On 2007 February 19, the Public Health Division placed the draft Ontario Public Health Standards on the Public Health website.  The consultation period to review this draft will continue from February 19 through March 9.  A copy of the draft standards is included in your Board package.  The Ministry has asked each health unit to provide a formal consolidated response through the Ministry’s E-Survey project.  The Health Unit is expected to provide its response through a special website before midnight 2007 March 9.  The staff of the Health Unit will develop a draft response for review at the March 8 Board meeting.  The Public Health Standards document is 66 pages and organizes public health practice into 13 program standards grouped under five program areas which address Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Family Health, Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health, and Emergency Preparedness.  In addition, there is a foundational standard which addresses evidence-based public health planning and performance and encompasses four specific areas—population health assessment, surveillance, research and knowledge exchange, as well as program evaluation and performance measurement.

Each program begins with a goal and intermediate outcomes.  More specific program requirements are listed as immediate outcomes and requirements.  Through the immediate outcomes and requirements, the standards specify the programs and services that Boards are required to provide.  The standards’ draft refers to at least 26 proposed protocols.  It is difficult to assess the overall impact of the document without access to these proposed protocols.  These standards are more coherently organized than the previous mandatory guidelines (1997) and do represent a significant step forward in public health practice in Ontario.  However, without the protocols, the detailed impact on the Health Unit is impossible to assess.  The staff will provide a detailed review of the programs at the upcoming Board meeting.  

As part of the Public Health Division’s training program, I will be attending a training session in chemical-biological-radiological and nuclear emergencies in Mississauga on March 5 and 6. 

In February, I made two presentations on pandemic planning--one to the Windsor staff of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Branch, and the second to the Accessibility Advisory Committee of the City of Windsor.

Pending the confirmation of the City Appointees for 2007, the nominations and elections for the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer on the Board Executive is scheduled to be held at the March meeting.  Also, depending on the confirmation of the City Appointees, the orientation program is also scheduled to begin at the March Board meeting.

I would like to remind Board members that the March Board meeting has been moved to 2007 March 8 and will be held in Windsor, and is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

G. Allen Heimann, MD, MHSc
Medical Officer of Health

GAH:rs