Nurses to hold Day of Action information pickets across Alberta on Wednesday

Media Advisory

Information pickets are expected to take place at more than 25 worksites across Alberta, including Brooks, Calgary, Camrose, Claresholm, Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Fairview, Fort McMurray, High Level, High Prairie, Jasper, Lamont, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, St. Paul, Stony Plain, Peace River, Ponoka, Westlock, and Whitecourt.

Members of United Nurses of Alberta will send a message to the Alberta government on Wednesday, August 11, of their commitment to Albertans and our province’s public health care system.

The message will take the form of information pickets and other activities at health care facilities where Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses represented by UNA work as well as other locations throughout the province. Members of other health care unions will join the information walks at many locations.

In all, information pickets are expected to take place at more than 25 worksites across Alberta, including Brooks, Calgary, Camrose, Claresholm, Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Fairview, Fort McMurray, High Level, High Prairie, Jasper, Lamont, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, St. Paul, Stony Plain, Peace River, Ponoka, Westlock, and Whitecourt.

Several speakers will address participants outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton at noon on Wednesday, including Rochelle Walker, President of UNA Local 33 at the RAH; UNA First Vice-President Danielle Larivee; Alberta Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer Karen Kuprys; Health Sciences Association of Alberta President Mike Parker; Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Vice-President Susan Slade; NDP Health Critic David Shepherd; and Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson.

Larivee will also be available for media interviews at RAH, after 1:15 p.m. at the University of Alberta Hospital, and later in the afternoon at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.

UNA Second Vice-President Cameron Westhead will be available for media interviews at the information pickets at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Information on times and locations, updated daily, is found at: https://www.una.ca/1267/una-day-of-action-on-august-11

After 18 months on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta’s nurses are exhausted and overworked. Nurses go to work every day to make sure Albertans get the best and safest patient care possible. They need fairness in the workplace.

Beds are closing because hospitals are short of nurses. This is a result of the pressure on the system caused by pandemic and a long history of understaffing nursing positions.

The rollbacks proposed by the government are an insult to nurses and won’t help Alberta recruit and keep health care workers, which is what is needed most to keep hospital beds open.

Nurses must also able to focus on safe patient care, which is hard to do when hospitals are understaffed and government is attacking nurses and other health care workers.

UNA represents more than 30,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and allied health care workers at public, not-for-profit and for-profit health care and seniors’ care facilities throughout Alberta.

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UNA Information walks

BROOKS

Brooks Health Centre - UNA Local 191

When: August 11 starting at 1200
Where: Starting outside of the Brooks Composite High School (650 - 4th Avenue E, Brooks) at 1200, the info-picket will walk past the Brooks Health Centre to MLA Michaela Glasgo’s constituency office on 2nd Ave and back to BCHS.
Contact: local191exec@una.ca

CALGARY

Foothills Medical Centre - Local 115

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330
Where: Outside the Foothills Medical Centre (1403 29 St NW, Calgary) along 29 Street.
Contact: Kevin Champagne at local115exec@una.ca

Peter Lougheed Centre - Local 1

When: August 11 from 1400 to 1600
Where: Outside the the Peter Lougheed Centre (3500 26 Ave NE, Calgary) on 26th Avenue outside of the Emergency Department.
Contact: local1exec@una.ca

Rockyview General Hospital - Local 121

When: August 11 from 1100 to 1300
Where: Outside the Rockyview General Hospital (7007 14 St SW, Calgary) on the green space along 14 Street.
Contact: Marie Aitken at maitken@una.ca

South Health Campus - Local 415

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330
Where: Outside of South Health Campus
Contact: local415exec@una.ca

CAMROSE

Camrose - Local 12, Local 15, and Local 217

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330
Where: Starting outside the Louise Jensen Centre (5400 46 Ave, Camrose)
Contact: jsmith@una.ca

CLARESHOLM

Amundsen Park - Local 228

When: August 11 from 1100 to 1600
Where: At Amundsen Park with 3 planned walk times at 1115, 1315, and 1515 (4900 3 St W, Claresholm)
Contact: local228exec@una.ca

DRAYTON VALLEY

Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre - Local 28

When: August 11 from 1030 to 1200
Where: Outside the Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre (4550 Madsen Ave, Drayton Valley)
Contact: local28exec@una.ca

EDMONTON

Alberta Hospital Edmonton - Local 183

When: August 11 from 1200 to 1600
Where: Outside of Alberta Hospital Edmonton (17480 Fort Rd NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local183exec@una.ca

Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital - Local 32

When: August 11 from 1000 to 1400
Where: Along 111 Avenue outside the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (10230 111 Ave NW, Edmonton)

Grey Nuns Community Hospital - Local 79

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330 
Where: Outside the Grey Nuns Community Hospital (1100 Youville Drive NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local79exec@una.ca

