The Alberta Health Services (AHS) entered into negotiations with three vendors to provide food sales at multiple Calgary and Edmonton healthcare facilities. .“Contracting out Retail Food Services could provide $3 million per year in revenue that will be used to support core clinical services,” said AHS Interim President and CEO Mauro Chies in a Wednesday press release. .“Redirecting health care dollars to frontlines allows us to continue to provide high-quality health care to Albertans.”.The release said the goal of the outsourcing is to expand options and availability of food at cafeterias in facilities such as the Peter Lougheed Centre, the Calgary Cancer Centre, the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the University of Alberta Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. .AHS said it contracts out about 40% of retail food services in Calgary and Edmonton. It will have other companies run 100% of food sales in these cities once negotiations are completed. .The release went on to say the selected vendors are Aramark, Compass, and Sodexo. It added the next steps are to finalize contracts and help staff transition into other roles. .“Alberta’s government is committed to improving all aspects of the hospital experience,” said Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping. .“This includes improving core services like retail food delivery for those visiting loved ones in care.”.It said AHS has ensured all decisions are made with quality in mind. Food services will continue to offer variety and healthy options. .This transition will affect about 240 employees. AHS said it is committed to working with these employees and their union throughout this process. .Timelines for implementation and confirmation of the vendor for each site’s food services are part of ongoing negotiations. Further details will be provided as soon as the information becomes available..AHS lost 800 positions and shifted another 9,700 to the private sector in 2020 as part of a reorganization expected to save $600 million a year..READ MORE: UPDATED: AHS shedding thousands of jobs to save $600-million yearly.All 800 job loses will be done through attrition and frontline services were not affected. .Most of the 9,700 jobs outsourced were in labs, housekeeping, food services, and laundry.
