Chair’s Speaking Notes
February 28, 2022 Board of Health Meeting
Good evening, Bonsoir, Kwey,
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Board
Members for their willingness to reschedule the February 14th
meeting due to the protests and state of emergency in the city. It allowed
everyone a little breathing room and time to address the occupation of our
downtown. Thank you for your flexibility and your understanding that some
Members of the Board were engaged actively on that file, many city staff were
actively engaged on that file and the postponement was of assistance in dealing
with that situation in our city.
It seems, these days, we are inundated with one emergency
or crisis after another. The pandemic, protests and now the war on Ukraine. I
would ask, if you could join me, in a moment of reflection in solidarity with
the brave Ukrainian citizens fighting against the current threat in their
country against both their way of life and their well-being.
(Board Members and staff observed a moment of silence)
Black History Month
February is Black History Month, where each day serves as a reminder to
reflect upon and honour the legacy of Black Canadians who have played a
tremendous part in shaping our shared history, and to uplift the ongoing
contributions of Black Canadians whose efforts and identities continue to
enrich our communities.
This is also an opportunity to reinforce our
commitment to confronting anti-Black racism in our community and in our
workplaces by fostering a culture of inclusion and removing barriers for Black
employees through workplace policies and hiring and retention practices.
Nationally,
this year’s theme for Black History Month is February and Forever:
Celebrating Black History today and every day, which challenges us to
take our commitment to celebrating Black history and Black Canadians beyond
February and into our everyday efforts throughout the year.
Locally, Ottawa’s theme is Our Canadian Story: Claiming Our Space - a call to action for
allies to help create safe spaces for Black community members, while
encouraging Black residents to claim their space in our city.
This theme
really resonates, particularly given recent events in our city that resulted in
some people from racialized communities being subjected to hate speech and
harassment. It is unfortunate that those events marred what should have been a
time of celebration and recognition for members of Ottawa’s Black community.
Notwithstanding the unlawful demonstrations
and occupation in downtown Ottawa, I hope everyone had the opportunity, at some
point over this past month, to explore
this year’s Claiming Our Space theme by finding meaningful ways to
engage with Black history and culture.
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to stop in at the
Centrepointe Library and I want to thank the library. There was an extensive
display there – a variety of fiction and non-fiction books for people to access
and to get a better sense and understanding of the contributions of the black
community to Canada.
Discovery of Unmarked Graves
Last
month we learned of the discovery of more unmarked graves, this time on the
grounds of a former residential school in Williams Lake First Nation. This is
yet another reminder of our tragic shared history. I encourage everyone to take
the time to acknowledge and honour all of the Indigenous children who never
made it home, their families and their communities.
It
is important that we continue to recognize the impacts of colonization and
actively keep working to raise awareness of the residential school system and
its multi-generational impacts, which continue to be felt. We must also continue to commit ourselves to our
Reconciliation journey.
Meeting with Minister Tibollo
I also want to report on a meeting that was held with
Minister Tibollo.
Working as a member of the Association of Municipalities
of Ontario’s Health Task Force, last month I was able to arrange for a meeting
between myself, Dr. Etches and Minister Tibollo, Ontario’s Associate Minister
of Mental Health and Addictions.
We met on January 31 to discuss mental health and
substance use health concerns in our community and how OPH could share its
experiences around programs like safer supply and partner with the Province
going forward on projects such as meaningful data collection.
This work aligns with the Mental Health and Substance Use
Health report considered by this Board last September and the recommendations
we approved at that time.
OPH will continue to pursue these aims with the Province.
Key to the City
As many of you know, on January 26th, as part
of his State of the City address, Mayor Watson announced that this year, in
recognition of her outstanding efforts and leadership, he will be giving the
Key to the City to Dr. Vera Etches, our Medical Officer of Health, who has been
an incredible leader to an incredible team since the start of COVID-19.
In making this announcement, Mayor
Watson noted that Dr. Etches has inspired control, confidence and calm to our
residents in the darkest days of the pandemic – and as a result of her efforts,
Ottawa has been a leader in the fight against COVID-19.
