INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUB-COMMITTEEAGENDA 821 JUNE 2010 SOUS-COMITÉ DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATIONORDRE DU JOUR 8LE 21 JUIN 2010



Board of Health Corporate Seal

Ottawa Board of Health
MINUTES 12
Monday, September 21, 2020, 5:00 PM
By Electronic Participation
Contact for the Ottawa Board of Health:
Diane Blais, Board of Health Secretary
613-580-2424, ext. 21544
[email protected]

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 via Zoom, on Monday, September 21, 2020 beginning at 5:00 PM.

Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of the Board of Health, presided over the meeting.


 

ROLL CALL

All members participated.

 

REGRETS

No regrets were filed.

 

DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST (INCLUDING THOSE ORIGINALLY ARISING FROM PRIOR MEETINGS)

No declarations of interest were filed.

 

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Confirmation of minutes of the meeting of June 15, 2020.

CONFIRMED

 

COMMUNICATIONS

Twelve communication items have been received (held on file with the Board of Health Secretary).

 

MOTION TO INTRODUCE REPORTS

 

Motion 12/1

Moved by Member Cloutier

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Presentation by Cameron Love on Behalf of the Champlain COVID-19 Response Committee (CCRC) on Partnership and Readiness, the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Update on COVID-19 and Next Steps, Ottawa Public Health’s Strategic Plan for 2019-2022 – Year-One Refresh, 2020 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, 2020, be received and considered.

CARRIED

Following a ‘Consent Agenda’ process, the Board considered the held Items in the order in which they appear on the Agenda, dealing with items 3 and 4 concurrently.

1.

CAMERON LOVE ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMPLAIN COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMITTEE (CCRC) - PRESENTATION ON PARTNERSHIP AND READINESS

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this verbal presentation for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

Dr. Cameron Love, CEO of The Ottawa Hospital, on behalf of the Champlain COVID-19 Response Committee (CCRC), spoke to a PowerPoint presentation in which he described the health sector’s response to the pandemic to-date and its readiness and preparation for the coming fall and winter.

Following Dr. Love’s presentation, the Board heard from one (1) public delegation, Councillor Jenna Sudds, who provided feedback and posed questions about COVID-19 testing in Ottawa.

Following his presentation and after hearing from the public delegation, Dr. Love responded to questions from Board Members. The discussion on this item lasted approximately two (2) hours. The presentation was then received by the Board.

 

At 6:45 p.m., during discussions on the above-noted item, the Board approved a motion to extend the time of the meeting beyond 7:00 p.m.

Motion 12/3

Moved by Member Cloutier

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.

CARRIED

 

2.

CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT

 

ACS2020-OPH-BOH-0005

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

Chair Egli began his verbal update by congratulating Dr. Sarah Funnell on her recent appointment to the College of Family Physicians of Canada Board of Directors. He then updated Board Members on recent events, namely: the August 13th virtual launch of the African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) Mental Health Report, the August 31st Overdose Awareness Day event; City Council’s August 26th decision to extend and expand of the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law; and a September 10th World Suicide Prevention Day virtual event hosted by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) in with Suicide Prevention Ottawa. He then talked about an upcoming event, to be held on September 25th, marking Recovery Day Ottawa. In closing, Chair Egli talked about the increasing number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa and the important of getting back to basics in terms of being COVIDWise in our behaviours.

The discussion on this item lasted approximately 15 minutes. The report was then received by the Board. The attached memo includes the Chair’s Verbal Update.

 

3.

MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT

 

ACS2020-OPH-MOH-0005

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

As part of her verbal update, Dr. Etches noted that September 21st marked the start of Environmental Public Health Week. As such, she took the opportunity to recognize the important work of our Public Health Inspectors and all those who work in environmental health. She then talked about a recent Provincial announcement with respect to new Ontario Health Teams, including the Ottawa East OHT, which is in the process of finalizing collaborative decision-making agreements. She informed Board Members about OPH’s new position statement on stigma and COVID-19 and the importance of avoiding stigmatizing language. She then outlined the objectives and plans for this fall’s influenza immunization campaign.

The attached memo includes the Medical Officer of Health’s Verbal Update.

 

4.

UPDATE ON COVID-19 AND NEXT STEPS

 

ACS2020-OPH-MOH-0006

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

1.        Direct the Medical Officer of Health to prepare a budget for 2021 that reflects the resources required to sustain the COVID-19 response and critical public health services;

2.        Direct the Medical Officer of Health to develop recommendations to the Government of Ontario that would seek to address systemic issues that have been brought to light as a result of the pandemic response to date; and

3.        Receive, for information, the evaluation report and supporting documents on the “Public health system evaluation and lessons learned from the first peak of COVID-19”, prepared on behalf of the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health (COMOH), attached as Document 1.

