Consolidation of Surgical Services within a Health Region: A Case Study

This article is an historical case study of the effects of consolidating surgical services in Alberta's Capital Health Authority from 1994 to 2001. The consolidation resulted in the region's two largest hospitals offering primarily high intensity inpatient surgical care, while three other hospitals offered low-intensity day surgery and short-stay procedures only. Over time, refinements of the initial model were required. Lessons learned from the initiative are also presented.