Moreover, because Dr. Etches could not
have delivered such a professional and coordinated response without the help of
others, Mayor Watson indicated he would also be giving the Key to the City to
the entire team at Ottawa Public Health – who have been instrumental in these
efforts all along.
For those of you who may not be
familiar with this award, the Key to the City is the highest and most
prestigious honour, bestowed upon distinguished persons and honoured guests of
the City of Ottawa.
I’d like to take this opportunity to
congratulate Dr. Etches and the entire OPH team for this well-deserved
recognition.
alPHa Winter Symposium
This past Friday, Vice-Chair
DeGiovanni, Member Gower and I participated in the virtual alPHa Winter
Symposium and Board of Health Section meeting.
The morning included opening remarks
by The Honourable Christine Elliott, Ontario Minister of Health and Jamie
McGarvey, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, an update
from Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. We also heard
presentations by Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, by
several representatives from Public Health Ontario, by Ontario Health, by the
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and by the Council of
Ontario Medical Officers of Health. The focus was very much on post-pandemic
recovery and working towards a stronger, more resilient public health system.
The lunch break featured a keynote
speaker on leadership success through resilience and emotional intelligence.
The afternoon saw separate section
meetings – one for Members of Boards of Health, the other for the Council of
Medical Officers of Health. The Board of Health Section Meeting included an
update from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and a discussion on
how we can support human, environmental and economic fitness in municipalities,
cities and provinces through improvements to our built physical and social
environments.
It was an informative and productive
day, with opportunities to hear not only from experts, but also from our peers
in other jurisdictions across the province. As I have said before, I encourage
all Board Members to participate in future alPHa meetings and events if they
can.
I would now like to invite Vice-Chair
DeGiovanni and Member Gower to also share their perspectives on the day.
(Vice-Chair DeGiovanni and Member
Gower spoke)
Thank you Vice-Chair DeGiovanni and
Member Gower.
In closing, I wanted to note that,
with the provincial announcement earlier this month about accelerated timelines
for their reopening plans, we are entering a time of change with regard to
COVID-19 restrictions. It’s important for people to get back to seeing each
other and being together, but we also need to be cognizant that for many, this
may need to be a gradual process. Not everyone will have the same comfort level
in getting back to in-person gatherings, meetings or other events. As we move
through this next phase, we need to exercise patience and kindness.
That concludes my verbal
report. I would be happy to take any questions.
Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera
Etches – Verbal report
February 28,
2022
Good afternoon, Kwey, Ulaakut, Taanishi, Bonjour,
I want to start by considering the common stressor that
the pandemic has been for people in Ottawa. Earlier in the pandemic, in calling
on everyone to protect each other against COVID-19 transmission, we launched a
campaign called, “1 million reasons”. Some people were being cautious to limit
transmission in order to protect a grandparent, others to keep a business open
or to keep healthy to continue going to their work as a health care worker.
Today, I want to acknowledge that there may be “1 million reasons to grieve”
different losses from the last two years. Many have lost loved ones,
employment, social celebrations of milestones, educational achievements - the
losses are unique, and some have been harder hit than others. In acknowledging
this common sense of loss, I would like to now call on Ottawans to be
compassionate and kind to one another as we make the transition to fewer
restrictions and we turn to recovering our well-being. / Plusieurs ont perdu
des êtres chers, leur emploi, des célébrations sociales d'étapes importantes,
et des réussites scolaires. Les
pertes sont uniques et certaines personnes ont été plus durement touchés que
d'autres. En reconnaissant ce sentiment commun de perte, je voudrais maintenant
appeler les Ottaviens à faire preuve de compassion et de gentillesse les uns
envers les autres alors que nous faisons la transition vers moins de
restrictions et nous nous tournons vers la récupération de notre bien-être.
Particular individuals and communities may require additional
supports at this time – such as people impacted by the war in Ukraine and
people recovering from traumatic experiences with the unlawful protests and
trucks in their neighbourhoods. OPH will continue to work on the ground with
partners to address concerns raised by people most affected, while we share
information and resources on how to address harms caused by crises and
emergencies that affect people across the city. I am thankful for the OPH team
members who have been scheduled 24/7 to support this work.