 

CARRIED

 

Moving seamlessly from her verbal update into a presentation on the next agenda item, the “Update on COVID-19 and Next Steps”, Dr. Etches talked about: the evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation, including what we’re seeing in terms of people infected with COVID-19; the situation in long-term care homes, including recent actions to have The Ottawa Hospital assume management of two local long-term care homes; a real world contact tracing example that started with a park party and resulted in 105 individuals being identified as high-risk contacts; OPH’s work in supporting schools and school boards, including the recent hiring and onboarding of 45 new Public Health Nurses and their work with Ottawa’s school community; OPH’s response to date, including communications and support for a regional testing strategy; an overview of how OPH is prioritizing its work and reorganizing to ensure sustainability; and a description of next steps in terms of developing a draft 2021 budget to ensure adequate resources into the coming year and formulating recommendations to the Province to build on some of the lessons learned over the past six months. In closing, Dr. Etches took the opportunity to thank partners and closed with a recognition of Andrew Hendriks’ leadership of OPH’s Incident Management System since January.

Following her Verbal Update and presentation, Dr. Etches responded to questions from Board Members.

The discussion on items 3 and 4 combined lasted approximately 45 minutes. The Board then received the Medical Officer of Health’s Verbal Report and approved the report titled “Update on COVID-19 and Next Steps”.

 

5.

OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH’S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2019-2022 – YEAR-ONE REFRESH

 

ACS2020-OPH-KPQ-0006

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information and approve the re-alignment of Ottawa Public Health’s strategic work, as described in this report and outlined in Document 1, attached.

 

CARRIED

 

6.

2020 OPERATING BUDGET Q2 – BOARD OF HEALTH FOR THE CITY OF OTTAWA HEALTH UNIT STATUS REPORT

 

ACS2020-OPH-PCS-0004

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

1.        Receive the 2020 Q2 operating budget status report for information; and

2.        Approve the establishment of a new capital project for the retrofit of the Sexual Health Center at 179 Clarence Street and new capital spending authority of $175,000, which will be 100% provincially funded.

 

CARRIED, as amended by Motion 12/2

 

Motion 12/2

Moved by Vice-Chair DeGiovanni

WHEREAS, pursuant to requirements of the Board of Health’s Procedure By-law, the Board of Health Agenda 12 for the meeting of September 21, 2020 was published on September 10, 2020, including all reports to be considered at the meeting;

AND WHEREAS on September 18, 2020, subsequent to the publication of the Board of Health Agenda 12 and the reports to be considered at the meeting, the Ontario Ministry of Health provided Ottawa Public Health with confirmation of additional capital funding for Seniors Dental Clinics, namely $1,282,700 for a new clinic in a yet to be determined location and $809,900 for the Merivale Clinic renovations;

AND WHEREAS Board of Health approval is required to create new capital projects and the corresponding new capital spending authority;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the report titled “2020 Operating Budget Q2 – Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report” be amended by adding the following recommendation:

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit approve the establishment of two new capital projects for Seniors Dental Clinics and new capital spending authority totalling $2,092,600, which will be 100% provincially funded.

 

CARRIED

 

7.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY – CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1 TO JUNE 30, 2020

 

ACS2020-OPH-PCS-0005

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

MOTION TO ADOPT REPORTS

Motion 12/4

Moved by Member Cloutier

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Presentation by Cameron Love on Behalf of the Champlain COVID-19 Response Committee (CCRC) on Partnership and Readiness, the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Update on COVID-19 and Next Steps, Ottawa Public Health’s Strategic Plan for 2019-2022 – Year-One Refresh, 2020 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, 2020, be received and adopted.

CARRIED

 

MOTIONS REQUIRING SUSPENSION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

There were no motions requiring suspension of the rules.

 

NOTICES OF MOTION (FOR CONSIDERATION AT SUBSEQUENT MEETING)

There were no Notices of Motion (for consideration at a subsequent meeting).

 

CONFIRMATION BY-LAW

Motion 12/5

Moved by Member Cloutier

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Confirmation By-law no. 2020-4, 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 21, 2020, be read and passed.

CARRIED

 

INQUIRIES

None

 

ADJOURNMENT

The Board adjourned the meeting at 8:22 p.m.

 

NEXT MEETING

Regular Meeting

Monday, November 2, 2020 – 5PM

_____________________________                    _____________________________

BOARD SECRETARY                                           BOARD CHAIR


Board of Health Meeting
Chair Keith Egli – Verbal report
September 21, 2020

I would like to begin my verbal update this evening by congratulating Dr. Sarah Funnell, one of Ottawa Public Health’s Associate Medical Officers of Health, on her recent appointment to the College of Family Physicians of Canada Board of Directors.

