Breastfeeding Support

Offers support to clients with questions or concerns about breastfeeding. Specialized nurses help to prevent and manage common breastfeeding concerns, such as:

• assisting parents with basic position and latch
• poor latch
• inadequate milk transfer
• nipple or breast pain

Can also provide strategies for lactating and breastfeeding if a parent:

• needs to be separated from the infant
• has twins, triplets
• premature infants
• infants with medical concerns

Car Seat Clinics

Clinic teaches the proper procedure to install child safety seats in vehicles.

Clinical and Metabolic Genetics Program

The Clinical Genetics team provides genetic assessment, screening, diagnosis, genetic counselling, and treatment (when available).

The Inherited Metabolic team provides diagnosis, lifelong treatment, monitoring, education and support for individuals and families impacted by metabolic conditions.

Both services focus on patient and family centred care and, as well, are actively involved in research to best support quality care for patients and families.

For additional information related to the specific services offered by Clinical Genetics Subspecialties please search directly for;

• Cardiogenetics Clinic
• Clinical Genetics Outreach Services,
  provided in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Red Deer
• General Genetics Clinic
• Genetic Connective Tissues Disorders Clinic
• Hereditary Cancer Clinic
• Inherited Metabolic Disorders Clinic
• Neurogenetics Clinic
• Ocular Genetics
• Prenatal

Genetic outreach centres, located in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer, have  genetic counsellors available to see patients and families closer to home. In cases where a geneticist MD is required, a geneticist from Calgary travels monthly to all sites to provide medical genetic consultations.

Fluoride Protection for Toddlers

Children only need to have a few teeth to start getting fluoride. Applications are given 4 times, once every 6 months. For eligibility information visit our website.

At the appointment:

• The child sits on their parent's lap while staff apply fluoride on the child's teeth using a brush, which takes less than a minute.
• The child can eat and drink right after the treatment.
• The fluoride sticks to the teeth and protects them. It slowly wears off when the teeth are brushed.

If the child has asthma, bring his or her asthma reliever medicine to the appointment.
This provincial prevention service is available in all AHS (Alberta Health Services) zones.

Nutrition Services

Services provided may include:

• nutrition assessment and counseling for children. Topics addressed include allergies, growth, infant feeding (formula, introduction of solids and progression of textures), feeding children, and picky eating.
• group classes and presentations on general nutrution for all age ranges; prenatal, infant, and toddler nutrition, picky eating, and grocery store tours.

Office of the Medical Officer of Health

The MOH is responsible for:

• The overall health of Albertans
  monitoring and reporting (to the public and to the Health Authority Board) on the health status of the population. This is done through health and disease surveillance. Advocate for changes in policy that will improve the health of residents (e.g., smoking by-laws, bicycle trail systems, intersection safety and red light campaigns).
• Communicable Disease Control
  Works to control the spread of communicable diseases and manage outbreaks. Also responsible for STD and TB follow-up and control, and for infection control in the community.
• Safe and Healthy Environments
  Gives direction to Environmental Health service programs to ensure food safety, safety and minimum standards for housing, daycares, swimming pools, etc. and to progams that promote healthy physical environments.
• Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention
  Responsible for chronic disease prevention (heart disease, obesity, stroke) for injury prevention, healthy aging, and preventing low birthweight in babies

Medical Officer of Health | Alberta Health Services

Population Health Promotion Program

The Population Health Promotion Program (PHPP) provides services on an individual client basis as well as to high-risk groups and the broad community utilizing a population health approach. The population health approach focuses on the entire range of individual and community factors that determine health. The Key ”Determinants of Health” include: Income and Social Status, Social Support Networks, Education and Literacy, Employment and Working Conditions, Social Environments, Physical Environments, Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills, Healthy Child Development, Biology and Genetic Endowment, Health Services, Gender, Culture.

The overall goal of this approach is to maintain and improve the health status of the entire population, reduce the incidence of disease and injury, and to eliminate inequities in health status between population groups.

Services encompass a continuum of health action from pre-conception to old age. Specific strategies are in line with those described in the World Health Organization’s Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) and include:

• Developing Personal Skills
• Strengthening Community Action
• Creating Supportive Environments
• Building Healthy Public Policy
• Community Needs Assessment and Program Planning

The program links with Provincial Population and Public Health Programs to deliver a wide range of health promotion interventions, including:

• Oral Health Program
• Injury Prevention
• Tobacco Reduction
• Health Equity
• Poverty Reduction Initiatives
• Health Promotion Education
• Population Health Surveillance

Prenatal Education

Group classes are offered on evenings or weekends. It is best to start the classes early in your pregnancy.

Classes provide information about:

• physical and emotional changes in pregnancy
• eating well and other lifestyle choices for you and your baby
• getting ready for birth
• birthing choices
• preparing for feeding your baby
• becoming a new parent
• giving your baby a good start

Public Health Nursing

The four areas that are covered by public health nurses include:

• maternal, child and family health
• communicable disease control
• school health
• health promotion

School Oral Health Services

Services are offered to eligible schools and may include:

• fluoride varnish, provided to kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2
• dental sealants, provided to Grade 1 and Grade 2

A child diagnosed with asthma must have their short acting asthma reliever medication with them to receive service.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Counselling and information services include:

• sexual decision-making
• birth control and pregnancy prevention
• sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, testing, treatment and information
• pregnancy counselling (includes all pregnancy options and referrals to services)
• talking to children about sexuality

Clinical services include:

• emergency contraceptive pill(morning-after pill)
• pregnancy testing
• STI testing and treatment
• birth control prescriptions (Lethbridge only)

Health promotion and education services include:

• education programs and presentations for all audiences
• teacher support for the sexuality part of the Alberta Education Curriculum

Travel Health Services

Promotes awareness of the possible risk of communicable disease when travelling and ways to prevent them. Travel Health can also give travel immunizations. Not all services are offered at all locations. The services below are offered on a fee-for-service basis:

• information on health risks according to country or region
• required and recommended vaccines
• information about preventing travel-related illnesses

Book your appointment at least 6 to 8 weeks before you leave to make sure there is enough time to have all your immunizations.

For more information visit our webpage

Quick Links 

• Edmonton - Seventh Street Plaza
• Calgary - Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

Travel Health Services - Yellow Fever Immunization

Alberta Health Services (AHS) Travellers Health Services offers a fractional dose of the standard Yellow Fever vaccine for all travellers visiting areas / countries in Africa and South America which are at risk of Yellow Fever Disease. The use of Fractional dose is approved by World Health Organization and Public Health Agency of Canada.

Yellow Fever vaccine should be given at least 10 days before you arrive in an area where Yellow Fever Disease is found. Please book your appointment at least three to six weeks prior to your departure date. The clinic will not offer a validated International Certificate of Vaccination; an exemption certification will be provided instead.

Tuberculosis Testing

Offers free tuberculosis (TB) skin testing to eligible Albertans. The Mantoux skin test is not recommended to diagnose TB.

Testing is done at public health centres throughout the province:

• North Zone
• Edmonton Zone
• Central Zone
• Calgary Zone
• South Zone

If you are not eligible for free testing but still need to be tested there will be a charge for the test.

For travel or work related TB testing contact the Travel Health Services in your area. With the exception of Edmonton, you would contact the Immunization Business Unit to have school or work-related TB skin testing done.