Current COVID-19 Situation (including vaccination)
As I reported at the last Board meeting, the
Omicron wave peaked
in early January after a rapid rise. This was followed by a somewhat slower
decline in wastewater signal, test positivity and new hospitalizations due to
COVID-19. However, more recently, we are seeing that
decline begin to plateau in some of the trends we are monitoring.
While hospital admissions, deaths and
wastewater signal have continued to slowly decline since about mid-January, last
week we saw a plateau in the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19
and a plateau in the number of new outbreaks in congregate living settings
which, like other indicators, had previously been declining.
We continue to promote vaccination and to
work at increasing vaccination coverage. We are still offering on-site
vaccination for businesses, faith-based and community settings that request
this service for people experiencing barriers to access. As of last night, we
have reached 88% of residents aged 5 and up with 2 doses, that’s 84% of our
total population, and 63% of residents aged 18 and up with 3 doses, which
represents 52% of our total population.
My great thanks go to Kim Ayotte, Beth
Gooding, Amanda Mullins, and the City and OPH leaders who mounted the emergency
effort to provide people with booster doses and continue the 5 to 11-year-old
COVID-19 vaccination work. / Je remercie chaleureusement Kim Ayotte, Beth
Gooding, Amanda Mullins et les responsables de la ville et de SPO qui ont mobilisé
l'effort d'urgence pour fournir aux gens des doses de rappel et poursuivre le
travail de vacciner les 5-11 ans contre la COVID-19. The City’s Emergency
Operations Centre has now moved to a “Monitoring” status, as the vaccination
operations, planning, communications and logistics are led from within OPH.
City staff continue to assist with facilities and information technology
aspects of the work.
We continue to recommend that all eligible
residents get their third dose booster as soon as possible, as it provides
protection against both symptomatic infection and serious illness. The
mortality rate during the Omicron wave was nearly as high as in the spring of
2020. There are still 25,000 people over age 60 who do not have their booster
doses in the context of Omicron still present in our community. People over 60,
especially, will have a lower risk of hospitalization and death with a booster
shot.
As the Chair noted, on February 14th,
the Province announced changes to the timelines for its reopening plans,
including increases in social gathering and capacity limits effective February
17 and the lifting of all remaining capacity limits and proof-of-vaccination
requirements effective tomorrow, March 1.
Current indicators show that the Omicron wave
has not ended and that its descent may be stalling. Further, federal modelling
released on February 18th shows different projected trajectories of rates of
infection and hospitalizations, depending upon the impact of re-openings on the
level of transmission.
Though we are not currently planning to
recommend further public health measures as provincial restrictions are lifted,
it is clear that individual behaviours can either drive or deter transmission.
Our objective continues to be reducing morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.
In order to achieve this goal, we will continue to promote vaccination,
personal risk assessment, and mitigation strategies such as daily screening,
monitoring for symptoms, staying home when ill, frequent hand washing, physical
distancing and reducing close contacts, increased ventilation and avoiding
closed, crowded settings, and especially masking in indoor public settings.
I want to state this as plainly and clearly as possible.
Just because some public health measures are being lifted does not mean that we
are giving up on limiting the impact of COVID-19 on our community. We are still
here to inform and to support Ottawa residents. / Je veux exprimer ceci aussi
simplement et clairement que possible. Ce n'est pas parce que certaines mesures
de santé publique sont levées que nous renonçons à limiter l'impact de COVID-19
sur notre communauté. Nous sommes toujours là pour informer et soutenir les
résidents d'Ottawa. We'll
be monitoring key indicators, monitoring internationally for new variants, and
continuing to work with community partners to support people at higher risk of
serious COVID-19 illness. Learning to live with COVID doesn't mean moving on
and pretending the pandemic is over. It means being mindful of the virus'
presence in our day-to-day lives.
I am confident that residents of our city have gained new
skills over the last two years to assess their own levels of risk, day to day.
