Urgent Review of Alberta Out-of-Country Health Services Decisions (Two Patient Cases)
Urgent Review of Alberta Out-of-Country Health Services Decisions (Two Patient Cases)
The Issue
Dear Premier Danielle Smith, Honourable Health Minister Justin Wright, and Alberta Health Leadership,
Petition Summary
This petition calls on the Government of Alberta to urgently review and improve the Out-of-Country Health Services (OOCHSC) process following two unrelated cases where patients were denied access to medically recommended care outside Canada.
⸻
Case 1: Tamara Polo
Tamara Polo is an Alberta mother of three who sustained catastrophic cervical spine injuries after being struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian in a parking lot.
Following extensive assessment in Canada and internationally, multiple independent specialists diagnosed severe cervical instability and recommended complex cervical spine reconstruction surgery.
Despite this medical consensus, Ms. Polo’s application and appeal for out-of-country funding were denied, leaving her without an accessible treatment pathway within Canada.
She is now facing the difficult reality of trying to privately fund medically recommended surgery abroad.
Find out more about Tamara’s story here:
https://globalnews.ca/news/11841289/questions-raised-alberta-out-of-country-health-care-funding/
Case 2: Myla
Myla is a two-year-old little girl who was born with an extremely rare vascular malformation called a CM-AVM. In simple terms, the blood vessels in Myla’s face, including areas around her cheek, mouth, nose, eye, and ear, did not form correctly because of a genetic mutation called RASA1. Because of this, blood does not flow normally through these areas, which causes serious complications and ongoing risks.
Myla’s condition is complex and life-threatening. She experiences daily bleeds of varying severity, along with swelling, discomfort, and changes to parts of her face, including her ear, nose, and mouth. It affects basic parts of daily life like eating, breathing, sleeping, hearing, and comfort. Her family lives in a constant state of alert, watching for bleeding, new swelling, increased pain, or changes that could mean her condition is progressing.
After exploring and exhausting available Canadian resources, and after seeking second opinions in the United States, the only remaining treatment option for Myla was specialized care with Dr. Colletti in Italy. Myla has already travelled to Italy for one treatment, and her family has seen why this care is so urgently needed. Despite the severity of her condition and significant support from her medical team in Calgary, Myla’s application for Alberta out-of-country funding was denied, forcing her family to publicly fight and crowdfund for the next treatment their daughter urgently needs.
Find out more about Myla’s story here:
Why This Matters
These are two separate cases, but they highlight a shared concern: how the system responds when patients with rare, complex, or catastrophic conditions fall outside standard treatment pathways.
Many Albertans and Canadians are now asking what happens when medically recommended care exists but cannot be accessed within Canada, and there is no clear or accessible pathway for funding or treatment abroad.
A healthcare system is ultimately judged not only by how it serves routine cases, but by how it responds when patients fall outside conventional pathways.
Albertans believe in our healthcare system with the expectation that when tragedy strikes, people will not be left without options simply because their circumstances fall outside administrative frameworks.
⸻
What We Are Asking For
We respectfully call on the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health to:
Urgently review both cases with compassion and reconsideration where possible
Ensure there is a clear, fair, and accessible pathway for patients requiring out-of-country care in exceptional circumstances
Review and modernize the OOCHSC framework to reflect modern medical realities and complex patient needs
⸻
Government Responsibility
We believe it is the responsibility of government to ensure that publicly funded healthcare systems include fair, transparent, and compassionate mechanisms for patients who fall outside standard treatment pathways, particularly in cases involving catastrophic or rare medical conditions.
When medically recommended care exists but is not accessible within Canada, there must be a clear and workable process to ensure patients are not left without options due to administrative or procedural limitations.
⸻
Closing
This petition is not only about two families. It is about ensuring that Alberta’s healthcare system has the flexibility to respond to rare and catastrophic cases with compassion, fairness, and clarity.
We believe no Albertan should be left without a medically reasonable pathway to care when specialist consensus supports treatment that is not available in Canada.
⸻
Please sign this petition to support review and reform of Alberta’s out-of-country healthcare process.
