Board of Health Meeting
Chair Keith Egli – Verbal report
September 21, 2020
I would like to begin my verbal update this evening by
congratulating Dr. Sarah Funnell, one of Ottawa Public Health’s Associate
Medical Officers of Health, on her recent appointment to the College of Family
Physicians of Canada Board of Directors.
For those who may not be familiar, the College of Family Physicians of Canada is the
professional organization that represents more than 40,000 members across the
country. It establishes the standards for and accredits postgraduate family
medicine training in Canada's 17 medical schools. It also reviews and certifies
continuing professional development programs and materials that enable family
physicians to meet certification and licensing requirements.
Congratulations Sarah on this prestigious appointment.
August
13 virtual launch of ACB Mental Health Report Launch
On August 13, 2020, I had the pleasure of participating
in a virtual event organized and hosted by Ottawa Public Health to launch the Mental
Health of Ottawa’s Black Community Research Study.
We were fortunate to have CBC Ottawa’s Adrien Harewood
serve as Master of Ceremony for the event. OPH’s Hodan Aden and Chinedu Oraka
presented the study’s findings and, participating as panelists, we had Police
Chief Peter Sloly, Dr. Etches, Councillor Rawlson King, who is the City
Council’s Liaison on anti-racism and ethnocultural relations, Camille
Williams-Taylor, Director of Education with the Ottawa-Carleton District School
Board, and Sheila James, a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist with the City
of Ottawa.
Board Members were invited to watch the event’s livestream
on Ottawa Public Health’s Youtube channel and I hope many of you were able to
do so.
The Mental Health of Ottawa’s Black Community research
study was developed to contribute to and improve data representing the black
community. The research study was conducted due to the lack of current data on
the perceptions, experiences and needs of Ottawa’s African, Caribbean and Black
(ACB) community in related to mental health and access to quality mental health
services.
This research explores the experiences of Ottawa’s ACB
community in relation to mental health and the mental health care system. The
study examined research participants’ views and perceptions of mental health;
protective and risk factors; interactions with mental health services in
Ottawa; and strategies to improve services for Ottawa’s ACB community.
OPH, in collaboration with over 14 community partner
agencies, delivered this project over an 18-month period and 130 research
participants from Ottawa’s ACB community participated in the study.
Multi-level and intersecting factors protect or expose
people within the ACB community to risk, in terms of their mental health
status. Participants identified a wide array of individual, family, community
and societal factors that influence mental health.
This pre-COVID-19 study also revealed several optimistic
findings in terms of the research respondents’ self-rated mental health, sense
of community belonging and stress levels, which were better than the City’s
average.
Findings also revealed a number of significant obstacles
encountered by participants, including stigma rooted in cultural sensitivities,
racism, limited employment opportunities and financial insecurity, lack of
access to culturally safe care and/or care providers with similar cultural and
racial identity, among others.
The findings and recommendations from the study include
strategies to improve services and experiences for ACB populations and may be
useful to policy makers and service providers across the City. These
recommendations will lead to improved collaboration in the management and
delivery of mental health programs and services.
As part of its commitment to advancing this work, OPH
will keep advocating for intersectoral collaboration that will address issues
related to social determinants of health targeted at improving access to mental
health services and improving mental health outcomes. It will also work with
the ACB community and the City’s anti-racism secretariat to explore
implementation of public health specific recommendations.
I look forward to hearing more about this work as it
moves forward.
August 31 Overdose Awareness Day Event
On August
31st, we recognized International Overdose Awareness Day.
This annual
global event aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug
related harms and death. It is also a time to acknowledge the grief felt by
families and friends by remembering those who have been affected by drug use.
Overdose is a
continuing risk for people who use drugs in Ottawa, particularly with the
emergence of stronger opioids across the country like illicit fentanyl.
This year has
been especially challenging for many in our community and it was important for
our community to still gather together at a distance to recognize this
important event. Even through the COVID-19 response, OPH has not wavered in the recognition and support for
individuals who live with problematic substance use or a substance use
disorder. It is recognized that COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the issues
experienced by members of our community who use drugs and alcohol. The harm
reduction services provided by OPH are incredibly valued in the community and
it is important to recognize the work of OPH staff to identify innovative
solutions to provide important services during the pandemic.
