Ottawa
Board of Health
MINUTES 6
Monday,
September 16, 2019, 5:00 PM
Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue W.
Contact
for the Ottawa Board of Health:
Diane
Blais, Board of Health Secretary
613-580-2424, ext. 21544
Diane.Blais@Ottawa.ca
Board
Members:
Chair: K. Egli
Vice-Chair: T. DeGiovanni
Members: E. Banham, J. Cloutier, E. El-Chantiry, G. Gower, T. Kavanagh,
L. Leikin, S. Menard, S. Pinel, P. Tilley
The Ottawa Board
of Health met in the Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, on Monday,
16 September 2019 beginning at 5:00 PM.
The
Chair, Keith Egli, presided over the meeting.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS/CEREMONIAL ACTIVITIES
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Healthy Communities - Partner
Recognition
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Chair Egli presented certificates of recognition to:
·
Mark
Barnes for his work in Naloxone training and distribution as well as his
leadership in addiction treatment and overdose response; and
·
Michael
Wood, Michael Labelle and Peter Gilroy from Ottawa Special Events for their
work in bringing local influencers together to amplify OPH’s Party Safe
messaging and helping to increase OPH’s social media reach with these
messages.
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Twenty-nine communication items have
been received (held on file with the Board of Health Secretary).
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MOTION TO INTRODUCE REPORTS
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Motion 6/1
Moved by Member Gower
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports
titled: New Official Plan – High Level Policy Directions – Presentation;
Ottawa Public Health Work on Climate Change; Ottawa Public Health’s 2019/2020
Influenza Season Updates; Ottawa Public Health Submission to Health Canada on
Proposed Vaping Products and Packaging Regulations; Ottawa Public Health
Submission to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Proposed Food Labelling
Modernization Regulatory Amendments; 2018 Annual Report and Attestation to
the Ministry; 2019 Operating Budget Q2 – Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; and Delegation of Authority – Contracts
Awarded for the Period of January 1 to June 30, 2019, be received and considered.
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CARRIED
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Following a ‘Consent
Agenda’ process, the Board considered the held Items in the following order:
Items 1, 2, 3, and 5.
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1.
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CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH VERBAL
REPORT
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ACS2019-OPH-BOH-0010
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That the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.
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RECEIVED, as amended by
Motion 6/2
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In his verbal update, Chair Egli reported on recently
events, including meetings held with provincial representatives during the Association
of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO) Annual General Meeting and Conference.
During these meetings there was discussion about the municipal transition to
the 70/30 funding formula, an upcoming consultation process on public health
modernization, and the valued partnership between Ottawa Public Health and
the City of Ottawa.
Arising from the Chair’s verbal update, the Board of
Health considered the following motion, which Chair Egli introduced after
ceding the Chair to Vice-Chair DeGiovanni.
Motion 6/2
Therefore
be it resolved
that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit recommend that
City Council request that the Mayor ask the Minister of Health to maintain
the relationship between the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health, which maximizes
the coordination between public health programs and municipal services, and
benefits from the integration of administrative and other efficiencies; and,
Be it
further resolved
that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit request that the
Chair of the Board of Health, working with the Medical Officer of Health,
ensure that, in calculating future budget allocations, the Ministry of Health
recognize the City of Ottawa’s ongoing in-kind contribution, which is not
currently accounted in Ottawa Public Health’s annual operating budget.
After a brief discussion about the motion’s objective, Board
voted to approve the motion and receive the verbal update.
The discussion on this item lasted approximately 15
minutes. The attached memo includes the Chair’s Verbal Update.