Yours Respectfully,
Concerned Calgary and Alberta Citizens
546
The Issue
Dear Premier Danielle Smith, Honourable Health Minister Justin Wright, and Alberta Health Leadership,
Petition Summary
This petition calls on the Government of Alberta to urgently review and improve the Out-of-Country Health Services (OOCHSC) process following two unrelated cases where patients were denied access to medically recommended care outside Canada.
⸻
Case 1: Tamara Polo
Tamara Polo is an Alberta mother of three who sustained catastrophic cervical spine injuries after being struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian in a parking lot.
Following extensive assessment in Canada and internationally, multiple independent specialists diagnosed severe cervical instability and recommended complex cervical spine reconstruction surgery.
Despite this medical consensus, Ms. Polo’s application and appeal for out-of-country funding were denied, leaving her without an accessible treatment pathway within Canada.
She is now facing the difficult reality of trying to privately fund medically recommended surgery abroad.
Find out more about Tamara’s story here:
https://globalnews.ca/news/11841289/questions-raised-alberta-out-of-country-health-care-funding/
Case 2: Myla
Myla is a two-year-old little girl who was born with an extremely rare vascular malformation called a CM-AVM. In simple terms, the blood vessels in Myla’s face, including areas around her cheek, mouth, nose, eye, and ear, did not form correctly because of a genetic mutation called RASA1. Because of this, blood does not flow normally through these areas, which causes serious complications and ongoing risks.
Myla’s condition is complex and life-threatening. She experiences daily bleeds of varying severity, along with swelling, discomfort, and changes to parts of her face, including her ear, nose, and mouth. It affects basic parts of daily life like eating, breathing, sleeping, hearing, and comfort. Her family lives in a constant state of alert, watching for bleeding, new swelling, increased pain, or changes that could mean her condition is progressing.
After exploring and exhausting available Canadian resources, and after seeking second opinions in the United States, the only remaining treatment option for Myla was specialized care with Dr. Colletti in Italy. Myla has already travelled to Italy for one treatment, and her family has seen why this care is so urgently needed. Despite the severity of her condition and significant support from her medical team in Calgary, Myla’s application for Alberta out-of-country funding was denied, forcing her family to publicly fight and crowdfund for the next treatment their daughter urgently needs.
Find out more about Myla’s story here:
Why This Matters
These are two separate cases, but they highlight a shared concern: how the system responds when patients with rare, complex, or catastrophic conditions fall outside standard treatment pathways.
Many Albertans and Canadians are now asking what happens when medically recommended care exists but cannot be accessed within Canada, and there is no clear or accessible pathway for funding or treatment abroad.
A healthcare system is ultimately judged not only by how it serves routine cases, but by how it responds when patients fall outside conventional pathways.
Albertans believe in our healthcare system with the expectation that when tragedy strikes, people will not be left without options simply because their circumstances fall outside administrative frameworks.
⸻
What We Are Asking For
We respectfully call on the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health to:
Urgently review both cases with compassion and reconsideration where possible
Ensure there is a clear, fair, and accessible pathway for patients requiring out-of-country care in exceptional circumstances
Review and modernize the OOCHSC framework to reflect modern medical realities and complex patient needs
⸻
Government Responsibility
We believe it is the responsibility of government to ensure that publicly funded healthcare systems include fair, transparent, and compassionate mechanisms for patients who fall outside standard treatment pathways, particularly in cases involving catastrophic or rare medical conditions.
When medically recommended care exists but is not accessible within Canada, there must be a clear and workable process to ensure patients are not left without options due to administrative or procedural limitations.
⸻
Closing
This petition is not only about two families. It is about ensuring that Alberta’s healthcare system has the flexibility to respond to rare and catastrophic cases with compassion, fairness, and clarity.
We believe no Albertan should be left without a medically reasonable pathway to care when specialist consensus supports treatment that is not available in Canada.
⸻
Please sign this petition to support review and reform of Alberta’s out-of-country healthcare process.
Yours Respectfully,
Concerned Calgary and Alberta Citizens
546
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Petition created on May 28, 2026