2017 Annual Report

2017 Board of Health

• Denis Doyle (Chair) – County of Frontenac
• Wess Garrod (Vice-Chair) – Community Appointee
• Florence Campbell – Community Appointee
• Councillor Mary Rita Holland – City of Kingston
• Councillor Jim Neill – City of Kingston
• Councillor John Wise – County of Lennox & Addington
• Councillor Jeff McLaren – City of Kingston
• Conny Glenn – Community Appointee
• David Pattenden – Community Appointee

Message from KFL&A Board of Health Chair, Denis Doyle

I am pleased to submit this second report as chair of the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Board of Health. It is an honour for me to have been elected as chair in January 2017.

Each year, local public health agencies in Ontario face new and ongoing challenges, and 2017 was no exception. The provincial portion of the budget freeze that began unexpectedly in 2015 for 28 of the 36 local public health agencies in Ontario has continued, leading to cuts that are difficult for all who provide and receive our services. The impact of the provincial freeze has been minimized across our KFL&A region due to the generosity of our eleven municipal partners who provided a 2% inflationary increase in funding.  Thus, we have minimized cuts to our programs and staffing and have been able to preserve an appropriate level of public health services to our communities. However, the municipal share of the 2017 cost-shared budget increased to 38.16%, in spite of the fact that funding formula suggests the Province of Ontario is to provide 75% of health unit funding and the municipalities only 25%.

In April 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-45, an Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Substances Act, the Criminal Act and other Acts. Upon coming into effect on October 17, 2018, the Act will legalize and regulate recreational use of Cannabis nationwide. KFL&A Public health, along with other local public health agencies in Ontario, will work closely with the province to develop public health-focused regulations on cannabis and their enforcement to protect population health and safety. Ensuring the distribution and sale system is meeting the current demand, and not creating a new market, will minimize cannabis-related harms and their attendant costs. KFL&A public health will develop and deliver community prevention and education strategies, including targeted risk communication, allowing more control of the risk factors and a reduction in harm associated with cannabis use. 

In December 2016, Ontario passed the Patients First Act to help ensure patients and their families obtain better access to a more local and integrated health care system, improving the patient experience and delivering higher-quality care. The public health system in Ontario is managing the new relationship with the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). While the funding and accountability of local Boards of Health ultimately was not in the Patients First Act, the requirement to collaborate on health data from planning health services is part of that act. KFL&A Public Health and other local public health agencies in the South-East are working with the South-East LHIN throughout this process. Additionally, we will continue to strengthen and enhance our collaboration with communities and health system partners and pursue opportunities that foster efficiency and innovation and increase the effectiveness of our services to ensure a greater return on investment.

Finally, I want to thank the Board for their thoughtful leadership, and their support for me as their chair. It is a pleasure to work with you all.  Most importantly, I want to thank the very professional, competent and dedicated staff of Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health who work so hard day in and day out to improve, and ensure, the health of all residents across our region. 

Message from the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore

There are also new initiatives in the provincial public health system. We are now in the implementation phase of the newest revision of the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS). As the OPHS are the core work of public health, this revision has important consequences across Ontario’s public health system.  For example, there is a new focus on health equity, and our agency has already begun incorporating its principles into daily practices. Our priorities include monitoring and reporting of health inequities, applying proportionate universalism to our programming and services, meeting the needs of vulnerable populations, and working closely with local Indigenous communities.

We have completed the first year of our agency’s new strategic plan, which will continue to run through 2021, and be reviewed in 2019. We have made progress on the five pillars, and will keep working to:

• Provide programs and services of high quality that are supported by the best evidence.
• Champion, support and deliver strategies and initiatives to address health disparities, and priority and emerging health issues.
• Strengthen and enhance our collaboration with communities and partners.
• Invest in a healthy and supportive work environment where everyone lives our values.
• Foster efficiency and innovation to maximize the impact of our resources.

There is still a lot to do to keep our community healthy. Our region needs an integrated vision for health, focusing on prevention and health promotion. Almost 40 years ago, James Fries proposed the concept of “compression of morbidity” in which increased life expectancy would be accompanied by an increased quality of life, and lower incidence of chronic disease. However, over the last two decades, length of life with disease and loss of functional mobility has increased. The reactionary emphasis on disease treatment and cure has made our system forbiddingly unaffordable. To improve quality of life and the financial security of our health system we need a greater emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention.

We are ever aware of the fiscal reality in Ontario and will strive to increase efficiency, effectiveness and return on investment of public health services. In the realms of public health, a relatively small investment provides our communities with considerable benefit. For example, every $1 invested in immunizing children saves $16 in health care costs; every $1 invested in tobacco prevention saves $20 in future health care costs. For the greatest long-term impact, we must also address the social determinants of health as root causes of disease.

Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Gemmill, who stepped down on June 30, 2017, after more than 20 years of service in this community. His legacy is a well organized and well managed agency, full of hard working health professionals who deliver important services to our community. We look forward to continuing to work with our dedicated Board members and staff to continue to improve the health for all in KFL&A.