Unfortunately,
problematic substance use, in particular the opioid crisis, continues to take
lives across Canada. The presence of a toxic drug supply persists. People
continue to report barriers to accessing the services they need. And we know
stigma is one the biggest barriers. This stigma needs to end. It is one of the
largest barriers to accessing help and OPH and our partners are dedicated to
providing access to equal and judgement-free help.
Safer Supply
Ottawa Partners are continuing to work to expand access to programming in the
community to decrease the risk of accidental overdose and improve health. These
services provide access to prescribed pharmaceutical opioids and further
connect people who use drugs to integrate wrap-around health, social and
treatment services. Safer Supply Ottawa is supported by Health Canada's
Substance Use and Addictions Program.
OPH is proud
of the collaborative work with our incredible partners, such as the Community
Addictions Peer Support Association, Drug Users Advocacy League, the Canadian
Center on Substance Use and Addiction, the Canadian Public Health Association,
and The Royal Ottawa.
Ottawa Public
Health strives to learn more and do more to advocate for the needs of people
with lived or living experience of substance use disorders, reduce stigma to
help remove barriers to accessing services, and promote harm reduction
principles. OPH uses this knowledge to work towards a society where no one is
forgotten or denied the care they need.
Council expansion & extension of the Temporary
Mandatory Mask By-law
As you all know, on July 15th, Council adopted
a Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law based on recommendations from our Medical Officer
of Health and the City’s General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services.
The rationale for the By-law was based on increasing
evidence that wearing a mask when in enclosed public spaces is an important
measure in reducing COVID-19 transmission. The scientific community and public
health organizations around the world have concluded that the cumulative weight
of evidence supports that face masks lessen the rates of transmission of
COVID-19 from wearers. However, other community level measures, such as
physical distancing, hand hygiene and staying home when sick, should continue
to be employed to decrease transmission of COVID-19.
Given its temporary nature, the By-law was to be
revisited at the next Council meeting, scheduled for August 26th.
In revisiting the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law, City
Council again approved recommendations from our professional staff and extended
the by-law until October 31st of this year. This included amendments
that effectively expanded the by-law’s scope so that it now applies to indoor
common areas of apartment and condominium buildings and in vehicles for hire.
It also allows for the establishment of mandatory mask zones should the need
arise.
Ottawa is continuing to see a fluctuating rate of people
infected with COVID-19 in our community. In recent weeks, we’ve experienced an
increase in the reported number of people infected with COVID-19, which has
served as a stark reminder of the potential for this virus to spread if it is
given the opportunity to do so. With the virus present in our community and the
vast majority of residents being susceptible to infection, it is critical to
exercise precautions and to continue to be COVIDWise to prevent transmission
that could overwhelm our health care system and lead to deaths. We also know
that keeping transmission under control is key to Ottawa’s economic recovery
and to a safer return to school for the children in our community. These are
the factors on which Council based its August 26th decision to
extend and expand the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law.
Given the October 31st sunset date, Council
will be revisiting the by-law again next month and looking to our professional
staff for advice and recommendations.
Notwithstanding the requirement for wearing a mask in
indoor public places, other public health measures continue to be of utmost
importance - such as physical distancing, good hand-hygiene and staying home
when sick.
Suicide prevention day
September
10th was World Suicide Prevention Day. To commemorate this day,
Ottawa Public Health, in partnership with Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO),
hosted a virtual event to raise awareness, hope and resilience, and to increase
help seeking.
This
year, the theme that Ottawa Public Health and Suicide Prevention Ottawa
selected for World Suicide Prevention Day was “One Good Thing”. This was done
to acknowledge the importance of emphasizing stories of hope and resilience
during these challenging times.
Suicide
is complex, but suicide prevention can start with one good thing. Individual
acts can have a great impact. On World Suicide Prevention Day, we encouraged
people to come together to emphasize stories of resilience and survival.
The
online event featured two community members who talked about their lived and
living experiences via virtual chat and discussed the services and supports
that helped them along the way. The event has had 1000 views to date and can be
found on Suicide Prevention Ottawa’s Facebook page.
Suicide Prevention is, and will continue to be, an
important public health priority. As Co-Chair of Suicide Prevention Ottawa, a
Network of 40+ organizations working together to prevent suicide, OPH will
continue to raise awareness, develop resources and programming, and increase
suicide prevention training across Ottawa.
