AHS won’t publicly disclose the latest private nursing contracts, but here’s what we know about the biggest players in the industry

Alberta Health Services (AHS) records show that five companies have dominated Alberta’s agency nursing market, enjoying the major share of AHS contracts from 2015 to 2023. 

AHS spending on contract nursing increased steadily from $388,000 for contracts with two companies in the 2015/16 fiscal year to $5 million with five companies in 2020/21 before increasing exponentially to $81 million with 27 companies in 2022/2023.

But in the process of trying to obtain more recent figures, The Progress Report learned that AHS won’t be publicly disclosing the contracts for the 2023/24 fiscal year, when spending on agency nurses skyrocketed to $154.6 million, due to a change in how the nursing contracts are awarded.

Adding to the lack of transparency, the agencies themselves weren’t forthcoming in response to our inquiries.

Beginning in 2022/23, given the growing size of the contracts, agencies had to receive an approved procurement exception, or APE, which are intended for use in situations of unforeseen urgency.” These contracts are listed in a separate section of the AHS sole-source contract database than the earlier ones.  

Asked for the 2023/24 APE contracts, AHS spokesperson James Wood would only disclose that AHS contracted 26 agencies in the 2024 calendar year—one fewer than in the most recent fiscal year disclosed in the database.

As an extension of AHS’ commitment to “reducing the number of agencies while ensuring we have the frontline staff needed to provide essential care to Albertans,” Wood explained, AHS initiated a separate process, dubbed “Request for Expression of Interest or Qualification (RFEOIQ),” which extended contracts that expired in December 2023 by a year.  

With the RFEOIQ process now finalized, the new agency contracts no longer qualify as procurement exceptions and will not be listed on the Approved Procurement Exceptions page,” Wood added. 

Because the RFEOIQ process is considered “competitive,” he added, contracts will not be publicly disclosed in the AHS sole-source database. 

The Report has filed a freedom of information request to obtain nursing contracts awarded through RFEOIQ. 

Five companies dominate the agency market in Alberta 

Through the contracts AHS did publicly disclose in its database, the Report was able to identify five companies that received almost three-quarters of the nearly $96.5 million awarded in AHS nursing contracts from the 2015/16 to 2022/23 fiscal years. 

The number one recipient—CNS Medical Inc.—received $32.9 million in AHS largesse since the 2020/21 fiscal year, with $30.9 million, or 91 per cent, coming in 2022/23 alone.

A corporate registry search revealed that CNS was incorporated in 2017, and is a fully owned subsidiary of Paramedex Consulting Ltd., whose sole shareholder is Robin M. Stevens of Calgary. 

CNS Medical is registered to the address of Edmonton law firm Canvas Legal, which didn’t respond to a request for comment. Paramedex is registered to the address of another Edmonton law firm, Verhaeghe Law Office, which also didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

According to its webpage, a “travel nurse” working for CNS can earn somewhere in the realm of $80 to $120 an hour “depending on the role, your experience, and the location.”

As previously revealed by the Report, Covenant Care, which is separate from AHS, paid $110 an hour for contract registered nurses (RNs) between April 2021 and September 2024, although it’s unclear how much the nurses saw after the for-profit agencies took their cut. 

CNS’s website also notes that it cannot accept applications from nurses who work for AHS, “because we currently recruit on behalf of AHS,” which would explain why it recruits travel nurses.

Nurse Relief has received $17.6 million in AHS contracts dating back to 2020/21, $15.6 million of which came in 2022/23 alone, representing 88 per cent of its public funding. 

The company was founded by Heather Pringle in 2001, when Pringle worked as an RN at Edmonton’s Misericordia, Royal Alexandra and University of Alberta hospitals. 

Pringle remains the CEO of the company, which is registered to a residential address in northeast Edmonton. 

The agency’s website offers nurses “exciting travel opportunities” to Edmonton and elsewhere in Canada to work at hospitals, primary care clinics, continuing care facilities and “specialized care units.”

Pringle didn’t respond to a request for comment left on the agency’s voicemail. 

From 2015/16 through 2019/2020, just two agencies received AHS nursing contracts—Select Medical Connections Ltd. and Sahara Staffing Solutions.

Founded in 1999 and registered as a corporation in Alberta in 2008, Vancouver-based Select Medical has received $10.7 million in AHS contracts.

Its website boasts contracts with public health-care agencies in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yukon. 

According to the company, it contracted out 2,109 nurses who provided 857,709 hours of work in 2023 alone, averaging out to 407 hours per nurse. 

The website’s frequently asked questions section notes that most of its nurses’ contracts last six to eight weeks, but some are as short as one to two weeks or as long as three to six months. 

Like Nurse Relief, Select Medical presents its services as a travel opportunity for nurses. 

Our mission is to enhance the enjoyability and comfort of your travel, nursing contract, and Canadian adventure to the fullest extent possible,” reads the webpage. 

The company is registered to law firm Stikeman Elliot’s Vancouver office. 

The only contact listed on its Alberta corporate registration is Keith Chatwin, a corporate and securities lawyer at Stikeman Elliot’s Calgary office. Chatwin didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Incorporated in 2008, Sahara Staffing has received $5.7 million in AHS contracts since 2015.

“EARN [sic] more pay per-hour than union wages,” reads the first reason listed for becoming an agency nurse on Sahara’s website. The agency also boasts “fully paid accommodations” and travel. 

Sahara placements are brief, according to its website, lasting in the realm of three to 13 weeks.

Sahara’s corporate registration lists its owner as a numbered company registered to a house in southwest Calgary. A corporate registry search for 1390017 Alberta Inc. reveals it’s owned by Kevin and Mandeep Natt, who each own half of its shares. 

Neither Kevin nor Mandeep Natt responded to a request for comment left on Sahara’s voicemail. 

B.C.-based Solutions Staffing has received $3.6 million in AHS contracts since 2018, although it’s only been registered as a corporation in Alberta since 2024. 

Solutions Staffing presents itself to nurses as “your connection to finally having that work/life balance you’ve always wanted,” advertising placements that range from one week to one year. 

Its website likens travel nursing to learning how to use a new technology. 

“At first, you might not think that it’s that important to you, but as you think about it, you start to realize that this really could improve your life. Not only will you get the hang of it in no time, but just like with technology, you’ll wonder how you did without it,” the page reads

In addition to temporary placements, the company claims to “address long-term employee recruitment and retention strategies.” A tab on its website for permanent jobs, however, links to a broken url.

The only name listed on Solutions Staffing’s Alberta registration is Jackie Zimmerman, a corporate, securities and real estate lawyer in Edmonton. Zimmerman didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

The Report searched all the names that came up in the corporate registry searches in Elections Alberta’s financial disclosures of political donations. 

Contrary to online speculation, none of the individuals are donors to the ruling United Conservative Party. 

Progress Alberta’s ongoing series investigating Alberta’s use of private staffing agency nurses is made possible in part by a grant from the United Nurses of Alberta, a labour union representing registered nurses in Alberta. The Progress Report maintains editorial independence throughout the investigation and reporting process. 


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