Alberta will soon have its health care divided into eight to 10 operational districts, with each district responsible and accountable for health care delivery.

The details of how the province will be split up have yet to be released.

Its the first of 56 recommendations to come out of the Rural Health Services Review, a provincial report that assessed health care challenges in small communities.

Health Minister Stephen Mandel announced on March 18 that each of the districts will need to put together a facilities and maintenance plan to show how its health facilities will work together, and each will be given a budget based on program needs.

Each district will also have a local advisory council and will be responsible for establishing, Mandel said, a patient-first program.

We cannot emphasize how important it is that we need to be a patient-centric system, not a provider-centric system, Mandel said.

As of last week, we are expanding the scope of practice for paramedics Were also doing a protocol to limit the time EMS spend at urban hospitals.

That means ambulances and other EMS vehicles housed in rural locations will return straight home after a call instead of relocating to a closer urban centre.

Additionally, the government will be outlining a self-managed care initiative for isolated Albertans with health care needs.

Other initiatives include:

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Rural health care reforms coming for Alberta