We drive based on road conditions, we wear helmets when doing activities that
might cause a head injury, we change our shoveling tempo based on how heavy the
snow is. The one key difference, though, is that usually we base decisions
about benefits versus risks on what it means for ourselves...but now, we know
that while the benefit of going to a restaurant, a gym or concert is ours, the
risks are shared by those around us.
Things are changing. It's going to take time for all of
us to find our comfort zone and it's important that we respect each other's
feelings during this time. Just because you're comfortable doing an activity
doesn't mean your friends or family members will also be comfortable with it.
We know these
are difficult times. Some of you welcome these changes, some of you are worried
about them, while others continue to face uncertainty. OPH will work to give
residents the information they need to help make informed decisions regarding
their own personal levels of risk in the current environment and tips and
strategies to mitigate those risks.
Residents of congregate living settings, such as group homes,
shelters, independent living and correctional facilities, are at a higher risk
of exposure to COVID-19 due to the use of shared spaces, overpopulation, and
exposure to staff with asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic COVID-19 infection. OPH
engages with community partners to prevent, identify, and manage outbreaks.
Prevention activities include pre-emptive site visits and infection prevention
and control (IPAC) education.
Applying
a health equity approach is integral in addressing gaps and, going forward,
will be imperative in supporting congregate settings and the high-risk
populations they serve.
OPH
will continue to maintain staff capacity to support all congregate settings in
our city, while ensuring ongoing work is done in partnership with key internal
stakeholders, namely the City’s Community and Social Services Department,
Ottawa Inner City Health, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social
Services, and the regional infection prevention and control team. Ongoing engagement and
collaboration with these stakeholders will be instrumental in re-imagining how
we do business and will be important for future-state planning to further
address the health needs of this high-risk, and often isolated sector.
Last month, the team published a report highlighting lessons learned in managing COVID-19 outbreaks in
congregate settings. This report is available on our website and a link will
be shared with Board Members via e-mail.
Update on Board Direction
At the last meeting, the Board requested I work with the
Province to emphasize a cautious approach to reopening while the healthcare
system is still under pressure. The Board also asked that I work with the
Province to identify the best approach for its proof of vaccination
requirements, in particular whether to include the requirement for people 18
years of age or older (eligible population) to show proof of a third, or
booster dose in addition to proof of their first and second doses, to access
businesses and community settings where patrons are required to provide proof
of vaccination prior to entry, and report back.
I can report that I did reach out to the Province to seek a review of the evidence to guide the approach to
vaccine policies, and otherwise increase vaccine uptake in our current context.
At this time, our provincial partners
recommend focusing on targeted approaches to reach those segments of the
population that are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated. Examples include: scaling
up efforts with primary care physicians, pharmacies and mobile vaccination
clinics; school-based vaccination, healthcare provider recommendations,
reminders and recall systems, and public health communication campaigns; as
well as community and public health leaders working to increase vaccine uptake
in identified communities.
As previously noted, earlier this month the
Province
announced that effective March 1st they would be lifting proof of vaccination
requirements for all settings, though businesses and other settings may choose
to continue to require proof of vaccination. Given the language in the
regulations released on February 25, last Friday, local Medical Officers of
Health no longer have the ability to issue Letters of Instruction to require
vaccination in any setting and, our Letter of Instruction requiring
immunization of coaches, volunteers and officials who support organized sports
in indoor settings has been rescinded.
At the last meeting, I also committed to
seeking clarification from the Province with respect to the new isolation
requirements – 5 days versus 7 days. We followed up on that and can advise that
Public Health
Ontario has noted that Omicron has displaced Delta as the dominant SARS-CoV-2
lineage in many jurisdictions, including Ontario. While we know that Omicron is
more transmissible than other lineages, the period of communicability for
Omicron peaks at an estimated 3–6 days post symptom onset, which is slightly
shorter than that of previous variants, which were an estimated 3–8 days post
system onset.
Shortening the isolation period for cases and the
quarantine period for contacts aims to balance the risk of residual
transmission after five days versus the burden of homestay on individuals,
households and the workforce - particularly essential workers. With the risk of
further transmission if a case leaves isolation while still infectious, PHO
identifies a number of considerations, some of which have been incorporated
into provincial guidance – for example, differences relating to vaccine status,
and considerations for specific settings where risk tolerance is lower due to
vulnerability of certain populations.
