Health Minister, AHS issue statements on death of Clairmont boy

Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Alberta Health Services have both issued written statements after the death of eight-year-old Jaren Arbeau.

He died Sunday after he stopped breathing and could not be revived. He had been taken to Grande Prairie hospital Saturday after having trouble breathing. Doctors say it was an allergic reaction because of wildfire smoke. Family and friends say he was misdiagnosed.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro emailed the following statement to Everything GP. “Jaren’s death is a tragedy and a shock to me as Health Minister and as a parent. My heart goes out to his family, and I assure them and the people of Grande Prairie that every aspect of his care will be reviewed to see if anything could have been done differently and if there is anything we can do to prevent another tragedy in the future.

I know the Emergency Department is very busy but that’s never a reason for a tragedy like this to happen, and I urge people not to jump to conclusions about Jaren’s death or any other case. AHS has made improvements in the past year to reduce delays, and I’ll support any further initiatives that are needed. But my first commitment is to Jaren’s family, that the system will learn from their loss in any way we can.”