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October 30, 2014 – Public Health Reminds Parents Young Children at Higher Risk of Complications from the Flu

The Peterborough Public Health is running a series of Saturday flu shot clinics at no charge from November to January to ensure local children are protected from catching – and sp

reading – influenza.

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While more than 40 local pharmacies are offering free flu shots to residents, pharmacies cannot immunize children under five years old.  Parents wanting to get their children vaccinated must visit either their family healthcare provider or book an appointment at one of Public Health’s upcoming flu shot clinics.

“Young children – especially those under five – are among those at highest risk of serious illness and death from the flu,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. “This ag

e group is more susceptible to serious complications from the flu such as bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and more.  That’s why we recommend that the whole family gets their flu shot because it’s safe and the most effective way to prevent getting the flu.”

Dr. Salvaterra noted that because children are in close proximity to one another either in school or when participating in extra-curricular activities, those aged 6-10 are most likely to spread the virus.

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the flu shot reduced children’s risk of hospital admissions by 74% during the 2010-2012 flu seasons.  The flu shot also helps protect other family members, including babies younger than six months who are too young to get the vaccine. Infants are more at risk of developing serious complications if they get sick with the flu.

The following clinics will be held at the Peterborough County City Public Health, 185 King Street in Peterborough by appointment only:

Saturday, November 8 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Saturday, November 22 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Saturday, December 6 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Saturday, December 20 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Saturday, January 3 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Saturday, January 17 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

To book an appointment, please call (705) 743-1000, ext. 260:

The Public Health is also offering a walk-in community clinic (no appointment necessary) in Millbrook:

Tuesday, November 25 | 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Municipal Building Gymnasium, 988 County Road 10 Millbrook

To find out when and where other flu clinics are being offered throughout Peterborough City and County, please visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and click on the “Flu Clinic Locator” for a listing of nearby locations.

For more information about the flu shot and kids, visit https://www.ontario.ca/health-and-wellness/kids-and-flu-shot.

 

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391

 

October 21, 2014 – Overall Healthcare Worker Average Vaccination Rate at Local Long-Term Care Homes is 81%

WP_20141021_11_18_27_ProToday the Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra commended local healthcare workers for receiving provincial recognition for keeping patients safe by achieving strong influenza immunization rates last year at their facilities.

“We are very proud of the efforts of these eight healthcare facilities that caught the attention of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health for their success in increasing staff influenza immunization rates last year,” said Dr. Salvaterra.  “Creating a ring of immunity around our most vulnerable residents is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of the flu in healthcare settings, and in the community as well.”

Every year Public Health is required to submit the healthcare worker influenza vaccination rates of long-term care homes and hospitals to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.  The Public Health organized a small celebration to honour representatives from each of the following eight healthcare facilities for achieving a 5% one-year increase, or an overall staff influenza vaccination rate of 80%, or both:

Healthcare facilities with a 5% increase in their overall staff influenza immunization rate for the 2013-14 season:

  • Fairhaven Home
  • Peterborough Regional Health Centre

Healthcare facilities that achieved an overall staff influenza immunization rate of 80% for the 2013-14 season:

  • Centennial Place
  • St. Joseph’s at Fleming

Healthcare facilities with both a 5% annual increase and an overall staff influenza immunization rate of 80% for the 2013/14 season:

  • Extendicare Lakefield
  • Extendicare Peterborough
  • Pleasant Meadow Manor
  • Riverview Manor

Dr. Salvaterra noted thanks to strong local efforts such as those undertaken by these organizations, the average healthcare worker immunization rate at long-term care homes last year was 81%, well above the provincial median of 78%.  

This year’s flu vaccine has already been distributed to healthcare workers to protect those at high-risk, and will be available publicly through pharmacies and family healthcare providers starting October 23.

 

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391

 

October 16, 2014 – Mental health issues are a growing concern in our community.  In 2013, there were over 3,000 Emergency Department (ED) visits at PRHC related to mental health disorders and this number has been on the rise since 2009.  In fact, over the past decade the average number of ED visits related to mental health disorders is equal to the number of ED visits related to diseases of the circulatory system (ie. heart attacks and strokes).  It is estimated that one in five people in Canada experience a mental health problem or illness every year (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2011), with a cost to the economy of well over $50 billion.  Based on Peterborough’s current population, this translates to roughly 27,000 local residents who will suffer some sort of mental illness every year.