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Motion 6/2
Moved by Chair K. Egli
Whereas the Province of Ontario
has proposed the reorganization of local public health units into regional
public health entities and has announced proposed changes to the provincial
funding formula for public health; and,
Whereas the provincial portion
for cost-shared programs and services will be 70% for the 2020 budget; and,
Whereas the Ministry of Health
will be undertaking consultations on the implementation of these changes;
and,
Whereas
Ottawa
Public Health provides crucial programs and services to the residents of
Ottawa; and,
Whereas sections 12(1) –
(8) of the City of Ottawa Act, 1999 establish that the employees for
the Board of Health are provided by the City of Ottawa and, given that the
City of Ottawa provides over eight million dollars ($8,000,000.00) per year
through in-kind supports (such as rent, information technology, purchasing
and human resource services and other administrative efficiencies), which
would be cost prohibitive to recreate in a different structure;
Therefore
be it resolved
that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit recommend that
City Council request that the Mayor ask the Minister of Health to maintain
the relationship between the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health, which
maximizes the coordination between public health programs and municipal
services, and benefits from the integration of administrative and other
efficiencies; and,
Be it
further resolved
that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit request that the
Chair of the Board of Health, working with the Medical Officer of Health,
ensure that, in calculating future budget allocations, the Ministry of Health
recognize the City of Ottawa’s ongoing in-kind contribution, which is not
currently accounted in Ottawa Public Health’s annual operating budget.
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CARRIED
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2.
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MEDICAL
OFFICER OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT
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ACS2019-OPH-MOH-0006
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That the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.
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RECEIVED, as amended by
Motion 6/3
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Dr. Very Etches, Medical Officer of Health, provided
the Board with an update on recent news, activities and events and responded
to Members’ questions with respect to same.
Arising from Dr. Etches’ verbal update, the Board
considered the following motion, introduced by Member Gower.
Motion 6/3
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit
authorize Ottawa’s Medical Officer to Health to continue to explore this
option, in collaboration with local partners, including the submission of a
full application and any operational requirements related to same;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit authorize the Chair of the Board of Health to approve and/or sign-off on any
requirements that go beyond operational requirements (ex. governance);
AND
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chair and/or the Medical Officer of Health
report back to the Board of Health, as appropriate, on any significant
developments on this matter, either at regular meetings of the Board of
Health or at any special meetings that may be called by the Chair as needed.
After a brief discussion about the intent of the motion
and extent of the delegation, the Board voted on Motion 6/3, the Board voted
to approve the motion and receive the verbal update.
The discussion on this item lasted approximately 35
minutes. The attached memo includes the Medical Officer of Health’s Verbal
Update.
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Motion 6/3
Moved by Member Gower
WHEREAS
at its meeting of April 15, 2019, through the Medical Officer of Health’s
Verbal Update, the Board of Health learned of the Ontario government’s
proposal for the creation of Ontario Health Teams, which are intended to
focus on the coordination of care for patients and on improving their defined
population’s health; and
AND WHEREAS at its April
meeting, the Board expressed support for Ottawa Public Health’s participation
in the first phase of submissions for three Ottawa area-based Ontario Health
Teams and authorized the Medical Officer of Health to continue to explore
these opportunities, in collaboration with local partners;
AND
WHEREAS at its meeting of June 17, 2019, the Board received an update from
the Medical Officer of Health who indicated that Ottawa Public Health had
participated in the first phase of the application process, which was the
submission of a self-assessment, for three prospective local Ontario Health
Teams, namely:
1. Ottawa Health Team (led
by 6 Ottawa-area CHCs)
2. ‘To Be Named By Kids’ OHT
(led by CHEO)
3. Ottawa East OHT (led by
Montfort Hospital)
AND
WHEREAS at the time of the June Board meeting, Ottawa Public Health was
awaiting a response from the Ministry of Health as to whether any or all of
these proposed Ontario Health Teams would be invited to submit a full
application and what the full application process would entail;
AND
WHEREAS in mid-July, the Ministry of Health announced that, of the over 150
submissions received from across the Province as part of first phase, 31
applicants were invited to move forward to the next phase of submitting a
full application, including all three (3) Ottawa-area Ontario Health Team
proposals;
AND
WHEREAS in mid-July, the Ministry of Health also updated applicants on
details for the next steps in the application process;
AND
WHEREAS Ontario Health Teams are a transformational initiative for Ottawa
Public Health but also an opportunity to further its strategic priority of
driving prevention across the health system;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit
authorize Ottawa’s Medical Officer to Health to continue to explore this
option, in collaboration with local partners, including the submission of a
full application and any operational requirements related to same;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit authorize the Chair of the Board of Health to approve and/or sign-off on any
requirements that go beyond operational requirements (ex. governance);
AND
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chair and/or the Medical Officer of Health
report back to the Board of Health, as appropriate, on any significant
developments on this matter, either at regular meetings of the Board of
Health or at any special meetings that may be called by the Chair as needed.