It’s important to note that the Province is the lead for
establishing case and contact management guidance. This is important for
consistency across the province. Local deviation from this guidance, and the
confusion it would create, would need to be justified by local circumstances.
As previously mentioned, we have been observing decreasing trends in
transmission across the city by monitoring our usual local indicators:
wastewater, hospitalizations, test positivity rate and number of outbreaks in
highest risk settings.
Budget Update
To date, the Ministry of Health has provided
a total of $84 million of one-time funding for the 2021 COVID-19 general and
vaccine program expenses based on our preliminary projections. This includes a
reimbursement for the costs incurred by partners such as the City of Ottawa for
the delivery of the vaccine campaign. However additional expenses were
incurred in the latter part of 2021 due to the surge of Delta cases, continued
community outreach to increase vaccination rates, the rollout of the 5-11
vaccines and the need to administer boosters.
OPH is submitting an additional request of
$4.3 million to cover the extraordinary expenses as part of the fourth Quarter
Standards Activity Report. It is anticipated that Provincial funding will
fully offset the above noted costs, therefore balancing the budget.
For 2022, the Ministry of Health has renewed the $3.1M of funding to mitigate the reduction in the
cost shared formula to 70/30. Also, in an effort to
address increasing public health program costs and demands, the Ministry of
Health will be reviewing 2022 grant requests for mandatory public health
programs within a provincial base funding envelope that provides up to 1%
growth funding. As part of our Annual Service Plan submission to the Ministry,
we are requesting one-time funding in line with the board-approved budget. Our
expectation is that the Province will continue to fund all COVID-19 related
expenses through 2022.
Ontario Health Teams
A brief update on Ontario Health Teams, or OHTs – in
January, OPH reaffirmed its commitment to the Kids Come First Health Team by
signing their Collaborative Decision-Making Agreement as an Organizational
Partner. This formalizes our current processes for working together and aligns
with OPH’s involvement in other local OHTs. We also learned recently that Kids
Come First have been awarded a one-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR) Grant. The funds will support the ongoing work of 1Call1Click.ca, which
is providing one-stop access to mental health and addictions support for
children and youth.
Looking ahead
As we look
ahead, OPH has been and continues to advance recovery planning for the
organization to return to more of its mandate. Some principles that guide
our recovery planning include:
Ø
Being proactive and defining our work in reference to the Ontario
Public Health Standards, and based on community need, capacity, and evidence
for impact
Ø
Seeking to align with City, Ontario Health, and other provincial
plans
Ø
Prevention, the unique role of Public Health
Ø
Working to engage provincial public health partners.
OPH’s Recovery
Roadmap shown on this slide is the approach that OPH will take to transition
from our current to future steady state where addressing COVID-19 is part of
our routine operations. The Roadmap depicts different streams of work,
including:
Ø
Recovery planning
Ø
Strategy implementation
Ø
Increasing key operational programs and
services, and
Ø
Maintaining and adjusting the COVID-19
Response
Our recovery
plan includes a five-step roadmap to reach a point where COVID-19 related work
is embedded in our routine work and where we have returned capacity to serve
the community with more of our typical health protection and health promotion
programs and services. We are now in Step 2 of this roadmap, working to
gather input from diverse groups to inform recovery planning and to identify
community and population health needs now and into the future. Internal
consultations with OPH leaders have begun and in the coming weeks and months we
will be engaging employees, City of Ottawa partners and other key local
partners and stakeholders. A facilitated planning session with the Board of
Health is upcoming to receive your input. We will benefit from your strategic
perspective during this step of OPH’s recovery roadmap.
We will begin
to make decisions about potentially shifting resource allocation in Step 3 when
we have more input and consensus on our proposed new areas of work, and have
assessed what will have the most impact to address needs in our
community. While the plan is to scale back our COVID response
step-by-step, we must remain flexible and be ready to respond to pressures
created by the virus when needed. We have also identified key mindsets that we
want to cultivate throughout our recovery planning - to inspire and set the
stage for how we will do our work and reimagine our post-pandemic future. As we
go forward, we will remain focused on collaboration, equity & community
involvement, and feasibility & sustainability.