Recovery Day Ottawa
Lastly, on September
25th the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) will
be hosting Recovery Day Ottawa virtually on Facebook live from 3-8pm.
Recovery Day Ottawa
is an annual community event organized by CAPSA Canada in the month of
September, and in the past has been held at Ottawa City Hall. The purpose is to
help reduce the stigma surrounding substance use disorders and addiction and
raise awareness about recovery in our community.
The goals of the
event are to celebrate the many pathways to increased wellness in our
community; foster hope for those who still suffer, reduce barriers of stigma
and discrimination directed towards those affected by Substance Use Disorder;
engage the broader community in support of stigma reduction and increased
wellness; and build a platform for dialogue on increased resources for new and
existing services in our community.
CAPSA endeavours to
engage the broader community by building partnerships with local, provincial
and national organizations and raising awareness through the #StigmaEndsWithMe
campaign.
Current times have
strengthened OPH’s resolve to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma
around substance use. Now, more than ever is a time to come together as a
community.
OPH is working with
community partners to make tangible improvements in mental health and eliminate
harms from substance use, with a focus on opioids across the lifespan through
the Ottawa Community Action Plan.
As part of this
Action Plan, OPH is partnering on a collective impact project with the Canadian
Center on Substance Use and Addiction, the Community Addictions Peer Support
Association and The Royal. This project will focus on ending stigma and
emphasizing the importance of using person first language.
Though there has been
progress, there is still work to be done to shift the behaviours and attitudes
of our community towards people who use substances, and ensure that people have
access to the support they need, when they need it.
I encourage everyone
to participate in this virtual event on September 25th and share
this throughout your networks.
Closing Remarks
Before I turn it over to Dr. Etches for her Verbal
Report, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on where we are, where
we’ve been, and what lies ahead in terms of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, we were successful in coming together
to flatten the curve of COVID-19 in Ottawa. In fact, we were so successful that
Ottawa was the first major city in Ontario to move to Stage 3 of reopening. But
we cannot rest on our laurels. The pandemic is not over. There is still work to
do.
As I indicated when I talked about Council’s extension
and expansion of the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law, ensuring a safer return
to school was one of the key factors that motivated Council’s decision on
August 26th.
We know that Ottawa’s children and youth need to be in
school. It’s better for them, it’s better from their families, and it’s better
for our economy. But a safer return to school for our children and youth is
dependant on keeping COVID transmission as low as possible in our community.
This cannot be overstated.
We also need to think ahead to what could happen as we
move into the fall and flu season.
We know that a resurgence of COVID-19 could overwhelm our
healthcare system. We also know that a bad flu season could do the same, but
the two combined could be devastating.
I recognize that the past 6 months have been tough and
there is some COVID-fatigue setting in. However, given the recent increase in
the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa and the potential
consequences of letting our guards down, I urge everyone to get back to basics
in thinking about and in implementing public health measures in their daily
lives.
Now more than ever, we all need to be COVIDWise:
Wear a mask.
Isolate yourself if you’re sick.
Stay 2 meters away from people outside your household.
Exercise proper hand hygiene.
We really are all in this together. We have a collective
responsibility to do everything we can to protect ourselves, our loved ones,
and our community.
That concludes my verbal update. I’d be happy to take any
questions.
Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera Etches – Verbal report
September 21, 2020
Good evening, Bonsoir, Kway,
In tonight’s Verbal Report, I will talk about a recent
Provincial announcement about new Ontario Health Teams, an OPH Position
Statement on Stigma and COVID-19, this fall’s influenza immunization campaign,
and our ongoing work in response to COVID-19, including school reopenings.
But first I want to take a moment to share that today
marks the start of Environmental Public Health Week, an opportunity to
recognize the important work of our Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and all
those who work in environmental health. The theme for this year’s Environmental
Health Week is “Public Health as a Collective Effort”.
In addition to their work in health hazard and rabies
prevention, answering calls on the intake line, inspections at restaurants,
personal service settings, recreational water facilities, and in small drinking
water systems, our Public Health Inspectors have been crucial to the pandemic
response by mitigating risk and managing outbreaks in retirement and long-term
care homes and congregate settings and guiding in the safe re-opening of
businesses and childcare facilities.