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CARRIED
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* DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Vice-Chair
Tammy DeGiovanni declared a potential conflict of interest on the motion
relation to Ontario Health Teams applications as her employer, the Children’s
Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is the lead on one of the Ontario Health
Team applications.
Vice-Chair DeGiovanni did not take part in the
discussion or vote on the motion.
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3.
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NEW
OFFICIAL PLAN – HIGH LEVEL POLICY DIRECTIONS - PRESENTATION
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ACS2019-OPH-MOH-0007
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That the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit receive a presentation on the Planning, Infrastructure
and Economic Development report “New Official Plan – High Level Policy
Directions” (ACS2019-PIE-EDP-0031), tabled at the August 22, 2019 joint
meeting of the Planning Committee and Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee.
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RECEIVED
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Alain Miguelez, Manager of Policy Planning, Planning,
Infrastructure and Economic Development Department, and Charmaine Forgie,
Manager of Business Support Services, Planning, Infrastructure and Economic
Development Department, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, which served to
provide the Board with an overview of the High Level Policy Directions
associated with the new Official Plan and the public engagement process
related to same.
Member Menard introduced the following motion, for the
Board’s consideration in discussing this item:
Motion 6/4
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit formally endorse the 5 Big
Moves and express its strong support for Ottawa Public Health to continue
advancing healthy built and natural environments, with a view to advocating
for ambitious targets and policies and embedding a public health perspective
to the development of the new Official Plan that will promote positive health
outcomes and climate change mitigation and adaptation;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
where such policies go beyond planning and zoning matters, that the Board of
Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit encourage Ottawa Public Health
employees to build on past successes by seeking to develop similar
collaborative relationships with other City departments in order to advance
healthy public policies in areas related to the built environment;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit request that its Members,
collectively and individually and with support from OPH employees, serve as
public health champions by advocating for healthy public policies related to
climate change and the built environment in accordance with this motion at every
opportunity, including at other Boards, at working groups, at standing
committees, at sub-committees and at City Council.
AND
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Ottawa Board of Health support the inclusion
of the following in the Official Plan:
·
A
position on the urban boundary expansion that is informed by a public health
perspective.
·
That, by
2046, a significant majority of trips in the City of Ottawa be made by
sustainable transportation (walking, cycling, transit, or carpool) and that
the definition of sustainability include affordability.
·
A
prioritization of the provision of more quality affordable housing, including
the introduction of inclusionary zoning city-wide, with higher requirements
in Transit-Oriented Development areas.
·
The expansion
and enhancement of our public spaces.
·
An emphasis on a built environment
that combats social isolation, stress and anxiety.
Staff responded to questions from Board members arising
from both the presentation and the proposed motion. As part of the
discussion, Member Menard agreed to a friendly amendment, proposed by Member
Leikin.
This discussion lasted approximately 40 minutes. The
Board then voted to approve the revised motion and receive the report.
