Board
of Health Meeting
Chair Keith Egli – Verbal report
June 17, 2019
For my verbal update this
evening, I would like to update you on some new developments and highlight OPH
events that have taken place since we last met, as well as some upcoming summer
events.
To begin with some news
from the province, most of you will have heard by now that as a result of our
strong advocacy for public health and the advocacy of others around the
province, on May 27th Premier Doug Ford and Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal
Affairs and Housing, announced a reversal on their plans for retroactive cuts
to public health in Ontario. I have continued to work closely with the Mayor’s
office to ensure that the province remains informed on our position and to plan
a path forward.
This reversal in
retroactive cuts does not necessarily mean that the province is changing its
mind on modernization. It does demonstrate their willingness to be flexible and
to listen to the concerns of municipalities and Ontarians.
The province is planning
consultations over the summer months. These consultations will inform
legislation expected to be introduced in the fall. Ottawa Public Health will
work to ensure that the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health have a strong
voice in those discussions.
The province’s proposed
changes have provided an opportunity for us to speak about public health in a
way that we really have shied away from in the past – and to better articulate
that when public health is doing its job well, it is almost invisible by
keeping people healthy and out of the health care system. Public health is
foundational to the health and wellness of our City and we are incredibly proud
of Ottawa Public Health’s work. The City will continue to fight to maintain
public health’s important mandate
CTS funding update
Moving to our next bit of
news - on the heels of a disappointing decision from the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care with respect to operating funding for OPH’s Consumption and
Treatment Services at 179 Clarence, I am grateful to our federal partners, and
particularly to Minister of Health Petitpas-Taylor and her team for stepping in
to provide temporary funding to help keep our CTS open until the end of the
year. This funding enables the team to continue to meet the needs of current
clients and gives OPH time to consider how to best transition clients to other
services if funding is no longer available in 2020.
Council’s Declaration of
Climate Emergency & Membership on Council Sponsors Group
Locally, on April 24th,
City Council officially declared a climate state of emergency for the purpose
of naming, framing, and deepening the City’s commitment to protecting our
community from climate change. A Sponsors Group, mandated to provide guidance
on the Review and Update of the Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan
(AQCCMP) and the Energy Evolution Final Report, will include representatives
from multiple Standing Committees of Council as well as a Member of this Board
of Health. In approving Councillor Menard’s report on this matter, Council also
directed City staff to embed climate change considerations across all elements
of City business, to complete a vulnerability assessment, and to develop a
climate resiliency strategy to reduce the impacts of a changing climate.
This is aligned with our BOH’s work on mitigating and adapting to climate
change.
Lyme/West Nile virus
messaging/awareness and the Bug Spray Blitz campaign
Speaking of climate and the
long-awaited beautiful weather, we are all aware of the health benefits of
being active outdoors. It important to enjoy better weather while
simultaneously reducing health risks. With the arrival of warmer weather,
ticks and mosquitoes were not too far behind. Mosquitoes and ticks can cause
serious illnesses. Tick bites may transmit bacteria that can cause Lyme disease
and, later in the season, mosquito bites may transmit the West Nile virus. In a
new effort to raise awareness among residents to protect themselves from the
‘bite!’, Ottawa Public Health organized a Bug Spray Blitz! – An Insect
Repellent Discount Week- to promote the use of insect repellent as one of many
preventative measures. As part of this campaign, from May 8 to 20, local
business partners gave customers a discount on insect repellent products
containing DEET or icardin. Participating businesses and OPH promoted the
campaign, which was a big success with more than 54,000 people reached through
Facebook. OPH continues to raise awareness of these prevention measures
through social media and information packages distributed through Councillor’s
offices. In addition, as part of OPH’s commitment to Reconcili-Action, staff
is working with Indigenous partners to make mosquito and tick health protection
information available in a culturally appropriate manner.
Helmet discount
Next, I would like to
highlight OPH’s participation in the 2019 Helmet Safety Event. The Helmet
Discount Weekend, held on May 4th and 5th, involved 25 retailers
with 28 stores in total, providing a 10-20% discount on helmets. OPH staff
participated in various helmet safety events to demonstrate proper helmet fit
including at:
·
Cyclo
Fusion,
·
May
Fair Bike Parade,
·
Pedal
Play Mobile Bike Rodeo and;
·
Sunday
Bike Days event.
Additional events are
upcoming, including Vanier Velofest and the Bayshore Bike and Community Fair.
OPH’s helmet safety
promotion campaign was well received in social media and included a CTV news
interview. Comparing the 2019 campaign to the previous year, there was an
increase of 28.19% in the number of users visiting OPH’s website. The
Facebook/Instagram campaign saw an increase of 42.5% in reach and 57% in
impressions.