New Ontario Health Teams announced, including Ottawa East
OHT
Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) work took a pause in the
spring due to COVID-19 demands. On July 23, the Ministry of Health announced
five new OHTs – including the Ottawa East OHT. Nous sommes un fier partenaire de
l’équipe Santé Ontario de l'est d'Ottawa. This brings the total number of
approved OHTs across Ontario to 29.
In July, the Ministry also announced implementation
funding to support all approved OHTs. Access to these funds requires the
establishment of collaborative decision-making agreements. Both the Ottawa Health Team and Ottawa East OHT are in the
process of finalizing and signing off on these agreements by the end of
September. These agreements formalize our current processes for working
together and do not duplicate or replace any partner’s governance or
operational decision-making. We are reviewing these documents now – no concerns
have been raised to date.
The work of Kids Come First has also continued,
responding to the needs of children, youth, their families, and providers through
the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Rivers OHT, led out of West Ottawa, remains “In
Development” and is in conversations with the Ministry regarding next steps.
COVID-19 has in many ways accelerated opportunities to
work collaboratively across the health system. / À bien des égards, COVID-19 a
accéléré les possibilités de travailler en collaboration dans l'ensemble du
système de santé.
As cross-sector entities, OHTs are being recognized as a
valuable vehicle for shaping our ongoing response to COVID-19 and meeting the
needs of our local communities.
Stigma and COVID-19 OPH Position Statement
Ottawa Public Health has
recently put out a position statement on stigma and COVID-19
to address the rise in stigma and prejudice in our community against those who
have the COVID-19 virus, people who are thought to be carriers of the virus
based on appearance, and people who are thought to be from areas where the
COVID-19 virus originated.
As many of us are aware,
stigma is a negative stereotype or negative association about a group of
people.
OPH’s COVID-19 data shows areas with a high proportion of racialized communities
and high material deprivation have higher rates of COVID-19 compared to areas
with a lower proportion of racialized communities or lower material
deprivation. This situation may lead to increasing discrimination in these
areas and may result in people not wanting to
seek testing for COVID-19 or healthcare if they need it. It
can also result in people not wanting to share information about their
contacts, and feeling isolated, rejected
or even facing violence.
Through
the adoption of this position statement, Ottawa Public Health is
hoping to raise awareness and compassion related to this issue and ultimately
reduce the stigma that many people in our community are facing.
One
important way we are doing this is by using ‘people first’ language that
respects and empowers people when discussing
COVID-19. This includes when talking to clients, partners
and stakeholders, in media interviews, and on social media.
We are in
the process of reviewing both internal and external documents, providing
training to staff, and informing our networks and partners about the importance
of avoiding stigmatizing language. / Nous sommes en train de revoir les
documents internes et externes, de sensibiliser le personnel et d'informer nos
réseaux et partenaires sur l'importance d'éviter les termes stigmatisants.
Fall flu vaccine campaign
The Chair spoke a bit about
this at Council last week, noting that so far in our response to COVID-19,
we’ve managed to keep case numbers low enough to avoid having our health care
system overburdened but that the upcoming flu season will present another
challenge on that front. I wanted to build on that and provide the Board with a
bit more information about OPH’s plan for this fall’s influenza immunization
campaign.
First, our goal is to have 70% of our community vaccinated.
Influenza
immunization of the population is essential every year, but it is of utmost
importance this year. / La vaccination de la population contre la grippe est
essentielle chaque année, mais cette année, elle est de la plus haute
importance.
If you don’t normally get a flu shot, get one this year.
There is the potential for a rise in numbers of people with COVID and the flu
to make people very ill and overwhelm ERs. We need to at least blunt the effect
of one of these two infections through adequate levels of influenza
vaccinations.
OPH is the distributor of influenza vaccine, according to
the provincial Universal Influenza Immunization Program. The province
determines which vaccines will be available for what populations, in what
quantity, and when. OPH quickly turns around the supply to hospitals,
long-term care homes and community immunization providers. Pharmacies access
vaccine directly from the province.
Typically, OPH directly completes over 11K doses of
influenza immunizations given in Ottawa (11,321 doses administered in 2019).
Typically, OPH directly completes over 11K doses of influenza immunizations
given in Ottawa (11,321 doses administered in 2019). The 2020 plan doubles this
expected contribution. In October, OPH will be offering three options for
residents to receive their flu shot: October, OPH will be offering three
options for residents to receive their flu shot:
·
Universal clinics whereby OPH will provide
public flu clinics in six fixed locations. To avoid crowding and control the
flow of clients in and out of these locations, the clinics will be by
appointment.
