Food For Kids Volunteers

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Hundreds of Volunteers Recognized at Appreciation Luncheon Gala

Today, more than 200 volunteers were honoured for their remarkable contributions that make school breakfast and snack programs possible in Peterborough County and City.

Twenty-five years ago, a local service group approached two downtown schools and Peterborough’s public health unit with the idea of organizing a breakfast program for children.  Through the significant commitment and dedication of community partners, local businesses, schools, and volunteers, the Food for Kids partnership has grown to 72 breakfast, snack and lunch programs in 48 schools.

“Since 1992, our community has stood behind breakfast programs and helped feed many children. We are honoured to celebrate all of the incredible volunteers who help to make Student Nutrition Programs a success,” said Susan McEwen, Chair of the Food for Kids Steering Committee. “Without their dedication and commitment, these programs couldn’t exist.”

“Volunteers contribute in many roles. Some do grocery shopping, or pick up food. Others help with food prep, serving meals or fundraising. There are so many ways that volunteers help feed kids,” said Angela Fuchs, Food for Kids Student Nutrition Program Coordinator. “Every contribution makes a positive impact to help students reach their potential.”

“When students are hungry, it is hard for them to concentrate in class. Good nutrition is clearly linked to an increased ability to learn,” said Luisa Magalhaes, Registered Dietitian with Peterborough Public Health. “Teachers report better student behaviour, attitude, attention span, and school attendance when nutrition programs are offered.”

Today’s luncheon recognized the contributions and dedication of Food for Kids’ 1000+ volunteers, who dedicate an average of 1,395 hours each week.  Thirty-five Student Nutrition Program volunteers were honoured at the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards on April 19 for 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service.  Susan McEwen expressed her sincere gratitude for the more than 150 community partners and sponsors who provide support.

“Thank you to all who contribute time, food, funding, supplies and space. Food for Kids needs you! Thank you for making an important impact on kids in our community.”

To contact Food for Kids, call 705-743-1000 or visit www.foodforkidsptbo.ca.

If you ask me, spring cleaning is for windows, and not for our bowels or other tender body parts. However, type the word “detox” into your search engine and a vast number of unproven and outright false claims for detoxing the body will come tumbling down the computer screen.  All will be guaranteed to clean out your wallet but many can cause greater harm. It’s “buyer beware” when it comes to remedies like colonic cleansing and it’s my hope that this column can help.

Humans have long believed in the healing powers of behaviours like fasting and purging as ways to rid the body of unspecified toxins. Some religions have integrated these ancient beliefs into rituals or rules. Many of my friends continue to intermittently fast as part of their spiritual traditions. But while these ancient ways of thinking have a powerful allure, and may offer spiritual benefit, it’s important to understand they have limited value in their over-application to health and bodies. In fact these old ways of thinking are fueling an industry of unproven therapies that prey on the human need to feel clean and pure.

In Thunder Bay, the local Medical Officer of Health recently warned customers of two colonic cleansing locations to get tested for hepatitis B and C. These infections that can be transmitted when instruments are not disinfected properly. But this warning, and the Canadian media investigations into this practice of instilling large quantities of fluids into the bowel for the purpose of “detoxification” should not go unnoticed, or unheeded here in the Kawarthas. Perhaps it is a lack of awareness, or perhaps it is the celebrity endorsements or the widely believed claims that flushing out the bowels have health benefits that explain why there are at least two of these operations currently selling these very same services to people in the Peterborough area. I routinely walk by one every day on my way home from work.

“Colonics” are promoted as a way to rid the body of waste or toxins. Like a super-sized enema, large volumes of fluids, with different bonus ingredients like coffee or herbs, are infused into the intestines with the purpose of cleaning out those nasty toxins that have been accumulating there, like dust bunnies under the bed. But the human body already has its own multiple and finely tuned systems to deal with potential toxins – our livers actively alter the structure of toxins to make them less harmful. Our spleen filters out any misshaped or unwanted blood components. Our kidneys filter circulating blood continuously to remove unwanted metabolites. Our gastrointestinal tract and the microbiome that is hosted there do the same with the food that we eat.  Rather than helping us stay healthy or fight disease, harmful practices like purging, administering enemas or colonic irrigation have no place in our routines, unless medically prescribed as part of a diagnostic or surgical procedure.