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Motion 6/4
Moved by Member Menard
WHEREAS one of the Preliminary
Policy Directions for the Official Plan focuses on resiliency and suggests
that a climate, energy, environmental and public health lens be embedded,
which represents an integrated approach to planning that recognizes the
adverse health impacts of climate change and the role of the built
environment as an important mechanism for mitigating and adapting to emerging
health challenges, as described in the Discussion Paper titled “The Building
Blocks for a Healthy Ottawa”;
AND WHEREAS there are proven links
between the built environment and greenspace and the health and wellbeing of
residents, including phenomena such as nature deficit disorder and the urban
heat island effect;
AND WHEREAS various built
environment policies that impact on residents’ health and well-being are
highlighted in the “5 Big Moves”, including but not limited to: growth
management and affordable housing (Big Move 1), mobility and modal split (Big
Move 2), design of public spaces (Big Move 3) and food production (Big Move
5);
AND WHEREAS public health is
particularly integrated in Big Move 4, Climate, Energy and Public Health,
which includes:
·
Element
1 - Public Health:
·
Advance
human health through Official Plan policies
·
Design
and build inclusive, all age communities
·
Build
walkable, 15-minute neighbourhoods
·
Design
sustainable and green communities
·
Element
2 - Natural Systems:
·
Protect
and grow the urban forest
·
Consolidate
the rural natural heritage system
·
Revise
and rename the Greenspace Master Plan as the Parks and Greenspace Master Plan
·
Element
3 - Climate Adaptation & Resiliency:
·
Design
and build communities to reduce the impacts of extreme heat and reduce the
urban heat island effect
·
Reduce
flood risks and their impacts
·
More
resilient homes and communities
·
Resilient
infrastructure
·
Element
4 - Energy:
·
Smart
energy planning and development
·
Local
energy generation, storage and demand management
AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health’s
reports titled “New Official Plan – High Level Policy Directions –
Presentation” (ACS2019-OPH-MOH-0007) and “Ottawa Public Health Work on
Climate Change” (ACS2019-OPH-HPS-0002) highlight some of the health unit’s
successes to-date and ongoing efforts to generate and/or analyze evidence and
to work with partners in bringing a health lens to the issues of climate
change and the built environment;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit formally endorse the 5 Big
Moves and express its strong support for Ottawa Public Health to continue
advancing healthy built and natural environments, with a view to advocating
for ambitious targets and policies and embedding a public health perspective
to the development of the new Official Plan that will promote positive health
outcomes and climate change mitigation and adaptation;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
where such policies go beyond planning and zoning matters, that the Board of
Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit encourage Ottawa Public Health
employees to build on past successes by seeking to develop similar
collaborative relationships with other City departments in order to advance
healthy public policies in areas related to the built environment;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit request that its Members,
collectively and individually and with support from OPH employees, serve as
public health champions by advocating for healthy public policies related to
climate change and the built environment in accordance with this motion at
every opportunity, including at other Boards, at working groups, at standing
committees, at sub-committees and at City Council.
AND
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Ottawa Board of Health support the inclusion
of the following in the Official Plan:
·
A
position on the urban boundary expansion that is informed by a public health
perspective.
·
That, by
2046, a significant majority of trips in the City of Ottawa be made by
sustainable transportation (walking, cycling, transit, or carpool) and that
the definition of sustainability include affordability.
·
A
prioritization of the provision of more quality affordable housing, including
the introduction of inclusionary zoning city-wide, with higher requirements
in Transit-Oriented Development areas.
·
The expansion
and enhancement of our public spaces.
·
An emphasis on a built environment
that promotes social cohesion and connectedness and mental health.
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CARRIED, with Member
El-Chantiry dissenting
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4.
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OTTAWA
PUBLIC HEALTH WORK ON CLIMATE CHANGE
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ACS2019-OPH-HPS-0002
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That the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit receive, for information, an overview of Ottawa
Public Health’s activities in support of climate action, as outlined in this
report.
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RECEIVED
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At 6:45 p.m., the Board considered Motion 6/5, below.
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Motion 6/5
Moved by Member Gower
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of
Health approve that the meeting time be extended past 7:00 p.m. pursuant to
Subsection 8.(1)(c) of the Procedural By-law.
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CARRIED
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5.
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OTTAWA
PUBLIC HEALTH’S 2019/2020 INFLUENZA SEASON UPDATES
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ACS2019-OPH-HPP-0007
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That the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit receive, for information, the 2019/2020 influenza
season update, as outlined in this report.
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RECEIVED, as amended by
Motion 6/6
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Marie-Claude Turcotte, Program Manager, Immunization
Unit, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, which served to provide the Board
with an overview of the report and proposed 2019-2020 influenza season
strategy.
Following the presentation, staff responded to
questions from Board members. This discussion lasted approximately 40
minutes. The Board then voted to approve Motion 6/6 and to receive the
report.
