The Ministry of Health released the new Ontario Public Health Standards a few weeks back.  I am working with the Senior Management team to assist and implement any changes that may affect the Health Unit and the services provided to the public.

The Vitality Committee is planning a number of events for staff over the next few months.  Our 2nd Annual Souper-Douper Soup Day will take place in the Windsor office on April 11th to raise funds for the committee and promote healthy eating.  We are also hoping to plan a day for a Blood Drive and I’ll give more details when it’s set.

The Ministry of Labour came in for a routine audit on February 22, 2007.  A power outage happened at the same time and a problem with our emergency backup system occurred and was rectified immediately the next day, however everything else was in order.  The Officer will return on March 7th to verify that the problem was corrected.  The Health and Safety Committee continues to meet monthly.  Deb Silvester from ONA will be attending the certification training within the next month.  Several H & S policies have been developed and will be submitted to the Policy and Procedure Committee for completion and role out for use in the offices.

Ms. Nichole Geha started on February 19th, 2007 as the new manager for Clinical Services.  Nichole worked in the clinic as a staffnurse a number of years ago as well as working as a manager in Public Health since then.  Ms. Theresa Marentette has moved to the position of Manager of the Comprehensive School Health department where she is replacing Ms. Beth Dulmage.

I am away on vacation for the week of March 4th to 9th however if you have any questions about my report, Sharon Kelly will be able to answer them.

Respectfully yours,

Nancy Smith, Human Resources Officer