Physicians and primary care providers will be providing
flu vaccine to their patients; OPH distributes approximately 217K doses of
influenza vaccine to physicians each each year. In addition, OPH will be
offering joint clinics where there will be an opportunity for primary care
providers to immunize their patients in an “OPH – community physician clinic”.
This collaboration will help address challenges some primary care providers are
identifying with limitations to their office’s ability to handle influenza
immunization in the time of COVID-19 such as adequate physical space for post
vaccine monitoring. Lastly, OPH will be doing outreach to populations facing
greater barriers to immunization, including isolated populations. To that end,
OPH is working with key partners, including the Canadian Red Cross, to offer
targeted immunization clinics in shelters, group homes, and other congregate
settings where residents are not able to access universal clinics. MIn
addition, OPH will engage hospital partners in immunizing their employees as
usual, as well as opportunistically immunizing patients when they are admitted
to hospital or the ER. Pharmacies will be providing flu vaccine to Ottawa
residents 5 years and older. In 2019 pharmacies received approximately 168K
doses of influenza vaccine. Pharmacies indicated that they are preparing to do
their part again this year.
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s
clinics will include precautionary measures such as: screening staff,
volunteers and clients for illness or exposure to COVID-19, physical distancing
in terms of clinic layout and the number of clients allowed in the clinic at
any given time, Infection Prevention and Control measures, including the need
for Personal Protective Equipment, increased environmental cleaning, the use of
an online appointment system to control client flow and avoid crowding, and
enhanced communications.
The evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation
Next, I will speak to the evolving COVID-19 situation
with some slides
(slide 2)
As Members know, we’ve seen an increase in the number of
people testing positive for COVID-19 as well as an increase in the number of
outbreaks. We’ve also seen an impact on testing volumes and the turnaround time
for laboratory results.
(slide 3)
In particular, I would like to comment on the increased
number of outbreaks OPH is managing with long-term care homes in Ottawa. A lot
has been learned about the risk to residents in LTCHs from COVID-19, and the
majority of homes with recent outbreaks are showing an improved ability to
contain COVD-19 transmission.
Unfortunately, there are two instances where more
supports are needed. Under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act,
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has asked The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) to assume
management of the West End Villa Long-Term Care Home effective September 18,
2020 and Extendicare Laurier Manor effective September 20th, 2020,
as supported by the Government of Ontario.
The measures outlined in this order are necessary to
mitigate the health risks associated with the current COVID outbreak in these
institutions. This was accomplished in collaboration with the Ministry Long
Term Care, Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and the Ottawa Hospital.
School reopenings
And, the reopening of schools continues to be top of mind
for OPH.
(slide 4 – real world contact tracing example – school
cluster)
This slide depicts community transmission that started
with a 40-person BBQ in a park. 2 attendees developed cold symptoms 2 days
after the event and subsequently tested positive. This led to 2 outbreaks – one
in a workplace and one in a daycare, and the identification of 105 high-risk
contacts in schools. All 105 of these high-risk contacts were asked to
self-isolate for 14 days and get tested, which is a significant inconvenience
for these students and their parents.
(slide 5 – Schools)
With respect to schools, our focus has been on supporting
school boards in their implementation of Provincial directions and guidance to
ensure that the return to school is a safe as possible for Ottawa’s children
and youth.
Board Members will also be aware that in mid-summer, the
Province announced funding for 500 school-focused public health nurses, of
which 45 have been allotted to Ottawa Public Health.
In the
last four weeks, OPH’s COVID School Support Team (CSST) has hired and onboarded
45 public health nurses and I’m happy to say that 40% of them are bilingual. We
have also added an evaluation officer and a nursing project officer to help
support Ottawa schools in reopening and starting a new school year.
The PHNs have been assigned
to Ottawa’s more than 290 schools with each nurse's “portfolio” ranging from 4
to 12 schools, depending on a number of factors, including the burden of
COVID-19 in different communities.
The school nurses have been
busy building relationships with the principals and the school community to
support the re-opening plans in achieving our shared goal of school safety.