In order to have a healthy community, the residents of Peterborough need access to safe, affordable housing while their basic needs are being met, including access to nutritious food, adequate health care, and appropriate supports.  As we continue to strive for this as a community, challenges arise that lead some people to experience issues impacting their mental health.  Supportive services in Peterborough play a fundamental role in livelihood, overall health outcomes, and success of people experiencing mental illness.  These services, with a focus on mental health and addictions support and recovery, have seen significant increases in the number of people served over the past few years.  For example, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Canadian Mental Health Association branch saw an increase in the total number of people who have received their services from 3,459 in 2012/13 to 4,337 in 2013/14.  FourCAST Addiction Services saw nearly 3,000 more people walk through their front doors in the 2013/2014 year than the previous year.  Community Counselling and Resource Centre states that all of its service users have a mental health issue even though it is not always the main presenting concern, and they accepted 957 new clients in 2013.  Lastly, in a recent interview with staff of the New Canadian Centre, it was shared that mental health is a prominent concern with most of the families they see.

On the topic of mental health supports in Peterborough, it is also important to mention The Warming Room, a successful drop-in program that ran this past winter as a means to provide shelter for individuals who were unable to access the already existing shelters in the City.  One of the most significant challenges the program faced was a lack of mental health support for its guests.  The Warming Room Annual Report (May, 2014) states that “the level of mental illness at the Warming Room was incredibly high”.  As a result, one of the recommendations made was for a more integrated system of care, highlighting particular attention to the availability of on-site mental health supports.

It is also essential to consider the stigma associated with mental illness as this directly influences access to, and quality of care   According to the Centre for Addition and Mental Health (2012), 46% of Canadians think that people use the term mental illness as an excuse for bad behaviour; 27% of Canadians said they would be fearful of being around someone with a serious mental illness; and only 42% said they would socialize with a friend who had a serious mental illness.  We also know that 49% of those who feel they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never gone to see a doctor about this problem (CMHA, 2014).  It is important to consider the added cost to society when a high number of people go undiagnosed as a result of the associated stigma.  For example, many employees are reluctant to disclose a mental illness due to stigma which means they report to work but may not be as productive as they could be with the proper supports and care in place.  This is a huge cost to society overall.

It has been proposed that a local, community-wide Mental Health Planning Table be formed to address issues related to the prevention and reduction of stigma associated with mental health.

Questions:

  • § How could municipalities support more coordinated planning around mental health in our communities?  If a Mental Health Planning Table is created, what should its priorities be (ie. school programs, community campaigns, recommendations on supportive housing, etc…)?
  • § How could municipalities work to reduce stigma associated with mental health and addiction issues?

References

Bradley, L. (2010). The need for transforming the mental health care system in Canada:

Implications for healthy workplace stakeholders. Presentation at the Healthy Minds Matter: Taking Action Workplace Health Symposium: Toronto, Ontario.

Canadian Mental Health Association. (2010a). Fast Facts: mental health/mental illness.

Retrieved from http://www.cmha.ca/bins/print_page.asp?cid=6-20-23-43&lang=1

Canadian Mental Health Association. (2014). Fast Facts About Mental Illness.  Retrieved from http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/#.VAdpMPldVe8.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2010c). Mental health and addiction statistics.

Retrieved from: http://www.camh.net/News_events/Key_CAMH_facts_for_media/addictionmentalhealthstatistics.html

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2012). Statistics on Mental Illness and Addictions.  Retrieved from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/about_camh/newsroom/for_reporters/Pages/addictionmentalhealthstatistics.aspx.

Fourcast. (2013). Four Counties Addiction Services Team Annual Report – 2013.  Retrieved from http://www.fourcast.ca/wp-content/uploads/Fourcast-AR-2013-FINAL.pdf.

Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2011). The Life and Economic Impact of Major Mental Illnesses in Canada.  Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/document/MHCC_Report_Base_Case_FINAL_ENG_0.pdf.

Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2012). The Facts. Retrieved from http://strategy.mentalhealthcommission.ca/the-facts/

Peterborough Public Health (2010). Community assessment report 2010: Prepared for the purposes of Healthy Communities. Peterborough, ON: Author.

 

 

October 16, 2014 – Public Health Launches Public Health Primer for Voters

Today Peterborough Public Health launched a new document entitled “Let’s Make Health a Priority” to help voters understand how municipal policies affect public health.

“Municipalities pay for 25% of all public health spending, so they can have a big impact on important issues such as poverty, healthy built environments and food security,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health.  “We hope this election primer will give voters a tool they can use when discussing public health issues with municipal candidates.”