For those who may not be familiar, the College of Family Physicians of Canada is the professional organization that represents more than 40,000 members across the country. It establishes the standards for and accredits postgraduate family medicine training in Canada's 17 medical schools. It also reviews and certifies continuing professional development programs and materials that enable family physicians to meet certification and licensing requirements.

Congratulations Sarah on this prestigious appointment.

August 13 virtual launch of ACB Mental Health Report Launch

On August 13, 2020, I had the pleasure of participating in a virtual event organized and hosted by Ottawa Public Health to launch the Mental Health of Ottawa’s Black Community Research Study.  

We were fortunate to have CBC Ottawa’s Adrien Harewood serve as Master of Ceremony for the event. OPH’s Hodan Aden and Chinedu Oraka presented the study’s findings and, participating as panelists, we had Police Chief Peter Sloly, Dr. Etches, Councillor Rawlson King, who is the City Council’s Liaison on anti-racism and ethnocultural relations, Camille Williams-Taylor, Director of Education with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, and Sheila James, a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist with the City of Ottawa.

Board Members were invited to watch the event’s livestream on Ottawa Public Health’s Youtube channel and I hope many of you were able to do so.

The Mental Health of Ottawa’s Black Community research study was developed to contribute to and improve data representing the black community. The research study was conducted due to the lack of current data on the perceptions, experiences and needs of Ottawa’s African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) community in related to mental health and access to quality mental health services.

This research explores the experiences of Ottawa’s ACB community in relation to mental health and the mental health care system. The study examined research participants’ views and perceptions of mental health; protective and risk factors; interactions with mental health services in Ottawa; and strategies to improve services for Ottawa’s ACB community.

OPH, in collaboration with over 14 community partner agencies, delivered this project over an 18-month period and 130 research participants from Ottawa’s ACB community participated in the study.

Multi-level and intersecting factors protect or expose people within the ACB community to risk, in terms of their mental health status. Participants identified a wide array of individual, family, community and societal factors that influence mental health. 

This pre-COVID-19 study also revealed several optimistic findings in terms of the research respondents’ self-rated mental health, sense of community belonging and stress levels, which were better than the City’s average.

Findings also revealed a number of significant obstacles encountered by participants, including stigma rooted in cultural sensitivities, racism, limited employment opportunities and financial insecurity, lack of access to culturally safe care and/or care providers with similar cultural and racial identity, among others.

The findings and recommendations from the study include strategies to improve services and experiences for ACB populations and may be useful to policy makers and service providers across the City. These recommendations will lead to improved collaboration in the management and delivery of mental health programs and services.

As part of its commitment to advancing this work, OPH will keep advocating for intersectoral collaboration that will address issues related to social determinants of health targeted at improving access to mental health services and improving mental health outcomes. It will also work with the ACB community and the City’s anti-racism secretariat to explore implementation of public health specific recommendations.

I look forward to hearing more about this work as it moves forward.

August 31 Overdose Awareness Day Event

On August 31st, we recognized International Overdose Awareness Day.

This annual global event aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug related harms and death. It is also a time to acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends by remembering those who have been affected by drug use.

Overdose is a continuing risk for people who use drugs in Ottawa, particularly with the emergence of stronger opioids across the country like illicit fentanyl.

This year has been especially challenging for many in our community and it was important for our community to still gather together at a distance to recognize this important event. Even through the COVID-19 response, OPH has not wavered in the recognition and support for individuals who live with problematic substance use or a substance use disorder. It is recognized that COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the issues experienced by members of our community who use drugs and alcohol. The harm reduction services provided by OPH are incredibly valued in the community and it is important to recognize the work of OPH staff to identify innovative solutions to provide important services during the pandemic. 

Unfortunately, problematic substance use, in particular the opioid crisis, continues to take lives across Canada. The presence of a toxic drug supply persists. People continue to report barriers to accessing the services they need. And we know stigma is one the biggest barriers. This stigma needs to end. It is one of the largest barriers to accessing help and OPH and our partners are dedicated to providing access to equal and judgement-free help.

Safer Supply Ottawa Partners are continuing to work to expand access to programming in the community to decrease the risk of accidental overdose and improve health. These services provide access to prescribed pharmaceutical opioids and further connect people who use drugs to integrate wrap-around health, social and treatment services. Safer Supply Ottawa is supported by Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program.

OPH is proud of the collaborative work with our incredible partners, such as the Community Addictions Peer Support Association, Drug Users Advocacy League, the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, the Canadian Public Health Association, and The Royal Ottawa.

Ottawa Public Health strives to learn more and do more to advocate for the needs of people with lived or living experience of substance use disorders, reduce stigma to help remove barriers to accessing services, and promote harm reduction principles. OPH uses this knowledge to work towards a society where no one is forgotten or denied the care they need.