“PartySafe” campaign
Finally, some of you may
have seen a new “PartySafe” video on social media. As part of OPH’s Party Safe
program, staff are working with local influencers to make social media videos
to promote OPH messaging on Fentanyl, Naloxone and general party safe tips.
Great to see the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Fury FC, Ottawa Champions and local musician
Michael Labelle participating. Mike Wood with Ottawa Special Events has been an
instrumental partner connecting OPH with these influencers and OPH is
collaborating with him on an upcoming event to train youth and young adults to
use naloxone.
Moving to our exciting
summer events, OPH has been participating in a variety of community events
across the City, including Fury School Game Day, Sunday Bike Days and many
Community led family events. Messaging related to ticks and Lyme, helmet safety
and immunization continue to be the most popular topics.
Planning for larger summer
events continues. OPH is looking forward to the CHEO Teddy Bears picnic, the
Mayor’s Canada Day Senior’s tea and working with many festivals/events to
provide training and party smart messaging over the summer. Soon, you will hear
about this year’s Capital Pride Parade. We hope you will all be able to
participate with us in the Capital Pride parade on Aug. 25th.
alPHa Conference & AGM
Finally, as you know, the
Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) held its Annual General
Meeting and Conference last week. I was fortunate to be able to attend, along
with Members Cloutier and El-Chantiry as well as Dr. Etches, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank Members Cloutier and El-Chantiry and Dr. Etches
for their participation I would also like to invite Member Cloutier to provide
a verbal report on the event.
(Member
Cloutier provided a verbal report on alPHa attendance)
Thank you Member Cloutier.
That concludes my verbal
report. I welcome any questions.
Board
of Health Meeting
Speaking Notes for Dr.Vera Etches
June 17, 2019
Good evening, Kwey, Aingai,
Taanishi, Bonsoir,
I would also like to begin
by honouring the Algonquin Anishinabe people, on whose unceded traditional
territory the City of Ottawa is located and by recognizing that this land has
been a gathering place for many peoples for a long time. I would like to thank
the Elders who offered prayers and words of wisdom in opening today’s meeting.
This week contains the Summer Solstice and National Indigenous Day on June 21st.
Although this is a time of celebration of Indigenous culture and resilience, we
also realize that Indigenous people still experience discrimination, which was
highlighted in the recent report from the Inquiring into Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls.
Dans mon rapport verbal de
ce soir, je me concentrerai sur la modernisation du secteur de la santé
publique et je soulignerai certains travaux de Santé publique Ottawa au cours
des derniers mois.
Since the last Board
meeting, we have learned some additional details regarding the province’s plans
for public health modernization. And there remains a great deal yet to be
determined.
As the Chair mentioned, the
province has adjusted their plans regarding retroactive funding changes in 2019
and they’ve released initial proposals for new regional boundaries for the 10
regional public health entities. We know that consultations with the public
health field will occur in July, to inform legislation in the fall, to
establish the entities for April 1, 2020. Confidential technical tables have
also been established, or will be, with the Association of Local Public Health
Agencies’ Board Executive, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and
the City of Ottawa.
The approach I am taking
with the OPH team is to use multiple channels to proactively put forward ideas
that make sense for a strong public health system in eastern Ontario.
Investing in public health
can help the government with its objectives of ending hallway medicine.
Employees are concerned by
the lack of details around modernization, and I continue to carry out my
commitment of providing the whole OPH team with information as it comes via
weekly emails and other messages. Last month, I held a virtual town hall with
Ottawa Public Health employees and we recently launched an internal engagement
initiative to seek the views of staff on modernization through surveys, focus
groups and other methods. Through this engagement with employees, we are
gathering excellent ideas for how to provide efficient, modern public health
services within a region.
During this time, I have
maintained ongoing dialogue with a number of provincial officials, including
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, as well as with
officials within the MOHLTC. I have written to the province to provide details
on the value of OPH’s integration with the City and its in-kind or “back
office” services.
This past week, I attended
the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Local Public Health Agencies
where public health modernization was the focus. As Councillor Cloutier
mentioned, municipally elected officials voiced interest in continuing to work
with the provincial government to change the proposal for a shift in
cost-sharing of public health services. The Council of Medical Officers of
Health has struck a working group, to which I am contributing, to put forward
professional suggestions about the model for effective public health practice
into the future. The perspectives of other public health professionals, like
nurses, epidemiologists, inspectors, communicators, dentists and hygienists and
more, will also be key to building a system that works.
I have continued to meet
with several counterparts across the province, including in particular those
from Eastern Ontario. Discussions are ongoing about whether the 10 proposed
public health regions in Ontario are enough, with other ideas being put forward
for eastern Ontario. For example, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington,
Hastings Prince Edward, Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District and Eastern Ontario
have put forward a proposal to create a separate region. The consultation
process and technical tables will likely address boundaries and governance as
well as other aspects of modernization.