The four-page document highlights eight priorities where municipal policies play a key role in public health. These are:

  • Food security
  • Poverty
  • Alcohol policies
  • Water fluoridation
  • Food access
  • Housing
  • Air Quality
  • Active Transportation

Dr. Salvaterra noted that every municipal candidate in Peterborough City and County has received a copy of the primer via email.

Decisions made by municipal governments impact all aspects of residents’ lives.  Active communities, a clean environment, and ensuring health for all people regardless of background or income level are key considerations in municipal decision-making.

Copies of the primer are available by contacting Public Health at 705-743-1000 or info@peterboroughpublichealth.ca.

For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391

October 10, 2014 – Ensure Proper Food Handling to Prevent Illness

The Peterborough Public Health would like you to enjoy a safe and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. 

One way to ensure this is through safe food handling methods.  In general, the most popular choice for a Thanksgiving dinner is turkey.  “Poultry can contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella,” said Atul Jain, Manager of Inspection Programs at Public Health.  “If handled carelessly or cooked inadequately these bacteria can cause illness, but by following safe food handling guidelines, you can help ensure that you, your family, and your guests remain healthy.”

When shopping for poultry, check the temperature of the refrigerator in the grocery store to ensure that the product you are buying has been stored at the proper temperature.  All refrigeration units are required to have a working thermometer inside them.  The proper refrigeration temperature is 4°C (40°F) or colder and freezers should be maintained below -18°C (0°F).  Avoid buying damaged packages, frost covered packages, dry or discolored food, or packages that feel too warm.

Your home refrigerator should also be kept at these temperatures.  Monitor the temperature of your fridge or freezer using an appliance thermometer, available at most hardware or restaurant supply stores.

When you get home from the store, place your turkey in a pan or container which will keep meat juices from dripping or spilling.  Store your turkey on the lowest shelf of the fridge to prevent bacteria from contaminating other foods or surfaces.

The safest way to thaw poultry is in the refrigerator or under cold running water (allow one hour per pound).  In the case of a large turkey, allow several days in the fridge to thaw – five hours per pound is a good rule of thumb.

Prepare raw poultry on non-porous surfaces which are easier to clean and sanitize.  Thoroughly wash and sanitize any utensils, cutting boards or counter surfaces that raw meat touches.  Sanitize by using a solution of 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of household bleach with 1 litre (4 cups) of water.

Always wash your hands thoroughly before handling any food and after handling raw meats.

It takes thorough cooking to kill harmful bacteria and prevent food poisoning.  Cook the poultry to an internal temperature of 82°C (180°F).  Use a probe thermometer and check the temperature of the thickest part, usually the thigh or breast away from the bone.  A turkey will reach a safe internal cooking temperature faster if it is not stuffed. 

Cook the stuffing in a separate dish, ensuring that the stuffing also reaches a temperature of 74°C (165°F).  If the turkey is to be stuffed, it should be done just prior to cooking, not the night before. 

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours.  Carve the meat off of the bones before storing cooked poultry.  Refrigerate or freeze meat and stuffing separately and in small quantities so that they will cool quickly.

Reheat meat and stuffing rapidly to at least 74°C (165°F) and serve.  Do not reheat leftovers more than once.

 

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391

 

October 9, 2014 –  October 29 Workshop Helps Employers Comply with National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

Screen Shot 10-09-14 at 08.35 AMThe Peterborough Health at Work Committee and the Peterborough Chapter of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), are jointly hosting the “Guarding Minds at Work” workshop on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.

“There are 13 psychosocial factors known to have a powerful impact on organizational health, the health of individual employees, and the financial bottom line,” said Monique Beneteau, Health Promoter at Peterborough Public Health, one of the committee partners. “More than one-third of disability claims and 70% of disability costs are related to mental health and every workplace is feeling the effects of this.  Taking a proactive approach to prevent mental injuries and promote mental health will not only contribute to a workplace’s success but helps improve mental health in the community as well.”

Scientific evidence shows that when businesses adopt policies and programs to address psychological health and safety, they incur between 15% to 33% fewer costs.  Legal standards increasingly require employers to develop comprehensive strategies for ensuring a psychologically safe workplace. In 2013, the Canadian Standards Association released Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, a voluntary standard intended to provide systematic guidelines for Canadian employers enabling them to develop and continuously improve psychologically safe and healthy work environments for their employees.

