at AgeCare provides residents with compassionate end-of-life care in a peaceful and supportive space, surrounded by the people most important to them. The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for residents across Alberta seeking MAID. AgeCare acted quickly and worked with the MAID navigation team at Alberta Health Services to continue to accept transfers for MAID by providing a dedicated space for transfers during the pandemic, ensuring the safety and comfort of all involved. Content includes a setting for medical assistance in dying.
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Reducing the Impact of Financial Strain
The Life Medical Clinic and McLeod River Primary Care Network are working together to reduce the impact of financial strain (RIFS) on their patients. They developed and implemented a screening tool that creates a safe space to have a conversation with a patient about the impact of finances on their health. The clinic worked closely with the Alberta Health Services Health Promotions team to map the local agencies who could provide appropriate supports for each patient.
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Virtual Caregiver Support Sessions
The Stollery Children’s Hospital Patient and Family Centred Care team facilitated conversations with families of medically complex children to understand how they were uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine, and created a series of virtual caregiver support sessions. This AHS initiative created a virtual community to help families cope and navigate challenges with supportive peers and providers through the pandemic. Content includes discussion of pandemic stress/isolation.
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2020 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Remote monitoring for patients living with cardiac implantable electrical device (CIED)
The Performance Evaluation and Rhythm Follow-up Optimization through Remote Monitoring (PERFORM) team implemented remote monitoring for patients living with a cardiac implantable electrical device (CIED) more consistently across Alberta. Using remote monitoring, CIEDs can be connected at any time, wherever a cellular or WiFi network exists. This allows patients to be evaluated in their home to a similar extent as in a specialty face to face clinic visit, increasing access to appropriate and acceptable care in the community and without subjecting patients to excessive infectious risks as in the current pandemic.
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Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP)
The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) uses a completely virtual clinic model to connect a doctor-led, multidisciplinary team with clients referred for opioid agonist therapy (OAT; e.g., methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone). Assessment, treatment, and support are provided via videoconference, telephone, and texting, and are delivered in conjunction with a pharmacist in the local area for OAT medication dispensing.If you are in Alberta and need support for yourself or a loved one, you can call the VODP team at 1-844-383-7688.
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Maskwacis Elders Mentoring Program
The Wetaskiwin Primary Care Network (PCN) Prenatal Program, in collaboration with the University of Alberta and the Cree communities of Maskwacis, established the Elders Mentoring Program. Through the program, several Elders and grandmothers from Maskwacis work alongside staff to provide additional, culturally appropriate supports to Indigenous pregnant women and their partners in their prenatal clinic.
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Provincial Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Delirium Initiative
In partnership with Alberta’s critical care community, the Critical Care Strategic Clinical Network (CCSCN) led and facilitated the highly collaborative Provincial Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Delirium Initiative. This initiative team engaged patient and family advisors, operational leaders, and front-line healthcare professionals across Alberta Health Services to design, adapt, and implement leading practices for the prevention and management of ICU-associated delirium into the Alberta context. These efforts resulted in a standardized provincial approach to this aspect of care in both adult and pediatric critical care settings.
2019 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Summary of 2019 Award Recipients
Read about the four initiatives that received a 2019 Patient Experience Award.
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NowICU Project, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Misericordia Community Hospital – Video
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Rapid Access, Patient Focused Biopsy Clinic; Head and Neck Surgery, Pathology; University of Alberta Hospital – Video
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Edmonton Prostate Interdisciplinary Cancer Clinic (EPICC), Northern Alberta Urology Centre – Video
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Transitional Pain Service, South Health Campus – Video
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2018 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Summary of 2018 Award Recipients
Read about the four initiatives that received a 2018 Patient Experience Award.
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Webcast from our 2018 Awards program
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2017 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Summary of 2017 Award Recipients
Read about the four initiatives that received a 2017 Patient Experience Award.
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Webcast from our 2017 Awards program
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2016 Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award recipients
Summary of 2016 Award Recipients
Read about the four initiatives that received a 2016 Patient Experience Award.
download (PDF 282K)
Webcast from our 2016 Awards program
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