Rather than improving health, as purported by some, colonic irrigation poses real risks of infection, perforation of the bowel, disturbing the body’s microbiologic balance, and disrupting the electrolytes that govern our internal biochemistry. Don’t be fooled – until we have better government regulation to protect consumers from the harms of false claims like these, it is up to the consumer to do the research and make a decision. There have been published scientific reviews of the evidence that are accessible for you to read. Professor Timothy Caulfield at the University of Alberta has published a book entitled “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything” where he debunks health myths like colon cleanses and gluten-free diets that have been perpetuated by celebrities. Professor Joe Schwartz at McGill University leads the Office for Science and Society, a great source of myth-busting. And then, closer to home, there is the charming and wise Dr. Mike Evans, based at the University of Toronto, well-loved for his wit and his artistic videos that often go viral. All of these experts would most likely agree that the only spring cleaning anyone needs is to dust off the running shoes and tune up that bike. It’s time to rev up the amount of daily exercise. Get enough sleep. Stop smoking. Don’t binge with the alcohol. And eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Spring can feel liberating – we get to take off our coats and boots. Let’s liberate ourselves from old and harmful ways of thinking of our bodies too.

Residents Reminded to Prevent the Spread of Illness

This year’s severe flu season has prompted Peterborough Public Health to remind local residents to prevent spreading the flu, especially those who engage with seniors.

“With a three-fold increase in influenza outbreaks in local long-term care facilities this season, we urge local residents to use all methods possible to protect our most vulnerable from catching the flu virus,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health.  “Most of the precautions people can take are very straightforward, such as washing your hands often, staying home if sick, and not visiting elderly friends and family if you are feeling unwell.”

Dr. Salvaterra noted that this year’s flu season started earlier and is lasting far longer than last year.  As of April 9, 2018, there have been 22 influenza outbreaks in local long-term care facilities, compared to only seven last year. This does not include outbreaks of other viruses in facilities, such as norovirus or Human Metapneumovirus.  The flu vaccine was actively promoted last fall, and a total of 50,770 doses of flu vaccine have been distributed this season throughout the community through local pharmacies and health care providers.

“Anyone at high risk for complications from influenza should see their primary care provider as soon as possible if symptomatic with flu-like illness as antivirals can help reduce the risk of hospitalization,” said Dr. Salvaterra, adding that antivirals must be started within the first 24-48 hours of illness in order to work best.

“This has been an unusually severe flu season, with both A and B influenza strains circulating at the same time,” explained Dr. Salvaterra. “Typically the A strain peaks first, followed by the B strain.  To have both surge together this late into April is definitely outside the ordinary and has placed a real strained local health care resources.”

For more information on precautions to take during flu season, please visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca.

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

Low-Cost Rabies Clinics on Saturday, April 28

Peterborough Public Health is teaming up with local veterinarians to help combat rabies.

On Saturday, April 28 from 12 noon until 2:00 p.m., there will be multiple clinics running across the County and City to help protect pet dogs and cats against the disease. These vaccinations are low-cost at $30 per pet, cash only.  Dogs must be leashed and cats caged or restrained.

Provincial law requires that all cats and dogs over three months of age in Peterborough City and County must be vaccinated for rabies. Vaccinations protect pets from rabies and helps protect your family, if your pet is bitten by a rabid wild animal.

“We hope that the community will take advantage of these low-cost rabies clinics, which are being set up at multiple sites across the County and City,” said the Manager of Environmental Health, who oversees the rabies prevention and control program for Peterborough Public Health. “Not only is vaccinating your cats and dogs the law, but it is the easiest way to protect your pets and family from rabies. While it’s rare, when humans develop rabies from infected animals it is almost 100% fatal.”