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Motion 6/6
Moved by Member Gower
WHEREAS errors were
detected at the bottom of page 3 of the above-referenced report with respect
to the percentage increases in the number of flu vaccine directly
administered by OPH and the number of doses distributed to community health
care providers;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
THAT the Background section be amended by replacing the references
to the increases from the previous flu season
in the doses directly administered by OPH from 30% to 36%
and the doses distributed to community health care providers from 30% to 8%.
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CARRIED
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MOTION TO ADOPT REPORTS
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Motion
6/7
Moved by Member Gower
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the
Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report,
and the reports titled: New Official Plan – High Level Policy Directions –
Presentation; Ottawa Public Health Work on Climate Change; Ottawa Public
Health’s 2019/2020 Influenza Season Updates; Ottawa Public Health Submission
to Health Canada on Proposed Vaping Products and Packaging Regulations;
Ottawa Public Health Submission to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on
Proposed Food Labelling Modernization Regulatory Amendments; 2018 Annual
Report and Attestation to the Ministry; 2019 Operating Budget Q2 – Board of
Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; and Delegation of
Authority – Contracts Awarded for the Period of January 1 to June 30, 2019, be received
and adopted.
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CARRIED
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CONFIRMATION BY-LAW
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Motion 6/8
Moved by Member Gower
BE IT RESOLVED THAT Confirmation
By-law no. 2019-5, a by-law of the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa
Health Unit to confirm the proceedings of the Ottawa Board of Health at its
meeting of September 16, 2019, be read and passed.
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CARRIED
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ADJOURNMENT
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The Board adjourned the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
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NEXT MEETING
Regular Meeting
Monday, November 4, 2019 - 5:00 PM, Champlain Room, 110
Laurier Avenue W.
_____________________________ _____________________________
BOARD SECRETARY
BOARD CHAIR
Board of Health Meeting
Chair Keith Egli – Verbal report
September 16, 2019
Good evening everyone, Bonsoir,
Thank you for being here tonight,
I hope you have all had to enjoy summer, get some rest
and spend time with family and friends.
For my verbal update this evening, I would like to begin
by updating you on the consultations that have been happening at Ottawa Public
Health with regards to Provincial Public Health Modernization and provide a few
highlights on some recent events.
In mid-August, during the Association of Municipalities
Ontario AGM held here in Ottawa I had the opportunity to meet with provincial
leaders, along with Dr. Etches and Mayor Watson. We greatly appreciated the
ability to highlight the role of public health in facilitating cross-sector
work, focusing on maintaining mental wellness and elevating the voice of
clients and community in health system planning.
The Minister Christine Elliott also met with me, Mayor
Watson, Councillor Kavanaugh, Dr. Etches and Mr. Di Monte. It was a very brief
meeting where we discussed the municipal transition to a 70/30 funding formula
and a renewed consultation process that will be led by a yet-to-be named Expert
Advisor. These consultations are expected to be guided by a discussion paper,
which will include proposed regional boundaries. This meeting provided an
opportunity to draw attention to the valued working partnership Ottawa Public
Health has with the City of Ottawa. Further to the collaboration with many
departments such as (perhaps give a few examples – CSSD, EPS, Police, etc), OPH
also benefits financially from the close relationship with the City, with a
range of municipal back office services (such as facilities and IT support) at
no direct cost to our public health budget and through seamless integration of
business processes such as human resources, financial services, and competitive
procurement support. All of these municipal investments add up to over $8
million dollars of annual in-kind resources for Ottawa Public Health.
For the 17th year in a row, OPH was involved in the
Capital Pride Festival from August 19th to 25th, celebrating the diversity of
the Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, and queer (2SLGBTQ+)
community. The week began with the Pride Flag Raising Ceremonies at various
municipal buildings across the City. Ottawa Public Health lead the ceremony at
100 Constellation Drive, where I, along with Dr. Etches and a representative
from Capital Pride launched the week and raised the rainbow flag. The festival
concluded with the Capital Pride Parade, on Sunday, August 25th, where many of
us - Councillor’s, Mayor Watson and OPH staff - were OUT in all our colours to
celebrate the diversity of our employees and the community we serve. Thank you
all for participating and celebrating with us.