Over the past month, we’ve
looked for every opportunity to showcase OPH’s incredible programs and
services. Recently, five local MPPs participated in tours of OPH facilities,
including our immunization, sexual health and dental clinics. Similar tours
were also held with Board Members and I want to thank all those who took the
time to participate.
As you read the
correspondence coming from other boards of health about public health
modernization, I think the theme that local services matter comes through.
Maintaining a connection to the communities we serve, and to local partners
across sectors such as social services, schools, and police is key under any
new regional model.
The importance of local
collaborations across sectors in public health was highlighted in a recently
published research paper in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. This study
by population health researchers at the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa
Hospital Research Institute was informed by Ottawa Public Health and the city’s
Transportation Services Department. It demonstrated that if the city of Ottawa
reaches the Transportation Master Plan targets for increasing the number
of people walking, cycling and taking public transit to/from work, over a
thousand cases of diabetes could be prevented due to increased physical
activity, thereby reducing demands on the healthcare system and the associated
costs of treatment. I want to recognize that the lead author is Dr.
Trevor Arnason, now one of OPH’s Associate MOHs.
Ontario Health Teams
Before leaving the topic of
our changing health system in Ontario, I will provide an update on OPH’s
involvement with Ontario Health Teams, as raised at our last meeting.
·
OPH
participated in the application process for three prospective local Ontario
Health Teams (OHTs), called the following:
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)
·
The
first phase of application was a self-assessment.
·
Self-assessments
for all three OHTs were submitted to the MOHLTC on May 15.
·
Applicants
were initially expecting to hear back from the MOHTLC on June 3; however, given
the volume of submissions received (more than 150 from across the province),
the MOHLTC has extended its timelines.
·
Applicants
invited to submit a full application will be notified by early July 2019,
with a deadline to submit full applications by September 2019.
·
Details
regarding what will be required as part of full application are not yet known.
Je continuerai de tenir le
Conseil de santé au courant de la modernisation du secteur de la santé
publique, des occasions d’y formuler des commentaires et du progrès des équipes
de la santé de l'Ontario.
Ottawa Public Health:
2019-20 Funding for the New Dental Program for Low Income Seniors
You will recall that at the
last meeting, the Board approved a report on Dental Health services for
low-income seniors, which included a direction to staff to request funding to
increase treatment capacity at OPH dental clinics, help seniors with system
navigation, and provide oral health education to increase self-care. This
program aims to prevent chronic disease, reduce infection and improve the
quality of life for low-income seniors.
On June 7th, we
were pleased to receive funding approval from the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care, to support the new dental program for low income seniors. The
MOHLTC will provide up to $2,768,200 in addition base funding for the 2019-20
funding year.
As of today, we are still
awaiting details about the roll out, but we are excited to start developing
plans to
·
expand
the Merivale Dental Clinic and;
·
look at
creating another public health dental clinic to increase service capacity
We are thankful to the
Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and for her team, and we look
forward to improving the quality of life of our seniors by implementing those
programs.
CTS funding update
I would also like to echo
the Chair’s comments and thank Canada’s Minister of Health, Petitpas-Taylor and
her team for their commitment to harm reduction. The temporary funding
mentioned by Chair Egli will allow us to keep providing important health
services in the community. Ensuring clients are supported through any potential
change in their service is important – one of many reasons why our site has
remained open despite changes in the funding model. Nous continuerons de travailler avec
nos partenaires du secteur des soins de santé pour continuer à améliorer
l'accès aux services de réduction des méfaits à l'avenir.
Smoking and Vaping report
& Music Strategy report
Recently, Ottawa Public
Health was involved in two reports going to Community and Protective Services
Committee for the City of Ottawa later this week, on June 20th.
First, the Harmonization of
Smoke-Free By-laws report proposes to harmonize the existing smoking prohibitions
by-laws in order to consistently prohibit smoking and vaping of tobacco,
cannabis, and any other substance in all areas where smoking tobacco and using
water pipes are currently prohibited. The goal of this harmonization
exercise is to continue the City of Ottawa’s long-standing smoke-free
objectives, which align with OPH’s Let’s Clear the Air campaign: reduce
initiation of smoking and vaping, decrease exposure to second hand smoke of all
substances and vapour, and support people to reduce or quit use.
Secondly, te Ottawa Music
Strategy Implementation Update for CPSC report highlights the cultural
strategic partnership developed by Recreation, Culture and Facility Services
with OPH and the Ottawa Festival Network to expand the impact of OPH’s
“Partysafe” program and expand the “Partysafe” toolkit – messages: pace
yourself, start low, go slow, and plan a ride home - to ensure consistency in
safe space training, health promotion and communications provided to festivals,
event organizers and festival-goers.
