January 2023 Board of Health Meeting - Minutes

Dr. K. Blanchette asked if there were any nominations for the position of Chair for the Board of Health. One nomination was put forward for Board member Fabio Costante, and was seconded. F. Costante stands and accepted the nomination for the position of Chair.

K. Blanchette asked for further nominations from the floor (three times). Given that there were no further nominations, nominations for the position of Chair were closed. F. Costante having accepted the nomination, was appointed Chair by acclamation. K. Blanchette passed the chair to F. Costante.

Nomination for Vice-Chair
Chair F. Costante opened the floor for nominations for the position of Board of Health Vice-Chair. One nomination was put forward for Board member Joe Bachetti, and was seconded. J. Bachetti stands and accepted the nomination of Vice-Chair. F. Costante asked for further nominations from the floor (three times). Given that there were no further nominations, nominations for the position of Vice-Chair were closed. J. Bachetti having accepted the nomination, was appointed Vice-Chair by acclamation.

Nominations for Treasurer
Chair F. Costante opened the floor for nominations for the position of Board of Health Treasurer. One nomination was put forward for Board member Hilda MacDonald, and was seconded. H. MacDonald stands and accepted the nomination of Treasurer. F. Costante asked for further nominations from the floor (three times). Given there were no further nominations, nominations for the position of Treasurer were closed. H. MacDonald having accepted the nomination, was appointed Treasurer by acclamation.

Motion: That the nominations for the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer stand
CARRIED

Nominations for Project Governance Committee Members
F. Costante passed the chair to K. Blanchette who advised that recent municipal elections resulted in two vacancies on the Project Governance Committee, being one representative from the City of Windsor and one representative from the County of Essex. K. Blanchette opened the floor for volunteers or nominations.

One nomination was put forward for Board member Rob Shepley, and was seconded. R. Shepley stands and accepted the nomination as a Project Governance Committee member from the County of Essex. K. Blanchette asked for further nominations from the floor, and given there were no further nominations, nominations for a county representative for the Project Governance Committee were closed. R. Shepley having accepted the nomination was appointed to the Project Governance Committee by acclamation.

K. Blanchette asked if there were any nominations for a City of Windsor representative for the Project Governance Committee. There were no nominations. R. Agostino volunteered to sit on the committee as a representative for the City of Windsor. R. Agostino was appointed to the Project Governance Committee by acclamation.

Motion: That the nominations/volunteer for the positions of Project Governance Committee members stand
CARRIED

1. Regular Board Meeting: November 10, 2022
   Motion: That the minutes be approved.
   CARRIED

1. INFORMATION REPORTS
   1. ISPA Catch-up and Enforcement in Elementary Schools and Grade 7 in-school immunizations (K. McBeth)
      This report is brought to the Board for information.
   2. Communications Report November – December 2022 (E. Nadalin)
      This report is brought to the Board for information.

       

      Motion: That the information be received.
      CARRIED

2. CORRESPONDENCE – None

1. CEO Quarterly Report (K. Blanchette)
   K. Blanchette noted that there was nothing outstanding to report from a CEO perspective and this has been brought to the Board for information.
2. Board of Health Assessment Survey (K. Blanchette)
   K. Blanchette advised that the Board of Health Assessment Survey will be sent out electronically to Board members within the next couple of weeks. We encourage all Board members to complete the survey to help us meet our public health mandate. Please let us know if you have any questions or require any assistance.
3. alPHa Winter Virtual Symposium – February 24, 2023 (K. Blanchette)
   The Association of Local Public Health Agency (alPHa) which is our provincial advocacy body is holding their Annual Winter Symposium on February 24, 2023. This conference will be held virtually and we encourage our board members to attend.
4. February 16, 2023 Board of Health Meeting Time (K. Blanchette)
   K. Blanchette noted that the February 16, 2023 Board of Health meeting will be held (virtually) at 3:30 pm in order to better accommodate some of our Board members’ schedules.
5. 2023 Annual Service Plan Presentation – Program and Community Needs Overview (K. McBeth/E. Nadalin)
   The Ministry of Health requires that the development of the Annual Service Plan must be based on the Ontario Public Health Standards and related legislation. All 34 Ontario Health Units must abide by these standards and the Annual Services Plans are tied to our Budgetary and Strategic Plans. The development of program plans are based on local priority populations and local public health needs. Over the last couple of years through the pandemic, over half of our population are living in high priority post code areas. We develop these plan to ensure we remain flexible and locally responsive from a public health perspective and community needs.