On September 10th we marked World Suicide
Prevention Day. For the second year in a row, the theme of World Suicide
Prevention Day was ‘Working Together to Prevent Suicide.’ This theme
was chosen because it highlights the most important aspect of effective suicide
prevention – collaboration.
Recognizing this, Ottawa Public Health has been
collaborating and leading efforts in Ottawa with partners, both internally
within the City of Ottawa and externally in the community, to prevent suicides
and co-chairs Suicide Prevention Ottawa, a Network of over 40 partner
organizations working together to prevent suicides through awareness,
education, training, research and post-suicide support.
Again this year, OPH co-hosted an event at the Royal
Ottawa Mental Health Centre to educate and raise awareness about suicide
prevention. The event was attended by clinicians, caregivers and those with
lived experience, helping to end the stigma around and enhancing the
conversation about suicide prevention.
Ottawa Public Health also hosted an information booth at
100 Constellation to provide staff and residents with information and resources
on how everyone can work towards creating a suicide-safer city - including
encouraging City of Ottawa employees to register for one of the upcoming
safeTALK suicide prevention trainings. This half day training offers tools to
help staff learn how to prevent suicide and has been an important strategy in
Ottawa Public Health’s goal to create a suicide safer community.
Finally, Recovery Day Ottawa was an event held on Friday
September 13th. This day brought together residents of Ottawa to build
awareness, challenge stigma, and celebrate the role that recovery plays in
improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities across our city.
Ottawa Public Health was proud to work alongside many
partners and community members to help support this very important day, as
addressing stigma and improving mental health and supporting those with
substance use disorders, continues to be a priority for Ottawa Public Health.
That concludes my verbal report. I welcome any questions.
Board of Health Meeting
Speaking Notes for Dr.Vera Etches
September 16, 2019
Good evening, Bonsoir, Kwe,
This evening, I would like to provide some highlights
from the last few months and update you on Provincial Health System
Transformation and Public Health Modernization.
Over the summer, Ottawa Public Health employees were busy
participating in various community events, including Inuit Wellness Day and
Somali Fest, and providing Overdose Prevention and Party Smart training
to various event organizers and volunteers. Helmet safety, mental health and
vector borne diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease continue to be of
top interest to the Community. The summer event season came to a close with the
annual weeklong Capital Pride Festival and I would like to take the opportunity
to thank, Mayor Watson, Chair Egli, members of the Board and Councillors who
participated in the Capital Pride parade on Sunday, August 25th to
celebrate and promote our values of diversity and inclusiveness. I would also
like to thank the many OPH employees who were in attendance. It was one of our
best attended Pride parades yet!
Events in the community provide a great opportunity to
work directly with partners, provide tailored messaging to specific
populations, and receive important feedback on our programming directly from
Ottawa residents. September continues to be a busy season with Ottawa Public
Health participating in back to school events and responding to requests from
community partners, including the launch of Carlington Bike Park, working
closely with the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (or CAPSA) on
Recovery Day Ottawa, and participating in mental health focused events
including World Suicide Prevention Day and others in partnership with The Royal
last week.
I also had the pleasure of attending the launch of the
City’s new Light Rail Transit (LRT) this past weekend, which aligns well with
public health work to promote active transportation. I want to acknowledge the
mental health team’s work that involved suicide prevention training for LRT
operators and employees and advice related to station design to make sure
people can access the Distress Centre if needed.
Still on the subject of mental health, Ottawa Public
Health has been working in close partnership with The Royal, CAPSA and the
Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction to develop and implement an
Ottawa Community Action Plan on Mental Health and Substance Use, with a Focus
on Opioids. The Community Action Plan, posted on our website last week, has
been built from community consultations and outcomes from The Ottawa Summit,
where over 200 participants with lived and living experience, clinicians and
community partners prioritized ideas for action under three main goals. These
goals are:
·
Preventing
stigma and problematic substance use
·
Emerging
harm reduction initiatives that can reduce harms associated with opioid use
·
Collaborating
and integrating across the health system and sectors to increase access and
uptake of services that better meet people’s needs
Ottawa Public Health is also collaborating with these
partners on a community impact project that will focus on ending stigma and
emphasizing the importance of using person-first language. Shifting away
from language that labels people as “a substance abuser” towards “a person with
a substance use problem” opens up avenues for better access to supports.