Council expansion & extension of the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law

As you all know, on July 15th, Council adopted a Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law based on recommendations from our Medical Officer of Health and the City’s General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services.

The rationale for the By-law was based on increasing evidence that wearing a mask when in enclosed public spaces is an important measure in reducing COVID-19 transmission. The scientific community and public health organizations around the world have concluded that the cumulative weight of evidence supports that face masks lessen the rates of transmission of COVID-19 from wearers. However, other community level measures, such as physical distancing, hand hygiene and staying home when sick, should continue to be employed to decrease transmission of COVID-19.

Given its temporary nature, the By-law was to be revisited at the next Council meeting, scheduled for August 26th.

In revisiting the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law, City Council again approved recommendations from our professional staff and extended the by-law until October 31st of this year. This included amendments that effectively expanded the by-law’s scope so that it now applies to indoor common areas of apartment and condominium buildings and in vehicles for hire. It also allows for the establishment of mandatory mask zones should the need arise.

Ottawa is continuing to see a fluctuating rate of people infected with COVID-19 in our community. In recent weeks, we’ve experienced an increase in the reported number of people infected with COVID-19, which has served as a stark reminder of the potential for this virus to spread if it is given the opportunity to do so. With the virus present in our community and the vast majority of residents being susceptible to infection, it is critical to exercise precautions and to continue to be COVIDWise to prevent transmission that could overwhelm our health care system and lead to deaths. We also know that keeping transmission under control is key to Ottawa’s economic recovery and to a safer return to school for the children in our community. These are the factors on which Council based its August 26th decision to extend and expand the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law.

Given the October 31st sunset date, Council will be revisiting the by-law again next month and looking to our professional staff for advice and recommendations.

Notwithstanding the requirement for wearing a mask in indoor public places, other public health measures continue to be of utmost importance - such as physical distancing, good hand-hygiene and staying home when sick.

Suicide prevention day

September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Day. To commemorate this day, Ottawa Public Health, in partnership with Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO), hosted a virtual event to raise awareness, hope and resilience, and to increase help seeking.

This year, the theme that Ottawa Public Health and Suicide Prevention Ottawa selected for World Suicide Prevention Day was “One Good Thing”. This was done to acknowledge the importance of emphasizing stories of hope and resilience during these challenging times.

Suicide is complex, but suicide prevention can start with one good thing. Individual acts can have a great impact. On World Suicide Prevention Day, we encouraged people to come together to emphasize stories of resilience and survival.

The online event featured two community members who talked about their lived and living experiences via virtual chat and discussed the services and supports that helped them along the way. The event has had 1000 views to date and can be found on Suicide Prevention Ottawa’s Facebook page.

Suicide Prevention is, and will continue to be, an important public health priority. As Co-Chair of Suicide Prevention Ottawa, a Network of 40+ organizations working together to prevent suicide, OPH will continue to raise awareness, develop resources and programming, and increase suicide prevention training across Ottawa.

Recovery Day Ottawa

Lastly, on September 25th the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) will be hosting Recovery Day Ottawa virtually on Facebook live from 3-8pm.

Recovery Day Ottawa is an annual community event organized by CAPSA Canada in the month of September, and in the past has been held at Ottawa City Hall. The purpose is to help reduce the stigma surrounding substance use disorders and addiction and raise awareness about recovery in our community.

The goals of the event are to celebrate the many pathways to increased wellness in our community; foster hope for those who still suffer, reduce barriers of stigma and discrimination directed towards those affected by Substance Use Disorder; engage the broader community in support of stigma reduction and increased wellness; and build a platform for dialogue on increased resources for new and existing services in our community.

CAPSA endeavours to engage the broader community by building partnerships with local, provincial and national organizations and raising awareness through the #StigmaEndsWithMe campaign.

Current times have strengthened OPH’s resolve to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma around substance use. Now, more than ever is a time to come together as a community.

OPH is working with community partners to make tangible improvements in mental health and eliminate harms from substance use, with a focus on opioids across the lifespan through the Ottawa Community Action Plan.  

As part of this Action Plan, OPH is partnering on a collective impact project with the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, the Community Addictions Peer Support Association and The Royal. This project will focus on ending stigma and emphasizing the importance of using person first language. 

Though there has been progress, there is still work to be done to shift the behaviours and attitudes of our community towards people who use substances, and ensure that people have access to the support they need, when they need it.

I encourage everyone to participate in this virtual event on September 25th and share this throughout your networks.