Featuring expert facilitator Andrew Harkness, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, this workshop is the third collaboration between HRPA’s Peterborough Chapter and the Peterborough Health at Work Committee.  The goal of this session is to introduce participants to the Guarding Minds @ Work website—a free, practical, evidence-based resource that will provide employers with the tools to support compliance with CSA Z1003 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (PHSW) Standard. 

The workshop takes place on Wednesday, October 29 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the Best Western Otonabee Inn, Peterborough.  Breakfast is included. Registration fee is $40 and the workshop is limited to 50 participants. To register and for more details, visit www.healthatworkpeterborough.ca or http://www.hrpa.ca/HRPAChapterSites/Peterborough/Pages/Default.aspx

Registration closes October 22.

For further information, please contact:

 

Monique Beneteau                                                      Katherine Jordan

Health Promoter                                                            Program Director

Workplace Health Program                                         Human Resources Professionals Association

Peterborough Public Health                     Peterborough Chapter

(705) 743-1000, ext. 309                               (705) 748-6687, ext. 1033

 

October 2, 2014 – A significant public health milestone took place today with the release of the first-ever Active Transportation and Health Indicators Report for Peterborough City and County.

Screen Shot 10-02-14 at 12.05 PMA joint project of the City of Peterborough, GreenUP, and Peterborough Public Health, this 158-page report highlights the factors influencing rates of active transportation in our community and also illustrates the impact walking and cycling have on human and environmental health.

“This is a stunning piece of work that gives us the tools and benchmarks we need to influence the social and physical landscapes for safer, healthier, and more sustainable travel,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health.  “Developing active transportation is proven to improve public health, which not only reduces healthcare costs in the long run but will make Peterborough City and County a highly desirable place to live.”

The report is targeted for three key audiences, and features information in a highly visual format for maximum impact:

  • For elected officials and community decision-makers, the development of robust pedestrian, cyclist, and transit indicators will provide the information necessary to support informed and grounded decision-making processes.
  • For planners, advocates, health professionals and other stakeholders working within the field, this report will provide metrics to evaluate the efficacy of projects and strategies, and to better communicate the relationship between health, safety, and levels of use.
  • For members of our community, this report helps to better illustrate the complexity of local travel decisions, and to demonstrate the impact these decisions have on individual health and the health of the community.

“The development of this report is a significant achievement for our community,” said Brianna Salmon, Manager of Transportation & Urban Design Programmes at GreenUP. “Not only does it help to illustrate the connection between our transportation decisions and the health of our natural environment, but it also offers an example of how cross-sectoral partnerships can move beyond external advocacy and toward integrated collaboration in an effort to realize shared goals related to walking, cycling, and transit use.”

Susan Sauve, the City’s TDM Planner observed that, “the findings of the report confirm many of the relationships that we had anticipated.  We expected to see higher levels of walking and cycling with higher densities of residential and commercial use, but some of the patterns are much stronger than we realized.  For example, 32% of the people that live in or close to the downtown walk to work, while only 2-6% of people living in the west and north end do.”

The report offers a trove of valuable information and gives broader context to Peterborough City and County’s performance in terms of its active transportation infrastructure. For example, census information shows that for people living in the City of Peterborough, there is a strong connection between annual employment income and how a person travels to and from work. Local statistics show that persons earning less than the city-wide median income are three times more likely to walk, two times more likely to cycle, and ten times more likely to ride transit on the trip to work than people earning more than the median.

Other important findings of the report include:

  • Males aged 15-25 years are twice as likely to bike than any other demographic;
  • 17% of women aged 15-25 years walk to work – the highest percentage of all ages and genders;
  • Trips less than 2 km are often considered walkable, while trips less than 5 km are considered to be bikeable. In the City of Peterborough, 73% of all trips are less than 5 km, and 28% of all trips made are less than 2 km, while in the County of Peterborough, 32% of trips are less than 5 km;
  • 3.5 out of every 10 cyclists are riding on the sidewalk instead of the road. However, when a bike lane is introduced, the percentage of cyclists riding on the sidewalk decreases by 42%;
  • The portion of people who identify as being highly active in Peterborough City and County is significantly greater than in Ontario;
  • In Peterborough, residents who identify as moderately or highly active have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity than persons who are inactive;
  • Males between the ages of 0 and 19 are significantly more likely to visit the emergency room as a result of a cycling injury than other demographics

To download a copy of the report, please visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and under “About Us” click on “Plans & Reports”.

A community presentation summarizing the report findings will take place at the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Cycling Summit this Saturday, October 4 at 1:30 p.m. at PCVS.  For further Information about the Summit, a free community event, visit www.p-bac.org.