Wildlife rabies cases in Ontario has been spreading in recent years. In 2016, there were 288 confirmed cases of fox and raccoon strain rabies in Ontario, compared to just 24 cases in 2015. Last year (2017) there were 149 rabies cases in animals in Ontario, including one cat.  Pet vaccination and the provincial baiting program are still required to keep rabies at bay for the protection of Ontario families.

Rabies is a deadly disease of the central nervous system that affects humans and other mammals. The virus is concentrated in the saliva of a rabid animal and can spread through a bite, cut or scratch, or if the saliva comes in contact with the moist tissues of the mouth, nose or eyes. There is no known treatment for rabies once the symptoms appear.  The disease cannot be treated, but it can be prevented through vaccination.

For more information about the low-cost rabies clinics or to find a clinic location near you, please visit our page about Rabies Clinics or call the Peterborough Public Health at 705-743-1000, ext. 232.

For further information, please contact:

Manager, Environmental Health

705-743-1000

 

Update from Township of Cavan-Monaghan

Mayor Scott McFadden provided an update on local developments in Cavan-Monaghan. He noted that 20% of township residents are over 65 years old, and that supporting aging residents is a major focus of municipal planning. Rural access to medical specialists remains a challenge. The township was successful in acquiring funding from the Canada 150 program to expanded local trails to keep residents active. Other important public health activities include developing a new community centre in Millbrook, and completing a Climate Change Action Plan. He acknowledged the support received from Peterborough Public Health in all these initiatives.

Day of Pink

Several members of the Board of Health wore pink in honour of the International Day of Pink on April 11, 2018. It is a day where communities across the country, and across the world, unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness to stop homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, and all forms of bullying.

Delegation Re: GE Production Facility Exposures

Jim Gill, a retired Occupational Health and Safety Director with CAW/Unifor presented a high-level overview of local efforts to raise awareness about occupational health exposures at the GE plant in Peterborough and compensation claims for affected workers. He asked the Board of Health to endorse the idea of long term and sustainable funding for  an Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers in Peterborough and for the Medical Officer of Health to assist in the planning of  an education session for local healthcare providers on completing patients’ occupational health histories as a regular practice. Both requests were unanimously supported by the Board of Health.

Smoke Free Movies: Preventing Youth Tobacco Use

Last month, the Board of Health asked staff to help draft a motion to advance the advocacy of smoke-free movies. Movies remain an unregulated media channel whereby tobacco companies have unfettered access to youth and where these companies continue to promote their products. The tobacco industry has a long history of paying actors, production companies, and movie studios to use and endorse their products in movies. Nearly 60% of top movies made in the last 10 years contain onscreen commercial tobacco. Research shows that commercial tobacco images in movies recruit new smokers and subsequently lead to an increase in preventable tobacco related deaths and preventable disease. The Board of Health passed a motion prepared by PPH staff calling on local MPPs and the Ontario Film Review Board to make the following policy changes:

  1. Rating future films with tobacco impressions in them 18A in Ontario
  2. Requiring strong anti-smoking ads to be shown prior to movies that have tobacco use in them (i.e., as a PSA or trailer before the movie starts)
  3. Requiring movie companies to certify that they have not been “paid-off” for displaying tobacco in their films
  4. Prohibiting tobacco brands displayed in movies
  5. Restricting government grants and subsidies for youth-rated films that have tobacco imagery in them.

New Ontario Public Health Standards: Chronic Disease Prevention and Wellbeing, Substance Use and Injury Prevention

Program managers Hallie Atter and Donna Churipuy provided the Board with an overview of these two modernized standards and related guidelines that took effect January 1, 2018. The Substance Use Prevention guideline focuses public health’s work on harm reduction and reducing stigma experienced by people who use or who are addicted to substances such as alcohol, opioids and cannabis. Substance use is now more explicitly integrated in the new standard with mental health promotion, representing new work for public health.  Public health must also now disclose tobacco enforcement compliance convictions on its website (see below).  The impact statement driving local work to implement this standard is to achieve “enhanced and equitable health outcomes”. There is also no longer a requirement in the Ontario Public Health Standards for public health agencies to promote cancer screening as this responsibility falls to other organizations such as Cancer Care Ontario and local primary care providers. Peterborough Public Health will continue to support cancer screening efforts in Hiawatha First Nation.

