Camrose residents plan their future care in one-on-one talks with physicians

On a Saturday morning in October, Camrose residents sat down one-on-one with physicians at St. Mary’s Hospital to talk about the care they would want if they became seriously ill. There was no emergency and no rush. Just time to ask questions and say what mattered to them.

More than 70 community members completed their Goals of Care Designations at the Oct. 17 session, hosted by the Covenant Camrose Community Board with the physicians and staff of St. Mary’s Hospital. The session grew out of a need the community raised itself.

A Goals of Care Designation is a medical order that tells a person’s health care team the general focus of care they want, so their wishes are known before a crisis. It is one part of advance care planning, along with a personal directive, a legal document that names someone to make personal decisions for a person who can no longer make them.

Covenant Health’s community boards serve in an advisory role and represent Covenant Health’s interests across an entire community. In January 2026, the Covenant Camrose Community Board hosted an advance care planning information session to gauge how much residents wanted to know about Goals of Care Designations and personal directives.

More than 150 people came. Many followed up with their own physicians afterward to complete their designations.

Interest stayed strong. A second information session on Oct. 3 drew more than 75 people. Feedback from both events pointed to the same gap: many people did not have a family physician, or their physician did not have experience with advance care planning conversations.

Board chair Dr. Gail Cunningham took that feedback to Dr. Louis Minders, medical lead for St. Mary’s Hospital. With Stacey Brewster, the hospital’s site administrator, they planned a dedicated session where residents could meet directly with physicians and complete their designations. The plan also made sure each completed designation would be updated accurately in Connect Care, the provincial clinical information system.

To help prepare, Louis reached out to the Covenant Health Palliative Institute, which gave physicians resources to have these conversations more effectively. A virtual seminar was also held. Dr. Ella Rokosh, associate chief medical officer for urban acute care at Covenant Health and a critical care specialist, supported the presentations to the community.

The Oct. 17 session brought physicians, hospital support staff and residents together in a welcoming setting. Participants could ask questions and talk through their values and preferences before making decisions about their future health care.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Participants told the board they were grateful for the chance to complete their designations and for the one-on-one time with physicians. Some called those conversations “amazing.”

They said they felt heard and supported while making important health-care decisions. They also valued having time to ask questions and weigh their options without the pressure of a medical emergency.

The benefits reach beyond the people who completed designations that day. When a patient’s wishes are understood, the board says, physicians and hospital staff are better supported to give care that matches those wishes.

The board calls the event a resounding success and thanks the physicians, hospital support staff and residents who gave up a Saturday morning to make it happen. Board members say the session shows the commitment of St. Mary’s physicians to the health of the community, and what open communication between the board and the medical team can do. By working together to understand community needs and hospital capacity, they built a practical solution that benefits the whole community.

The board expects the Oct. 17 session to serve as a model for future sessions.