Closing Remarks

Before I turn it over to Dr. Etches for her Verbal Report, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on where we are, where we’ve been, and what lies ahead in terms of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, we were successful in coming together to flatten the curve of COVID-19 in Ottawa. In fact, we were so successful that Ottawa was the first major city in Ontario to move to Stage 3 of reopening. But we cannot rest on our laurels. The pandemic is not over. There is still work to do.

As I indicated when I talked about Council’s extension and expansion of the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law, ensuring a safer return to school was one of the key factors that motivated Council’s decision on August 26th.

We know that Ottawa’s children and youth need to be in school. It’s better for them, it’s better from their families, and it’s better for our economy. But a safer return to school for our children and youth is dependant on keeping COVID transmission as low as possible in our community. This cannot be overstated.

We also need to think ahead to what could happen as we move into the fall and flu season.

We know that a resurgence of COVID-19 could overwhelm our healthcare system. We also know that a bad flu season could do the same, but the two combined could be devastating.

I recognize that the past 6 months have been tough and there is some COVID-fatigue setting in. However, given the recent increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa and the potential consequences of letting our guards down, I urge everyone to get back to basics in thinking about and in implementing public health measures in their daily lives.

Now more than ever, we all need to be COVIDWise:

Wear a mask.

Isolate yourself if you’re sick.

Stay 2 meters away from people outside your household.

Exercise proper hand hygiene.

We really are all in this together. We have a collective responsibility to do everything we can to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community.

That concludes my verbal update. I’d be happy to take any questions.


Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera Etches – Verbal report
September 21, 2020

Good evening, Bonsoir, Kway,

In tonight’s Verbal Report, I will talk about a recent Provincial announcement about new Ontario Health Teams, an OPH Position Statement on Stigma and COVID-19, this fall’s influenza immunization campaign, and our ongoing work in response to COVID-19, including school reopenings.

But first I want to take a moment to share that today marks the start of Environmental Public Health Week, an opportunity to recognize the important work of our Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and all those who work in environmental health. The theme for this year’s Environmental Health Week is “Public Health as a Collective Effort”.

In addition to their work in health hazard and rabies prevention, answering calls on the intake line, inspections at restaurants, personal service settings, recreational water facilities, and in small drinking water systems, our Public Health Inspectors have been crucial to the pandemic response by mitigating risk and managing outbreaks in retirement and long-term care homes and congregate settings and guiding in the safe re-opening of businesses and childcare facilities.

New Ontario Health Teams announced, including Ottawa East OHT

Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) work took a pause in the spring due to COVID-19 demands. On July 23, the Ministry of Health announced five new OHTs – including the Ottawa East OHT. Nous sommes un fier partenaire de l’équipe Santé Ontario de l'est d'Ottawa. This brings the total number of approved OHTs across Ontario to 29.

In July, the Ministry also announced implementation funding to support all approved OHTs. Access to these funds requires the establishment of collaborative decision-making agreements. Both the Ottawa Health Team and Ottawa East OHT are in the process of finalizing and signing off on these agreements by the end of September. These agreements formalize our current processes for working together and do not duplicate or replace any partner’s governance or operational decision-making. We are reviewing these documents now – no concerns have been raised to date. 

The work of Kids Come First has also continued, responding to the needs of children, youth, their families, and providers through the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Rivers OHT, led out of West Ottawa, remains “In Development” and is in conversations with the Ministry regarding next steps.

COVID-19 has in many ways accelerated opportunities to work collaboratively across the health system. / À bien des égards, COVID-19 a accéléré les possibilités de travailler en collaboration dans l'ensemble du système de santé.

As cross-sector entities, OHTs are being recognized as a valuable vehicle for shaping our ongoing response to COVID-19 and meeting the needs of our local communities.

Stigma and COVID-19 OPH Position Statement

Ottawa Public Health has recently put out a position statement on stigma and COVID-19 to address the rise in stigma and prejudice in our community against those who have the COVID-19 virus, people who are thought to be carriers of the virus based on appearance, and people who are thought to be from areas where the COVID-19 virus originated. 

As many of us are aware, stigma is a negative stereotype or negative association about a group of people. 

OPH’s COVID-19 data shows areas with a high proportion of racialized communities and high material deprivation have higher rates of COVID-19 compared to areas with a lower proportion of racialized communities or lower material deprivation. This situation may lead to increasing discrimination in these areas and may result in people not wanting to seek testing for COVID-19 or healthcare if they need it. It can also result in people not wanting to share information about their contacts, and feeling isolated, rejected or even facing violence. 

Through the adoption of this position statement, Ottawa Public Health is hoping to raise awareness and compassion related to this issue and ultimately reduce the stigma that many people in our community are facing. 

One important way we are doing this is by using ‘people first’ language that respects and empowers people when discussing COVID-19.  This includes when talking to clients, partners and stakeholders, in media interviews, and on social media. 