New Website for Peterborough Public Health

Communications Team members Kerri Tojcic and Brittany Cadence provided a sneak preview of the sandbox (i.e. not live) version of the new website for Peterborough Public Health. This project grew out of a need to make the site mobile-friendly and compliant with AODA requirements, and to include new functions such as online registration for food handler classes. It also prominently features “Inspections” on the home page so residents can easily find the latest inspection results relating to food premises, personal service settings (e.g. tanning salons, spas, public pools, tattoo parlours, etc.), tobacco enforcement violations, and infection control lapses in clinics. Funding for this project came from a one-time grant provided by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The new website site is undergoing content review and will be launched during National Access Awareness Week in May 27-June 2, 2018.

2017 Audited Financial Statements

Mr. Richard Steiginga of Collins Barrow Kawarthas LLP, Chartered Accountants, presented the Board of Health’s 2017 draft audited financial statements. Overall, the 2017 statements were found to present fairly the financial position of the organization according to Canadian accounting standards and were approved by the Board of Health. These were approved by the board and will inform the soon to be finalized annual report for2017.

Future Funding of Public Health

The Stewardship Committee brought forward the various solutions they have been working on to address PPH’s challenging financial position caused by a lack of increased provincial funding for cost-shared programs since 2015. The Board noted this is a sector-wide issue and not specific to PPH. The Board agreed to ask provincial associations such as the Association of Local Public Health Agencies and the Association of Municipalities in Ontario to advocate for sustainable public health funding for local boards of health from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.  Other components of the funding strategy include strategic deployments of reserves as well as approaching local funders to seek a larger contribution for cost-shared (provincial and municipal) programs and services.

Next Meeting:

The next Board of Health meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. at Peterborough Public Health, Dr. J.K. Edwards Board Room, third floor, Jackson Square, 185 King St. in downtown Peterborough.

Who is responsible for monitoring this spill at Little Lake and advising the public of any concerns?

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) is continuing to assess the recent spill from the GE
facility. If any results indicate a possible risk to human health, the MOECC will notify Peterborough Public Health (PPH).
The MOECC has monitored PCBs in the Otonabee River for over 30 years. They expect the report from the latest
monitoring to be available during the summer of 2018. The last report which was released in 2012 showed that PCBs
were declining in little lake and the Trent Severn Waterway. The Trent Severn Waterway is owned by the Federal
Government and they are responsible for making decisions regarding the sediments in the watercourse and have also
conducted monitoring on PCBs in Little Lake over the past several years.

Are there any public health risks to the spill that is happening in Little Lake?

There is likely no risk to public health. PPH has reached out to the MOECC and learned that recent samples from the
water in Little Lake Marina are all below the laboratory detection limits for PCBs as of April 27, 2018. To learn more
about PCBs, click here or visit the Health Canada website (www.canada.ca) and search for PCBs.

What is Peterborough Public Health doing about this?

PPH is in regular contact with the MOECC and will advise the public if there are any public health concerns.

Will it be safe to swim at Beavermead or Rogers Cove beaches when they open?

PPH will start routine surveillance of public beaches in June to ensure that the water quality is safe for swimming during
the summer months. The public beaches at Beavermead and Rogers Cove are sampled by Public Health Inspectors at
least once each business day. All samples are submitted to the Peterborough Public Health Laboratory for
bacteriological analysis. The water samples are tested for E. coli bacteria, an indicator of fecal contamination in the
water. Beach sampling does not include testing for chemical contaminants. The MOECC is responsible for testing the
water in Little Lake and advising PPH if PCB levels are above acceptable limits.

Is it safe to consume fish from Little Lake?

Residents are advised to consult the Guide to Eating Ontario Fish produced by the MOECC before consuming any fish
from the Otonabee River. It’s available online at www.ontario.ca and there’s a link to it on the PPH website under the
Food Safety section.

How is this spill impacting drinking water in the City of Peterborough?

The municipal water supply is unaffected by this spill because water for the City of Peterborough is drawn upstream and
treated before going into residents’ homes.