Misericordia Community Hospital - Local 11 

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1300
Where: Outside the Misercordia Community Hospital (16940 87 Ave NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local11exec@una.ca

Royal Alexandra Hospital - Local 33

When: August 11 from 1000 to 1400, speakers at 1200
Where: Outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital (10240 Kingsway NW, Edmonton) along Kingsway Avenue.
Contact: Lonee Rousseau at lrousseau@una.ca

University of Alberta Hospital - Local 301 

When: August 11 from 1100 to 1500
Where: Outside the University of Alberta Hospital (8440 112 St NW, Edmonton) along 112 Street.
Contact: local301exec@una.ca

FAIRVIEW

Fairview Health Centre - Local 64

When: August 11 from 800 to 1400
Where: Outside the Fairview Health Centre (10628 110 Street, Fairview) and a walk down main street at 1300
Contact: Ann Geerinckx at ageerinckx@una.ca

FORT MCMURRAY

Northern Lights Regional Health Center - Local 96

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1300
Where: Outside of the Northern Lights Regional Health Center on 7 Hospital Street in Fort McMurray, from there they will be marching down Franklin Ave to MLA Tany Yao's constituency office.
Contact: local96exec@una.ca

GRANDE PRAIRIE

Queen Elizabeth II Hospital - Local 37

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1300
Where: Outside the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (10409 98 Street Grande Prairie)
Contact: local37exec@una.ca

HIGH LEVEL

Northwest Health Centre - Local 162

When: August 11 from 800 to 1630
Where: In front of the Northwest Health Centre (11202 100 Ave, High Level)
Contact: Robyn Dwyer at 780-841-3228

HIGH PRAIRIE

High Prairie Health Complex - Local 17
When: August 11 from 1100 to 1300
Where: The south side of the High Prairie Health Complex (5101 38 St, High Prairie)
Contact: Jan Robinson at 780-523-0765 or Rudy Valenzuela at 780-6050705

JASPER

Jasper - Local 75 

When: August 11 from 1200 to 1300
Where: In front of the firehall (518 Geikie Street, Jasper)
Contact: Rachel Gaudry at rgaudry@una.ca

LAMONT

Lamont Health Care Centre - Local 29 

When: August 11 from 1100 to 1300
Where: Outside the Lamont Health Care Centre (5216 53 St, Lamont)
Contact: local29exec@una.ca

LETHBRIDGE

Chinook Regional Hospital - Local 120

When: August 11 from 1100 to 1300
Where: Outside the Chinook Regional Hospital (960 19 St S, Lethbridge ) along 17 Street South
Contact: local120exec@una.ca

MEDICINE HAT

Medicine Hat Regional Hospital  - Local 70

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330
Where: Along 5th Street outside the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital (666 5 St SW, Medicine Hat)
Contact: local70exec@una.ca

PEACE RIVER 

Peace River - Local 30
When: August 11 at 1630
Where: On 98 Street near Glenmary Park in Peace River
Contact: local30exec@una.ca

RED DEER

Red Deer Regional Hospital - Local 2 

When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330
Where: Outside the Red Deer Regional Hospital (3942 50a Ave, Red Deer)
Contact: local2exec@una.ca

ST. PAUL

St. Paul Health Centre - Local 24

When: August 11 from 1400 to 1800
Where: Outside the hospital (4713 48 Ave, St. Paul) and along main street in St. Paul.
Contact: Jillian Loe at 780-227-0313 or jillianloe@hotmail.ca

STONY PLAIN

WestView Health Centre - Local 92

When: August 11 from 800 to 1330
Where: Outside the WestView Health Centre (4405 S Park Dr, Stony Plain)
Contact: Heidi Kushnerek at hkushnerek@una.ca

STRATHMORE

Strathmore District Health Services - Local 313 and 307

When: August 11 from 900 to 1700
Where: Outside the Strathmore District Health Services (200 Brent Boulevard, Strathmore) 
Contact: local313exec@una.ca 

PONOKA

Ponoka - Local 31 

When: August 11 at 1600
Where: Park located across from the Rising Sun Clubhouse in Ponoka (5216 50 Street)
Contact: local31exec@una.ca


WAINWRIGHT

Wainwright Health Centre - Local 38

When: August 11 from 700 to 2000
Where: Outside the Wainwright Health Centre (530 6 Ave, Wainwright)
Contact: local38exec@una.ca

WESTLOCK

Westlock Health Care Centre - Local 73

When: August 10 starting at 1000 [*Note this info-picket is happening on August 10]
Where: Outside the east side of the Westlock Health Care Centre (10220 93 St, Westlock)
Contact: local73exec@una.ca

WHITECOURT

Whitecourt - Local 149 

When: August 11 from 1200 to 1400 and 1600 to 1800
Where: On the corner of Highway 43 and Hospital Road in Whitecourt.
Contact: local149exec@una.ca

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