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391

October 1, 2014 – Families Invited to Annual Record-Breaking “Latch On” Event on October 4 at Galaxy Theatres

This year in celebration of WorlScreen Shot 10-01-14 at 10.08 AMBreastfeeding Week, from October 1-7, 2014, Peterborough Public Health together with the Peterborough Breastfeeding Coalition has planned a community event to promote the unparalleled health benefits of breast milk for babies.

On Saturday, October 4 at 10:30 a.m., Public Health and the Peterborough Breastfeeding Coalition, are calling on all breastfeeding mothers in the area to set a new world record for simultaneous breastfeeding at the 2014 Breastfeeding Challenge event at Galaxy Theatres.

This event rallies nursing women to “latch on” at 11:00 a.m. local time and be counted toward two new world records, including the most mothers breastfeeding simultaneously at one location, and the most mothers breastfeeding at the same time in a province, territory or state.  Following this, families will be treated to a free movie entitled the ‘Babies’.  This endeavour is part of the 2014 Global Breastfeeding Challenge, an annual international event led by the Quintessence Foundation who will post the results on their website www.babyfriendly.ca .

“It’s important that nursing mothers and their families gather together and celebrate the importance of breastfeeding,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health.  “The longer a baby breastfeeds, the better it is for mom and the child.  Events like this are important so families know the community supports them and that breastfeeding in public is perfectly normal.”

Dr. Salvaterra noted that breastfeeding: provides children with nutritional, emotional, immunological, anti-allergenic, and developmental benefits for as long as a child is breastfed; and has lasting effects even into adulthood.

Breastfed babies have lower rates of otitis media (ear infections), respiratory infectio

 

ns, and gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea).  An analysis of 33 studies examining healthy infants in developed nations showed that formula-fed infants experience three times more severe respiratory illnesses compared with infants who had been exclusively breastfed for four months.  Babies who do not receive breastmilk have an increased likelihood of being hospitalized in the first year of life.  For very premature babies breastmilk is considered medicine and if a mother is unable to breastfeed, donor milk is prescribed as a means of protecting the baby from potentially deadly infections.  Over the long term, children who were breastfed as babies are less likely to be overweight and have lower rates of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Breastfeeding isn’t just good for babies, it also supports maternal health.  Women who breastfeed experience lower rates of breast and ovarian cancers.  In fact, the longer a women breastfeeds, the greater her protection is from ovarian cancer.

For more information about the health benefits of breastfeeding and local breastfeeding supports, visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and under the “My Life & Health” section for Parents and Caregivers, click on “Breastfeeding”.

 

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For further information, please contact:
Dawn Hanes
Public Health Nurse
(705) 743-1000, ext. 289
dhanes@peterboroughpublichealth.ca

 

October 1, 2014 – Canadian Sport for Life Publishes Feature Article Celebrating Local Access to Recreation Leadership Initiative

The success of Peterborough County and City’s efforts to improve access to recreation for local residents is in the national spotlight following the publication of a feature online article today by Canadian Sport for Life.

“It’s wonderful to see the collaboration and hard work of our nine local townships recognized like this at the national level,” said Janet Dawson, Health Promoter at Peterborough Public Health who facilitated the Access to Recreation (ATR) Project.  “Their leadership in creating a Peterborough area-wide policy to improve access to recreation for all residents truly was groundbreaking, and now can be used as a model for other municipalities across Canada.”

The Canadian Sport for Life movement advocates for alignment and collaboration of sport, education, health and recreation sectors as a means to provide quality sport and physical activity opportunities to all Canadians.  In their online feature article entitled “Peterborough County: Changing the Landscape of Municipal Recreation”, it describes how the nine county townships and the city overcame the systemic challenge of working separately and instead developed an overarching policy that improved access to recreation on many fronts.

One of these fronts is the better coordination of how local recreation programming is delivered. An example of this would be that municipalities now have a communication mechanism with other municipalities to plan when recreation and sports programming is offered so that they can attract the most appropriate demographic and avoid duplication.       The policy also helps remove barriers, such as cost and travel time, so that citizens can get the physical activity they need.

Described in the article as an “incredible success”, the workgroup has since formalized to look at other related issues, and now includes other key partners such as the City/County Social Services Department and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport. 

To learn more about access to recreation, please visit:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/5702981/access-to-recreation-key-messages-ospapph-pdf-559k?da=y

 

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
(705) 743-1000, ext. 391