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AIDS workers look for long-term solution to staffing crisis

Alberta Community Council on HIV joins Who Cares Alberta Campaign

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November 15, 2007

"Community-based AIDS Service Organizations are facing challenges of new and diverse populations requiring our services, while government funding for these services remains fairly static," says Debra Jakubec, Vice-Chair of ACCH and Executive Director of HIV Edmonton. "This is why we feel it is so important that we speak out now in partnership with other human service organizations so that we can find a long-term solution to this growing crisis."

The Alberta Community Council on HIV (ACCH) is an umbrella organization representing 13 community-based AIDS service, harm reduction and assisted living organizations working in every health region of the province. The member agencies work to lessen the community-wide stigma associated with HIV and to broaden the support provided for persons living with HIV and those most at risk for HIV infection.

The drain on quality personnel is a very real problem in the day-to-day operation of most community-based HIV/AIDS service organizations." --Jennifer Vanderschaeghe

"Our members range in size from organizations of one or two staff in rural areas to agencies with ten or more staff in urban centres", said Ellie Colver ACCH Program Director. "This issue directly impacts service delivery in rural areas as some entire Health Regions are unable to offer harm reduction and other important programming, while others have too few staff to offer full time services. "


"The cost of providing services in a community-based setting is considerably lower than in a hospital or long term care facility setting, says Susan Cress, Chairperson of ACCH and Executive Director of AIDS Calgary. "It is hard for us to the provide the prevention, health promotion and harm reduction services when in the past three years, 8 out of 13 of ACCH member agencies have lost their Executive Directors and there is also ongoing turnover of front line staff in all agencies."


"The need for specialized knowledge and skills to work in the HIV/AIDS field means that new employees need hours of orientation and training, stretching resources yet again," said Jennifer Vanderschaeghe of the Central Alberta Aids Network Society. "The drain on quality personnel is a very real problem in the day-to-day operation of most community-based HIV/AIDS Service Organizations and in particular in the smaller organizations, where one staff leaving means a 33-100% staff turnover."

Media Contacts

Provincial Contacts

Ellie Colver
Program Director -ACCH 780-902-2736
ecolver@acch.ca
www.acch.ca

Debra Jakubec
Vice-Chair External
ACCH Board of Directors 780-488-5742/977-0613
debra.j@hivedmonton.com

Lethbridge and Area
Lethbridge HIV Connection
Helene Wirzba
Executive Director 403-328-8186
ed@lethbridgehiv.com
www.lethbridgehiv.com

Medicine Hat and Area
HIV Society of Southeastern Alberta
Brent Ramsay
Executive Director 403-527-5882
bwbwramsay@hotmail.com

Calgary and Area
AIDS Calgary Awareness Association
Susan Cress
Executive Director 403-508-2500
scress@aidscalgary.org
www.aidscalgary.org

Red Deer and Central Alberta
Central Alberta AIDS Network Society (CAANS)
Jennifer Vanderschaeghe - Executive Director 403-346-8858/340-9701
jennifer@turningpointagencies.org
www.cirsonline.com/caans

Edmonton and Area
HIV Edmonton
Debra Jakubec
Executive Director 780-488-5742/977-0613
debra.j@hivedmonton.com
www.hivedmonton.com

Grande Prairie and Area
HIV North Society
Brenda Yamkowy
Executive Director 780-538-3388
director@hivnorth.org
www.hivnorth.org

Fort MacMurray and Area
Wood Buffalo HIV & AIDS Society
Daven Seebarran
Executive Director 780-743-9200
wbhas@telus.net
www.wbhas.ca

 

 


 
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