Improving mental health and reducing harms from substance
use takes many sectors and organizations and the Community Action Plan helps
focus us on priority actions that can make a difference now.
Moving on to the topic of provincial health system
transformation, Members will recall that in June I provided a brief update on
Ottawa Public Health’s involvement with Ontario Health Teams (or OHTs). Ottawa
Public Health participated as a signing member partner on three Ottawa-area OHT
Self-Assessments; namely:
1. Ottawa Health Team (led by
6 Ottawa-area CHCs)
2. ‘To Be Named By Kids’ OHT
(led by CHEO)
3. Ottawa East OHT (led by
Montfort Hospital)
On July 17, the Ministry of Health announced that all
three of these submissions would move forward to the next phase of the
application process with a Full Application due October 9th.
OPH employees have been participating on several working
groups across all three OHT groups, to provide support in completing these
applications.
The Ministry of Health expects to announce the first wave
of OHT candidates in the fall of 2019. OHT’s are an opportunity to further our
strategic goal of driving prevention across the health system, and the creation
of OHTs is transformational work; therefore, there is a motion to consider
today regarding ongoing support from the Board of Health for this collaboration
with health system partners.
With respect to Public Health Modernization, OPH
continues to follow updates from the province and seek opportunities to
strengthen the public health system.
OPH engaged in a department-wide process to ask employees
for their thoughts about addressing challenges and realizing opportunities with
public health modernization. I am proud of the level of engagement we received
- all teams participated - and of the quality of discussions and ideas
generated. All levels of the organization have reflected on our core work and
have considered ways of doing things differently, including in the context of
implementation of an Electronic Public Health Record which enables increased
digitalization.
The Senior Leadership Team and I have worked hard to
ensure employees are kept informed through weekly e-mails updates and virtual
town hall conversations – which have been very well attended.
As Chair Egli mentioned in his verbal report, in August,
we learned that in 2020 all municipalities will transition to a 70% provincial
/ 30% municipal cost-sharing model for public health, that transition funding
will be made available, and that a renewed consultation process, led by an
Expert Advisor (who is yet to be named), will be launched in the near future.
The Minister explained the consultation will be guided by a discussion paper
that will identify the proposed regions and that the details will be for
discussion, so not to be considered final. We look forward to contributing to
this process.
This past Thursday we learned that the Ministry of Health
has appointed Ms. Alison Blair to the roles of Assistant Deputy Minister,
Emergency Health Services and Executive Lead for Public Health Modernization.
Ms. Blair is a former Assistant Deputy Minister to the Direct Services Division
of the Ministry of Health, as well as Director for LHIN Renewal. On behalf of
my colleagues at Ottawa Public Health, I congratulate Ms. Blair on her
appointment. I very much look forward to meeting with her in the future to
discuss Ottawa’s role in public health modernization.
As you may have heard in recent media
coverage, infectious syphilis incidence has been increasing. The number of
cases reported in the 12-month period of July 2018 to June 2019 was
approximately 25% higher than that reported during the previous 12 months.
Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be easily
confirmed with a blood test and is treatable with antibiotics. However,
commonly, a person infected with syphilis may not notice any symptoms, and when
left untreated, infection can lead to serious health problems.
Ottawa Public Health has adopted a
three-pronged approach to deal with this increase: increasing access to
treatment, such as through our Sexual Health Centre and Gaz Zone and by
providing free STI medication to clinicians; creating and distributing
resources to increase knowledge about testing and management, for physicians
and the public; and supporting clinicians through case management by public
health nurses and nurse practitioners.
Finally, Members may be aware that Federal cannabis
edibles and extracts regulations are expected to come into force by October 17,
2019. OPH
anticipates that a limited selection of products will appear gradually in
physical or online stores in Ontario, and no earlier than mid-December 2019 as
federal license holders need to provide 60-days notice to Health Canada of
their intent to sell new products.
That concludes my verbal update. I am happy to answer any
questions.