    

   4:31 pm – R. Maich joined the meeting – quorum maintained

   K. McBeth and E. Nadalin provided a high level description of the following Program Standards:

   -Chronic Disease Prevention and Well-Being
   -Healthy Growth and Development
   -Food Safety
   -Safe Water
   -Healthy Environments
   -Infections and Communicable Disease Prevention and Control
   -Immunization
   -School Health
   -Substance Use and Injury Prevention

   The link to the Annual Service Plan Presentation is provided for your information.

   Chair, F. Costante noted the excellent work undertaken by health unit staff, and the local touch and evidence-based approach to this Annual Service Plan.

   A board member thanked the health unit for their guidance and support in managing Covid-19 outbreaks in the schools and noted that we should lobby the province to make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory under the Immunization of School Pupils’ Act (ISPA).

   K. Blanchette noted this presentation is only a highlight of the work of public health. The pandemic created a heightened awareness of what the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit can do to create a higher standard of public health in our communities.

   5:08 pm – J. Lund left the meeting – quorum maintained

6. 2023 Budget Presentation (L. Gregg/K. Blanchette)
   L. Gregg provided some background on the WECHU’s budget process. On an annual basis, and to support our responsibilities as outlined in the Health Protection and Promotion Act and Ontario Public Health Standards, health unit administrations establishes an operating budget to support the programs that were discussed above in the Annual Service Plan presentation. The budget forms the basis of the Annual Service Plan submission to the Ministry of Health.

   The health unit has 5 different streams of funding as follows:
   1. The Ministry of Health – funds on a cost shared basis at 70%
   2. Ministry of Health – funds certain programs at 100%
   3. Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services – funds certain programs at 100%
   4. Obligated Municipalities – funds our mandatory programs at 30%
   5. Other Smaller Funding Allotments – grants such as Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Hub funding; High Priority Community funding, and various offset revenue, i.e. user fees, vaccine reimbursement, parking recoveries, inspection fees (fluctuates on an annual basis)

   L. Gregg provided 3 different scenarios that could arise based on Ministry funding which would ultimately have an impact on funding by the obligated municipalities. There are programs that are funded 100% by the Ministry of Health, bearing no burden on obligated municipalities, including:

   -Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program
   -Associate Medical Officer of Health/Medical Officer of Health
   -One-time Business Cases such as:
             -Covid-19 (general and vaccination)
             -Public Health Inspection Student Practicum
             -School-focused Nurses
             -Vaccine Fridge Replacement
             -Small Capital Funding projects, etc.

   We will bring any one-time business cases that may fall into our Annual Service Plan submission, which is due March 2023, to the Board for review and approval at our February 2023 Board of Health meeting. They do not pose a burden on the obligated municipalities.

   The link to the Budget Presentation is provided for your information.

   Our total Mandatory Program Budget is $23,428,882, a $495,626 increase over our 2022 Budget. The rationale for the increase is an increase of full-time employees assigned to programs compared to the 2022 year, along with contractual obligations.

   Other Operating Costs have increased such as Program Supplies, Information Technology, WECHU Corporate Public Awareness Program, and Epidemiology and Evaluation to support the acquisition of local data.

   Other net increases to the budget are costs incurred are on account of the WECHU’s Capital Project Redevelopment Costs for relocation of the Windsor office. We will be submitting a one-time business case to the Ministry of Health to support some of the capital costs. To support us from a cash flow perspective, there will be a request to the municipalities to fund us in the interim until we receive that approval of approximately $185,000.

   From a funding perspective, in developing funding assumptions for the current year, we assumed a 1% increase in funding from the Ministry of Health. That 1% increase would bring the total Base Funding to $16,302,915. We have assumed a 2% increase in funding from the obligated municipalities bringing the total contribution to $7,125,967.

   There were no questions from the Board regarding any of the above items.

   Motion: That the Board move into Committee of the Whole at 5:35 pm
   CARRIED

   Motion: That the Board move out of Committee of the Whole at 5:42 pm
   CARRIED

1. 2023 Budget (L. Gregg/K. Blanchette)
   A recommendation report on the 2023 Budget was brought to the Board for approval.

   Motion: That the Board approve the 2023 Budget as presented.
   CARRIED unanimously