Board of Health Jan 12/19 Meeting Summary
Written by Communications, January 18, 2019
Board of Health Membership & Elections
January 12, 2019
Dr. Salvaterra convened the first meeting of the Board of Health for 2019 and welcomed the newly appointed municipal members. The new board held elections and will be compromised as follows:
Chair – Kathryn Wilson, Councillor, Hiawatha First Nation (acclaimed) Vice Chair – Kerri Davies, Provincial Appointee
Members at Large:
- Bonnie Clark, Deputy Mayor, Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan
- Henry Clarke, Councillor, City of Peterborough
- Greg Connolley, Provincial Appointee
- Matthew Graham, Deputy Mayor, Township of Cavan Monaghan
- Andy Mitchell, Mayor, Township of Selwyn and Deputy Warden, County of Peterborough
- Catherine Praamsma, Provincial Appointee
- Andy Sharpe, Provincial Appointee
- Don Vassiliadis, Councillor, City of Peterborough
- Michael Williams, Provincial Appointee
- Phyllis Williams, Chief, Curve Lake First Nation
- Kim Zippel, Councillor, City of Peterborough
Board of Health Vision Screening Survey Results
At its October 2018 meeting, the Board of Health voiced concern about the lack of provincial funding for the newly mandated vision screening program. There was interest in polling other boards of health to gauge the need and interest in advocacy. The survey was conducted with all 35 local public health agencies over a two week period and generated a 57% response rate. The results of the survey demonstrate that a majority of boards of health (55%) indicated that the lack of provincial funding of this newly mandated program is an important issue for them. A minority of boards are prepared to refuse to offer this program (25%), and 60% of respondents are interested in collaborating on continued advocacy to either remove or modify this requirement unless it is properly resourced. Given the lack of provincial funding to date, most boards of health (65%) will not be delivering a universal vision screening program as mandated, but will be modifying or piloting an approach that has been adapted to their local context and capacity. The board approved a motion asking the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) to continue its advocacy to ensure any vision screening of school-aged children is both evidence informed and appropriately funded by the provincial government.
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Overview of PPH Budgets and Financial Reporting
Larry Stinson, Director of Operations gave an overview of public health budgeting. Various sources of funding comprise the revenue side of PPH budgets. Approximately 80% of the whole budget is “cost-shared”, which traditionally is allocated with 75% funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and 25% funded by municipalities. The remaining 20% of the whole PPH budget comes from other 100%-funded provincial programs, cost-recovery programs (e.g. Safe Sewage Program), project grants, etc. Several of the 100%-funded provincial programs have not received increases in decades which means the cost-shared budget must be used to subsidize their expenses. The Ministry has indicated to all local public health agencies not to expect any increase in the provincial share of funding, despite inflationary costs and collective agreement obligations. This is resulting in an unsustainable funding situation for local public health. In 2018, the board of health approved a three-pronged funding strategy that includes advocacy for provincial funding, a greater reliance on reserve funds to reduce budget deficits, and a change in the municipal/provincial cost-shared ratio.
130th Anniversary Conference Update – February 9, 2019
Dr. Salvaterra invited the board to attend the event, Back to the Future: 130 years of Public Health in the Kawarthas, on Saturday, February 9 at PPH, a one-day conference that will showcase the important local history of public health and how it has shaped life in the Kawartha region. This is the flagship event celebrating the Board of Health’s 130th anniversary in 2019. On February 18, 1889, a by-law was passed to create the first permanent Board of Health by the Town of Peterborough. Presentations during the conference will cover a unique mix of topics, such as polio and local vaccination programs, local Indigenous well-being and healing practices, milk pasteurization, public health nursing, drinking water protection and the history of sanitation efforts, and many others. The keynote speaker will be Professor Kenton Kroker, Department of Science and Technology Studies, at York University who will present “Inventing a Public for Ontario’s Public Health: 1882-85”. Other speakers include Indigenous elders, university professors, and public health leaders from across Ontario who will tell the fascinating story of local public health and what’s next for this exciting field. Dr. Salvaterra thanked the sponsors who have already supported the event including the Rotary Club of Peterborough and Trent University. The full conference program is attached and available online here.
Next Meeting:
The Board of Health meets next on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in the J.K. Edwards Board Room, third floor, 185 King St., Peterborough, Ontario.
A list of Board of Health meeting dates and locations for 2019 can be found here.