from the Acting Medical Officer of Health, Hastings Prince Edward Counties, 2004-2005

What do we do at Public Health?: 5 departments, 5 functions for 2005

 

H PE $10 million annual budget; $1.5 million is 100 % funded by Province of Ontario

$8.5 million: Shared 75-25% provincial-municipal funding (after CRF rebates);

1/5 (21%) of Board of Health Budget comes from local taxes = $14 per person

150,000 residents in HPE Counties; 130 employees. 5 offices (1 main, 4 sub offices)

 

5 departments: Nursing, Inspection, Dentistry, Healthy Lifestyles, Administration

 

Our goal: "Healthy families & healthy individuals living in a safe community."

 

Our method: PREVENTION of illness

(1% of provincial health budget: Prevention (Public health); 99%: Patient Care & rx)

 

5 functions/promises/vows: Ontario HPPA 1990 Mandatory programs

 

1. Family & Dental Health

 

Family health: e.g pregnancy prevention in teens, reduction in low birth weight in pregnant women, and identification of "at risk" new mothers and newborns, etc

 

Dental health : screening for Preventive dentistry, and Restorative dentistry for underprivileged children (CINOT, Ont Works)

 

2. Prevention of Acute Illness: Infection and Injury.

 

a. Infection: Vaccine preventable diseases: diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, meningitis (hemophilis and meningococcus), measles (Red and German), mumps, Pneumococcus (pneumonia etc), Chickenpox; Hepatitis B; Influenza;

Also: travel vaccines: Hepatitis A, etc Uptake rate in Ontario:96%

Rabies, Tuberculosis, West Nile Virus

STD's: Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, AIDS.

Food safety: food poisoning; food safety inspection.

Safe drinking water: public and private water supplies. SDWAct

Safe swimming: bathing beaches ; pools

Institutional Outbreak Control (hospitals, LTC, nurseries, day care)

 

b. Injury: Motor vehicles collisions (#1 age 1- 41), bicycle accidents, drowning, falls

 

And including/through: Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention

 

3. Prevention of Chronic Illness: heart disease, stroke, cancer (breast, cervical), asthma/bronchitis/emphysema lung disease, diabetes, osteoporosis

Through:Healthy Lifestyles:stop smoking, exercise, nutrition;Cancer Screening.

 

4. Health Hazard Investigation: any biological, chemical, physical threat to community

 

5. Disaster Planning: coordinated with municipalities HPPA/EMA; HCNSEO