We are in the process of reviewing both internal and external documents, providing training to staff, and informing our networks and partners about the importance of avoiding stigmatizing language. / Nous sommes en train de revoir les documents internes et externes, de sensibiliser le personnel et d'informer nos réseaux et partenaires sur l'importance d'éviter les termes stigmatisants.

Fall flu vaccine campaign

The Chair spoke a bit about this at Council last week, noting that so far in our response to COVID-19, we’ve managed to keep case numbers low enough to avoid having our health care system overburdened but that the upcoming flu season will present another challenge on that front. I wanted to build on that and provide the Board with a bit more information about OPH’s plan for this fall’s influenza immunization campaign.

First, our goal is to have 70% of our community vaccinated. Influenza immunization of the population is essential every year, but it is of utmost importance this year. / La vaccination de la population contre la grippe est essentielle chaque année, mais cette année, elle est de la plus haute importance.

If you don’t normally get a flu shot, get one this year. There is the potential for a rise in numbers of people with COVID and the flu to make people very ill and overwhelm ERs. We need to at least blunt the effect of one of these two infections through adequate levels of influenza vaccinations.

OPH is the distributor of influenza vaccine, according to the provincial Universal Influenza Immunization Program.  The province determines which vaccines will be available for what populations, in what quantity, and when.    OPH quickly turns around the supply to hospitals, long-term care homes and community immunization providers.  Pharmacies access vaccine directly from the province.

Typically, OPH directly completes over 11K doses of influenza immunizations given in Ottawa (11,321 doses administered in 2019). Typically, OPH directly completes over 11K doses of influenza immunizations given in Ottawa (11,321 doses administered in 2019). The 2020 plan doubles this expected contribution.  In October, OPH will be offering three options for residents to receive their flu shot: October, OPH will be offering three options for residents to receive their flu shot:

·         Universal clinics whereby OPH will provide public flu clinics in six fixed locations. To avoid crowding and control the flow of clients in and out of these locations, the clinics will be by appointment.

Physicians and primary care providers will be providing flu vaccine to their patients; OPH distributes approximately 217K doses of influenza vaccine to physicians each each year.  In addition, OPH will be offering joint clinics where there will be an opportunity for primary care providers to immunize their patients in an “OPH – community physician clinic”.  This collaboration will help address challenges some primary care providers are identifying with limitations to their office’s ability to handle influenza immunization in the time of COVID-19 such as adequate physical space for post vaccine monitoring. Lastly, OPH will be doing outreach to populations facing greater barriers to immunization, including isolated populations. To that end, OPH is working with key partners, including the Canadian Red Cross, to offer targeted immunization clinics in shelters, group homes, and other congregate settings where residents are not able to access universal clinics. MIn addition, OPH will engage hospital partners in immunizing their employees as usual, as well as opportunistically immunizing patients when they are admitted to hospital or the ER.  Pharmacies will be providing flu vaccine to Ottawa residents 5 years and older.  In 2019 pharmacies received approximately 168K doses of influenza vaccine. Pharmacies indicated  that they are preparing to do their part again this year.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s clinics will include precautionary measures such as: screening staff, volunteers and clients for illness or exposure to COVID-19, physical distancing in terms of clinic layout and the number of clients allowed in the clinic at any given time, Infection Prevention and Control measures, including the need for Personal Protective Equipment, increased environmental cleaning, the use of an online appointment system to control client flow and avoid crowding, and enhanced communications.

The evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation

Next, I will speak to the evolving COVID-19 situation with some slides

(slide 2)

As Members know, we’ve seen an increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 as well as an increase in the number of outbreaks. We’ve also seen an impact on testing volumes and the turnaround time for laboratory results.

(slide 3)

In particular, I would like to comment on the increased number of outbreaks OPH is managing with long-term care homes in Ottawa.  A lot has been learned about the risk to residents in LTCHs from COVID-19, and the majority of homes with recent outbreaks are showing an improved ability to contain COVD-19 transmission.

Unfortunately, there are two instances where more supports are needed. Under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has asked The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) to assume management of the West End Villa Long-Term Care Home effective September 18, 2020 and Extendicare Laurier Manor effective September 20th, 2020, as supported by the Government of Ontario.

The measures outlined in this order are necessary to mitigate the health risks associated with the current COVID outbreak in these institutions.  This was accomplished in collaboration with the Ministry Long Term Care, Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and the Ottawa Hospital.

School reopenings

And, the reopening of schools continues to be top of mind for OPH.

(slide 4 – real world contact tracing example – school cluster)

This slide depicts community transmission that started with a 40-person BBQ in a park. 2 attendees developed cold symptoms 2 days after the event and subsequently tested positive. This led to 2 outbreaks – one in a workplace and one in a daycare, and the identification of 105 high-risk contacts in schools. All 105 of these high-risk contacts were asked to self-isolate for 14 days and get tested, which is a significant inconvenience for these students and their parents.