They also continue to build their knowledge, capacity and confidence through
daily huddles, end of day debriefs, practicing case interviews, Infection
Prevention and Control (IPAC) and case management training, and mentorship by
experienced team leads and leadership. To date, we have received very positive feedback from
all four school boards, as these nurses deal with a myriad of questions from
school principals, teachers, staff and parents.
As of yesterday, there have
been 28 schools in Ottawa that have had an individual that tested positive for
COVID-19, while they attended the schools setting. We do expect to continue to
see situations where there will be people who test positive attend the school
setting and this is because we continue to see community transmission in
school-aged children.
These individuals and their
high-risk contacts have been identified, contacted and told to isolate at home.
The people who tested positive are contacted daily by OPH’s Case Management
team and their contacts are on a “Do not attend” list that informs schools of
who should not be allowed on property and told to go home, self-isolate and
await public health contact.
With the experience of
people who have been in schools testing positive for COVID-19, the school nurse
role has included:
·
Identification of a confirmed case
·
Identification of contacts
·
Investigation and determination of risk level
·
Gathering of lists
·
Managing the list
·
Sending initial communication to all HRCs
within 24 hrs
·
Sending broad communications to each school
community
·
Entering lists into the appropriate format
for automated calls/texts/emails
·
Managing DNA lists development, quality
assurance and dissemination
·
Discharge list management
·
Discharge list dissemination
The OPH school team and
infection prevention and control team are planning debriefs with school boards
to continuously improve the response. So far, communications have been adapted
based on questions from parents and schools to provide further clarity on who
in your family needs to be tested, as well as who needs self-isolate.
This past weekend
(September 18-20), in coordination with local
health care partners, mobile testing clinics were on site at Franco-Ouest and
De La Salle high schools, to provide COVID-19 testing to students and staff who
had been identified as a high-risk contact and not yet been tested. Students
and staff with symptoms of COVID-19 were also eligible for testing at these
mobile clinics.
We want to
thank Ontario Health for making this pilot project possible. It resulted in
approximately 275 people being tested over the weekend. We hope to be able to
continue to rely on this agile mobile testing for other schools where a larger
number of close contacts require testing.
With the
first outbreak identified at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School over the weekend, on-site testing will also be
offered tomorrow to close contacts identified by OPH, as well as anyone in the
schools that has symptoms
In accordance with
Provincial guidance, an outbreak is declared in a school once it has been
determined that two individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 with an
epidemiological link. OPH has confirmed 4 COVID-19 positive individuals at
Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School. A whole school dismissal has been
instituted as OPH has determined there is concern of possible transmission of
the virus in school; whereas the potential risk of transmission is not
localized to one class. OPH is actively working to help contain the situation
at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School.
OPH is
working closely with the school principals and reaching out to close contacts
directly to provide direction on isolation and instruction on testing,
including information on how and when to get tested for COVID-19. Only those
contacted by OPH should seek testing. This outbreak is disclosed on our
website, and we will continue to provide communications regarding outbreaks in
schools.
The duration of the school
closure has not been established but parents/guardians and staff should be
prepared for a closure of 2 or more weeks. OPH will be working with the school
board and school to identify ensure that the necessary infection prevention and
control precautions are in place. For more
information on OPH’s role in supporting schools and frequently asked questions,
visit ottawapublichealth.ca.
Testing
Strategy
(slide 6 – OPH Response
to-date)
Members will be familiar
with the work OPH has done to date in responding to the pandemic, including
information and communications, bringing partners together, surveillance and
reporting, case and contact management and outbreak response.
With respect to the regional testing
strategy in particular, I want to re-iterate the roles and responsibilities of
the different partners involved.
Ontario Health is responsible for developing and
implementing the provincial COVID-19 testing strategy and they provide the
resources needed to operationalize funding at the local level.
In the Ottawa context, the Champlain COVID-19 Response
Committee (CCRC), under the direction of Ontario Health, is responsible for
developing and implementing a regional testing strategy that aligns with the
provincial policy approach to COVID-19 testing.
The CCRC has the lead operational responsibility for
providing local testing for COVID-19. Accordingly, through local hospitals, it
staffs, operates and manages the Brewer Assessment Centre, the drive-thru
testing site on Coventry Road and the two (2) COVID Care Clinics. The CCRC is
also responsible for operationalizing targeted testing campaigns, under the
direction of Ontario Health.
With respect to testing, Ottawa Public Health’s role is
to support the testing strategy through surveillance and advice on what we see
as the need for testing in our community. OPH also provides guidance to
residents on who should be tested.