As
part of OPH’s recovery planning, we are also examining how we can support the community to
recover. Many Ottawa residents will need time, space and
supports to meaningfully recover. The
pandemic has disproportionately affected Ottawa residents who faced health
inequalities prior to the pandemic. / Dans le cadre
de la planification du rétablissement de SPO, on examine aussi comment on peut
aider la communauté à se rétablir. De nombreux résidents d'Ottawa auront besoin
de temps, d'espace et de soutien pour se rétablir convenablement. La pandémie a
touché de façon disproportionnée les résidents d'Ottawa qui étaient confrontés
à des inégalités en matière de santé avant la pandémie.
Community recovery is an opportunity for economic, social
and health stakeholders - in collaboration with partners, communities and
individuals - to come together to assess how community needs have changed and
to shape new or adapted services together. Restored and reimagined services,
programs and processes will help advance community recovery, and this work
includes broad, cross-sector collaboration. Community Recovery is bigger than
OPH and considers the interconnectedness of partners’ and City services and the
complexity of community needs. We are envisioning a day when
many diverse partners and stakeholders will share in a coordinated effort to
help all Ottawa residents recover economic,
health and social well-being. Each of us can play a role in re-building social
connections and opportunities to thrive.
With respect to economic
recovery, we acknowledge and understand that public health measures
and provincial restrictions have affected the business community in many ways.
Workplaces have had to adapt to various work models – with some employees working
on-site, some working from home and planning for an eventual return to work
in-person, while others have had to close due to restrictions. In every
situation, employers and employees have been affected by these
changes.
Our team has
developed the Working Towards
Recovery: Workplace Health and Wellness Guide. This guide
was developed to help support the mental health and wellness of both employers
and employees in the workplace. The strategies and tips in this guide will be
helpful to workplaces providing services virtually and workplaces providing
in-person services and activities. It has been shared with some
partners from Ottawa’s business community and will be shared and promoted more
broadly in the days and weeks ahead.
Improving
the mental health and substance use health of Ottawa residents is a
priority for OPH. Mental health and wellness impact our interactions with
family and friends, our work, and most importantly our quality of life. Mental
health is an important part of our overall health and positive mental health is
the core for a person's well-being. Although many of our residents have shown
resilience, we know that everyone’s coping strategies are being
challenged. OPH has worked with partners to address the increased demand
for mental health supports, applying the public health roles of collecting
data, facilitating collaboration, promoting well-being
and raising awareness of existing services. It is completely natural for
situations like COVID-19 and the recent unlawful protests and occupation of our
city to affect our mental health, and that of our loved ones and community.
Working
through the Human Needs Taskforce structure and partnerships established early
in the pandemic response, we have been and will continue to collaborate with
our City partners and with various key community partners to connect and assist
residents with a range of needs, including but not limited to food security,
housing, social services and employment supports, safety and mental health.
OPH has been working closely with the Human Needs Task Force (HNTF) to ensure
mental health resources were provided, and connections made with our partners
who provide mental health and substance use health services for the community.
Throughout the unlawful protest, through our communication channels and partner
networks, OPH shared resources, and strategies on mental wellness and
responding to stressful events, while acknowledging the impact of the
demonstrations, and encouraging residents to reach out for supports when
needed. OPH also helped coordinate resources to go out through The Walk In
Counselling Clinic and acted as a bridge to connect partners. For example, OPH
connected the Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC), Centretown
Community Health Centre (CHC), and the Human Needs Task Force (HNTF) with the
Chair of the Psychiatry Department at uOttawa, for them to explore what further
mental health services or outreach might be helpful.