(slide 5 – Schools)

With respect to schools, our focus has been on supporting school boards in their implementation of Provincial directions and guidance to ensure that the return to school is a safe as possible for Ottawa’s children and youth.

Board Members will also be aware that in mid-summer, the Province announced funding for 500 school-focused public health nurses, of which 45 have been allotted to Ottawa Public Health.

In the last four weeks, OPH’s COVID School Support Team (CSST) has hired and onboarded 45 public health nurses and I’m happy to say that 40% of them are bilingual. We have also added an evaluation officer and a nursing project officer to help support Ottawa schools in reopening and starting a new school year. 

The PHNs have been assigned to Ottawa’s more than 290 schools with each nurse's “portfolio” ranging from 4 to 12 schools, depending on a number of factors, including the burden of COVID-19 in different communities.

The school nurses have been busy building relationships with the principals and the school community to support the re-opening plans in achieving our shared goal of school safety. They also continue to build their knowledge, capacity and confidence through daily huddles, end of day debriefs, practicing case interviews, Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) and case management training, and mentorship by experienced team leads and leadership. To date, we have received very positive feedback from all four school boards, as these nurses deal with a myriad of questions from school principals, teachers, staff and parents.

As of yesterday, there have been 28 schools in Ottawa that have had an individual that tested positive for COVID-19, while they attended the schools setting. We do expect to continue to see situations where there will be people who test positive attend the school setting and this is because we continue to see community transmission in school-aged children.  

These individuals and their high-risk contacts have been identified, contacted and told to isolate at home. The people who tested positive are contacted daily by OPH’s Case Management team and their contacts are on a “Do not attend” list that informs schools of who should not be allowed on property and told to go home, self-isolate and await public health contact.

With the experience of people who have been in schools testing positive for COVID-19, the school nurse role has included:

·         Identification of a confirmed case

·         Identification of contacts

·         Investigation and determination of risk level

·         Gathering of lists

·         Managing the list

·         Sending initial communication to all HRCs within 24 hrs

·         Sending broad communications to each school community

·         Entering lists into the appropriate format for automated calls/texts/emails

·         Managing DNA lists development, quality assurance and dissemination

·         Discharge list management

·         Discharge list dissemination

The OPH school team and infection prevention and control team are planning debriefs with school boards to continuously improve the response.  So far, communications have been adapted based on questions from parents and schools to provide further clarity on who in your family needs to be tested, as well as who needs self-isolate.

This past weekend (September 18-20), in coordination with local health care partners, mobile testing clinics were on site at Franco-Ouest and De La Salle high schools, to provide COVID-19 testing to students and staff who had been identified as a high-risk contact and not yet been tested. Students and staff with symptoms of COVID-19 were also eligible for testing at these mobile clinics.

We want to thank Ontario Health for making this pilot project possible. It resulted in approximately 275 people being tested over the weekend. We hope to be able to continue to rely on this agile mobile testing for other schools where a larger number of close contacts require testing.

With the first outbreak identified at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School over the weekend, on-site testing will also be offered tomorrow to close contacts identified by OPH, as well as anyone in the schools that has symptoms

In accordance with Provincial guidance, an outbreak is declared in a school once it has been determined that two individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 with an epidemiological link. OPH has confirmed 4 COVID-19 positive individuals at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School. A whole school dismissal has been instituted as OPH has determined there is concern of possible transmission of the virus in school; whereas the potential risk of transmission is not localized to one class. OPH is actively working to help contain the situation at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School.

OPH is working closely with the school principals and reaching out to close contacts directly to provide direction on isolation and instruction on testing, including information on how and when to get tested for COVID-19. Only those contacted by OPH should seek testing. This outbreak is disclosed on our website, and we will continue to provide communications regarding outbreaks in schools.

The duration of the school closure has not been established but parents/guardians and staff should be prepared for a closure of 2 or more weeks. OPH will be working with the school board and school to identify ensure that the necessary infection prevention and control precautions are in place. For more information on OPH’s role in supporting schools and frequently asked questions, visit ottawapublichealth.ca.

Testing Strategy

(slide 6 – OPH Response to-date)

Members will be familiar with the work OPH has done to date in responding to the pandemic, including information and communications, bringing partners together, surveillance and reporting, case and contact management and outbreak response. 

With respect to the regional testing strategy in particular, I want to re-iterate the roles and responsibilities of the different partners involved.

Ontario Health is responsible for developing and implementing the provincial COVID-19 testing strategy and they provide the resources needed to operationalize funding at the local level.