Flooding Emergency Response
J'aimerais profiter de
l'occasion pour remercier les membres de notre Conseil de santé - ainsi que du
Conseil municipal - pour leur leadership et leur engagement envers les
résidents lors de la récente intervention d'urgence en cas d'inondation
As June is Employee
Recognition month, I would be remiss not to sincerely thank our staff for their
tremendous and unrelenting efforts in responding to the flooding emergency, as
well as ensuring the continuity of operations.
Building on our experience
from the 2017 floods, Ottawa Public Health actively worked with the Office of
Emergency Management and community partners as members of the City’s 2019
Spring Freshet Taskforce to prevent, mitigate and help manage any risk of
flooding this year. Since the declaration of a state of emergency on April 25,
2019, OPH employees and our City colleagues have worked to assist affected
residents.
Working from our
departmental command centre, OPH coordinated the planning, logistics, safety,
communications and operations required to ensure residents were supported.
Public Health Inspectors and Public Health Nurses maintained a constant
presence at the multiple reception centres established to support and care for
residents and to provide information on well water safety and testing, mental
health, environmental hazards and other health related concerns.
As well, OPH led the Human
Needs Task Force established by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), and the
coordination of door-to-door wellness visits. This work reinforced the City’s
ongoing commitment to addressing the needs of priority populations and other
vulnerable persons who may have faced additional challenges during the floods.
The Task Force’s efforts were strengthened by the strong partnerships that
exist between OPH, other City departments and agencies serving priority
populations, such as the Canadian Red Cross and the Salvation Army, as well as
community partners operating locally to assist residents.
Over the past 53 days,
since the declaration of a state of emergency, OPH has actually been involved in
multiple enhanced responses – including for two measles cases, a Hepatitis
A response, and a tornado, in addition to the flood. Through collaboration with
internal and external partners, as well as relief agencies, OPH continues to
demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting and promoting the health of
Ottawa residents. Les
activités de préparation et d'intervention en cas d'urgence sont au cœur du
mandat de la santé publique.
Guarding minds @ work
survey results
Moving forward, I am also
pleased to inform you that OPH was the first City of Ottawa department to use
the Guarding Minds at Work (GM@W) survey this April. GM@W is an evidence-based
survey developed by the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and
Addiction (CARMHA) and is considered the gold standard in assessing and
promoting psychological health and safety in the workplace. It looks at 13
psychosocial factors that impact employees' psychological responses to work and
work conditions, such as
·
Workload
management
·
Clear
leadership and expectations and;
·
Growth
and development.
This survey will allow us
to develop action plans that support mental health in our workplace. There are
unanswered questions about how the public health sector will work in the
future. However, in times of uncertainty like this, and no matter how we
are organized, the mental health of all OPH employees matters.
Employee participation in
the survey was high - with over 60% responding. Overall, OPH scored well on all
13 factors assessed – they were either rated as minimal
concern or a relative strength. No factors were classified as areas of
significant or serious concern.
The results of this survey
provide us with some baseline information for our new Strategic Direction on
maximizing the potential in people. An Action Plan will be implemented over the
next year, and beyond, led by our new Wellness @ Work Committee, with regular
pulse checks to monitor progress towards maintenance and improvement within
these factors.
Launch of
Engage Ottawa
Looking
ahead - Ottawa Public Health is committed to engaging residents on the design,
creation and implementation of our programs and services, and taking advantage
of tools at our disposal to do so.
I am happy to
announce that as of today, we launched our first project on the Engage Ottawa
platform seeking input and ideas from expecting, new, and existing parents and
caregivers to develop a new Peer Parenting Support Program.
This
engagement project is open for 8 weeks and will use online storytelling and
brainstorming tools to involve residents in a dialogue about what they would
like in such a program.
We are
excited about this new project and I encourage you to visit www.Engage.Ottawa.ca/ParentingSupport to join in
the discussion and to share with your networks. Engagement is a critical
component of the design of public health programming and I look forward to the
outcome of this project. Ce projet se déroule en
anglais et en français.
OPH All-Staff/Employee
Recognition – thank Members for attending
Finally, on Tuesday May
28th, Ottawa Public Health held its Annual All Staff Meeting and Employee
Recognition Event, on behalf of OPH, I would like to thank Chair Egli as well
as Mayor Watson for attending and speaking. We are thankful for your support for
OPH and for recognizing OPH’s employees for their work and accomplishments. I
would also like to thank Councillor Kavanagh, Member Pinel and Member Tilley
for their attendance. We enjoyed your presence and we value your support.
That concludes my verbal update.
I am happy to answer any questions.