Based on what we are seeing in Ottawa, our recommendation
is for testing capacity to be expanded so that we have testing sites operating
7 days a week, 12 hours per day, access across the geography of our City, and
accessible sites available to provide targeted testing as needed including
mobile or “pop-up” sites and increased testing in primary care clinics
We are grateful for the pop-up mobile testing that was
done in Ottawa over the weekend and thankful to Ontario Health for providing
the resources and to our health care system partners for making it happen
quickly.
We recognize and appreciate that, just as Ottawa Public
Health staff have been working around the clock for the past 6 months in
response to the pandemic, so too have our health care system partners.
We know that testing resources and capacity are finite.
Therefore, we also want to be clear about who needs testing to ensure that
those who need it most are able to access it. Ottawa
Public Health is currently recommending testing for people showing new symptoms
of COVID-19 or if you have been instructed by OPH to seek testing.
(slide 7 –
OPH prioritizing its work)
Prior to and during the pandemic
response, OPH has ensured the mental and physical well-being of our employees,
in addition to ensuring that our organization has the skills and tools required
to respond to COVID-19.
With the work and support of our
Wellness at Work committee, OPH leadership has taken many steps to address the
needs of OPH employees. Some of these steps include regular updates from
leadership to ensure employees are updated on the current status of our work
and also to ensure that staff know how to access resources to support their own
mental health at this time. Employees have also been encouraged to take
vacation over the summer months to get the rest that they both need and
deserve. We have also adopted many new technologies to support employees
to work from home when possible. This is not only for their physical
health and the physical health of those that remain in the office, but also to
support their mental health by being able to accommodate the needs of many
employees who required support to work from home.
In addition to the focus on the
well-being of our employees, OPH has and continues to make the mental
well-being of the Ottawa community a priority.
We have made the mental health of our
population a priority since the beginning of this pandemic response.
We have ensured that we are working
closely with mental health and substance use partners within the community and
supporting their efforts to ensure that people have access to care.
We have developed many resources for the
people of Ottawa based on identified needs. This includes partnering with
the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on a series of factsheets called,
Protecting Your Mental Health, that provides people with information and
resources to help them during this time.
We have worked with multicultural
partners to create mental health resources for diverse populations in our
community to ensure that the important messages are reaching many different
groups.
And now with the re-opening of schools,
we have developed and continue to develop many resources that support children,
parents and employees that work in schools with their mental well-being.
This work is ongoing and remains a key priority for OPH.
(slide 8)
As
indicated in the COVID-19 Update report, certain communities have been
disproportionately affected by the pandemic and it has shone a light on some
challenges in our long-term care and retirement homes sector. However, it has
also highlighted some strengths.
(slide 9)
As noted
in the report recommendations, as next steps, we are proposing to develop a
draft 2021 budget that would ensure adequate resources for OPH, and we’re
looking to build on some lessons learned from the past 6 months in order to
strengthen, not only Ontario public health sector, but also its healthcare, long-term care
and education sectors.
I want to
take this opportunity to recognize our partners. / Je tiens à profiter de cette
occasion pour reconnaître nos partenaires.
The Boards
of Education, the principals, the superintendents, the teachers and the staff
in the Ottawa education system have been incredible. We are focussed on
our shared goals of student and staff safety.
I must thank the children, parents and families
who have put their faith in us, but also for being COVIDWise in their
behaviours. It is a collective and shared responsibility that we all have to keep COVID transmission
as low as possible in our community in order to make our schools as safe as
possible for our children and youth as well as for teachers and school staff.
The City of Ottawa continues to provide essential
supports to OPH’s COVID-19 response, including significant human resource and
IT supports.
I also want to recognize the Incident Manager for the OPH
COVID-19 response who has served in this role from the start of the activation
of the Incident Management System response in January until last Friday –
Andrew Hendriks.
Andrew’s role as Incident Manager has ended because the
OPH senior leadership team has decided to reorganize the Incident Management
functions across a larger number of senior leaders, to spread out the work to
make it more sustainable and to address the competition for limited resources
between COVID and non-COVID work with a “whole of organization” approach to
priority setting and agility.
That concludes my Verbal Report and overview of the
COVID-19 Update report. I’m
happy to take any questions. / Il me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.