In the Ottawa context, the Champlain COVID-19 Response Committee (CCRC), under the direction of Ontario Health, is responsible for developing and implementing a regional testing strategy that aligns with the provincial policy approach to COVID-19 testing.

The CCRC has the lead operational responsibility for providing local testing for COVID-19. Accordingly, through local hospitals, it staffs, operates and manages the Brewer Assessment Centre, the drive-thru testing site on Coventry Road and the two (2) COVID Care Clinics. The CCRC is also responsible for operationalizing targeted testing campaigns, under the direction of Ontario Health.

With respect to testing, Ottawa Public Health’s role is to support the testing strategy through surveillance and advice on what we see as the need for testing in our community. OPH also provides guidance to residents on who should be tested.

Based on what we are seeing in Ottawa, our recommendation is for testing capacity to be expanded so that we have testing sites operating 7 days a week, 12 hours per day, access across the geography of our City, and accessible sites available to provide targeted testing as needed including mobile or “pop-up” sites and increased testing in primary care clinics

We are grateful for the pop-up mobile testing that was done in Ottawa over the weekend and thankful to Ontario Health for providing the resources and to our health care system partners for making it happen quickly.

We recognize and appreciate that, just as Ottawa Public Health staff have been working around the clock for the past 6 months in response to the pandemic, so too have our health care system partners.

We know that testing resources and capacity are finite. Therefore, we also want to be clear about who needs testing to ensure that those who need it most are able to access it. Ottawa Public Health is currently recommending testing for people showing new symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have been instructed by OPH to seek testing.

(slide 7 – OPH prioritizing its work)

Prior to and during the pandemic response, OPH has ensured the mental and physical well-being of our employees, in addition to ensuring that our organization has the skills and tools required to respond to COVID-19.

With the work and support of our Wellness at Work committee, OPH leadership has taken many steps to address the needs of OPH employees.  Some of these steps include regular updates from leadership to ensure employees are updated on the current status of our work and also to ensure that staff know how to access resources to support their own mental health at this time.  Employees have also been encouraged to take vacation over the summer months to get the rest that they both need and deserve. We have also adopted many new technologies to support employees to work from home when possible.  This is not only for their physical health and the physical health of those that remain in the office, but also to support their mental health by being able to accommodate the needs of many employees who required support to work from home.

In addition to the focus on the well-being of our employees, OPH has and continues to make the mental well-being of the Ottawa community a priority. 

We have made the mental health of our population a priority since the beginning of this pandemic response. 

We have ensured that we are working closely with mental health and substance use partners within the community and supporting their efforts to ensure that people have access to care. 

We have developed many resources for the people of Ottawa based on identified needs.  This includes partnering with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on a series of factsheets called, Protecting Your Mental Health, that provides people with information and resources to help them during this time. 

We have worked with multicultural partners to create mental health resources for diverse populations in our community to ensure that the important messages are reaching many different groups. 

And now with the re-opening of schools, we have developed and continue to develop many resources that support children, parents and employees that work in schools with their mental well-being.  This work is ongoing and remains a key priority for OPH.

(slide 8)

As indicated in the COVID-19 Update report, certain communities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and it has shone a light on some challenges in our long-term care and retirement homes sector. However, it has also highlighted some strengths. 

(slide 9)

As noted in the report recommendations, as next steps, we are proposing to develop a draft 2021 budget that would ensure adequate resources for OPH, and we’re looking to build on some lessons learned from the past 6 months in order to strengthen, not only Ontario public health sector, but also its healthcare, long-term care and education sectors.

I want to take this opportunity to recognize our partners. / Je tiens à profiter de cette occasion pour reconnaître nos partenaires.

The Boards of Education, the principals, the superintendents, the teachers and the staff in the Ottawa education system have been incredible.  We are focussed on our shared goals of student and staff safety.

I must thank the children, parents and families who have put their faith in us, but also for being COVIDWise in their behaviours. It is a collective and shared responsibility that we all have to keep COVID transmission as low as possible in our community in order to make our schools as safe as possible for our children and youth as well as for teachers and school staff.

The City of Ottawa continues to provide essential supports to OPH’s COVID-19 response, including significant human resource and IT supports.

I also want to recognize the Incident Manager for the OPH COVID-19 response who has served in this role from the start of the activation of the Incident Management System response in January until last Friday – Andrew Hendriks.

Andrew’s role as Incident Manager has ended because the OPH senior leadership team has decided to reorganize the Incident Management functions across a larger number of senior leaders, to spread out the work to make it more sustainable and to address the competition for limited resources between COVID and non-COVID work with a “whole of organization” approach to priority setting and agility. 

That concludes my Verbal Report and overview of the COVID-19 Update report. I’m happy to take any questions. / Il me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.

 

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