To
further support community healing, working with our partners on the Ottawa
Black Mental Health Coalition, a community conversation
is taking place this evening at 6:30pm. This is an opportunity for residents
who have been impacted by the images and acts of aggression to come together
and share experiences. In addition, OPH has been working with the Ottawa Black Mental Health Coalition
in preparation for Black Mental Health Week starting
tomorrow March 1st to March 7th. There will be a series
of educational sessions highlighting leadership and innovative approaches for
African Caribbean Black (ACB) mental health and wellness.
Internally,
we have been promoting Black History month and I am encouraging our team to
continue to access resources shared to counter anti-Black racism.
In
terms of promoting mental health directly in our communities, OPH is
implementing several pilot Wellness Hubs in the locations of the neighbourhood
vaccination hubs. This pilot will begin at the end of March and will support
residents’ questions on mental health and substance use health, provide tips
and resources on wellness, and connect residents to social services through the
Community and Social Services Department’s (CSSD) Employee and Social Services
teams. These pilot hubs will operate in partnership with AccessMHA, Counselling
Connect and 1Call1Click, and OPH team members will support residents with
system navigation into services at these locations.
Earlier
this month, in partnership with Youth Net at CHEO, together we launched
comprehensive e-learning modules for youth on Mental Health & Stigma,
Stress & Coping, and Relationships & Peer Support. The e-modules
include lesson plans for teachers on all three topics, and these were developed
in collaboration with youth from across Ottawa through Youth Net’s advisory
committee. These new e-tools and modules will help students develop skills and
knowledge for mental health literacy, wellness habits, stress management,
coping tools, positive peer support skills and help seeking behavior. On the
last note of mental health and substance use health, it is important that we
recognize that everyone will continue to experience things in their own way. We
need to continue support each other to practise positive coping strategies such
as taking time for yourself, and to seek help whenever it is needed.
It's ok to
not be ok. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of
courage.
I’ll
conclude with two key messages that may sound contradictory but which we must
learn to do:
3.
The
decrease in Omicron in our community may be stalling and as provincial guidance
changes, a shift to individual risk assessment and risk mitigation is key. / La
diminution d'Omicron dans notre communauté est peut-être en train de ralentir
et, comme les directives provinciales changent, il est essentiel de passer à
l'évaluation et à l'atténuation des risques individuels. This means, especially if you or
someone you live with is at risk for severe COVID-19 illness if infected, that
you can still decrease the chances of infection by being vaccinated with a
booster dose, wearing a mask in indoor spaces, practicing physical distancing
and being careful about the number of close contacts, time in crowds and in
closed spaces.
4.
Social
connections and engagement in workplaces are an important part of recovery from
the pandemic.
/ Les liens sociaux et l'engagement sur les lieux de travail sont un élément
important du rétablissement après la pandémie. This means I do encourage people to
connect with friends and family, to return to in-person meetings, to support
local businesses…keeping in mind the first point. People of all ages have been
affected by social isolation and we can each help re-establish health-promoting
connections. Again, compassion and kindness towards people with different needs
at this time are essential.
Before I take questions, I
would like to recognize the work of Ashley Brambles. Ashley has made the
difficult decision to move on from her position as
Director, Communications and Community Engagement, to take on a new role in the
City of Ottawa’s new Infrastructure and Water Services Department. I know you
will join me in wishing her well and thanking her for her work with us through
the toughest times of pandemic.
Ashley has served Ottawa Public Health with
dedication and passion. OPH’s networks and partnerships have expanded under her
leadership and her expertise in government and stakeholder relations will be
missed. She has grown the CCE team significantly, adding in a new focus on
priority populations and different sector engagement. The call centre has
adopted new ways of working in an environment of unprecedented demands. She has
provided strategic guidance to the communications team that has been recognized
for stellar public health social media communications internationally. She has
worked with the team to help maintain the confidence of our Board of Health. As
the MOH, I have relied on her for strategic issues management on a large range
of subjects.
Jessica Breckenridge has agreed to serve as
the Acting Director, CCE, until an internal and external, national search can
be completed for the role. Jessica has worked on strategic issues management
with teams across the department and with elected officials. She will
work with the other strong leaders in CCE to continue to advance priority work.
I would be happy to take any questions. / Cela conclut
mon rapport verbal. Il
me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.