As I will be retiring from the Health Unit in December, this will be my last Annual Report. This report provides me the opportunity to reflect on the 25 years that I have been with the Health Unit. Since I came to the Health Unit in January 1989, the programs have increased in size and complexity. Health Promotion programs such as Healthy Babies Healthy Children, Smoking Cessation, Oral Health, and Workplace Wellness have been established and grown exponentially. We’ve also won national awards for excellence, such as the Workplace Wellness program for Chrysler Canada.
Over the years, Health Protection programs have grown to enhance infection control measures for the community. The immunizations which our nurses provide have increased including Hepatitis A, Meningococcal, and Human Papilloma virus vaccines. Hemophilus Influenza, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, and varicella vaccines have been added to the vaccines now distributed to our local physicians as part of the Publicly Funded Immunization Program. To meet the demands of these new programs our staff has more than doubled in size. The new staff include Health Promotion Specialists, Tobacco Enforcement Officers, Graphic Designers, Communications Coordinators, and Epidemiologists, just to name a few. Our Information Technology Department has grown from literally nothing to a complex network of computers, servers, and programs. When I came to the Health Unit in 1989, we had only one small computer for processing financial information. We now rely on technology to connect with our community online and through social media networks. No one can imagine how we would do our work without these vital tools and networks.
We have had our challenges. Almost every year, there has been a major incident such as a fire, spill, or weather event to which the Health Unit responded in cooperation with our emergency responders. The SARS outbreak in 2003 showed how a new international disease could come home to Ontario and highlighted the need for a strong public health
system. The Influenza outbreak of 2009 showed the need for continual surveillance and preparedness by the Health Unit.
We have also had our critics. Whether it was focused on public health inspection such as the egg salad incident or the kibbeh controversy, the staff responded with dignity and professionalism. We have had our successes as well as our disappointments. The campaign to ban smoking in public places was a major success, while the removal of fluoride from the drinking water in Windsor was a major setback for the community. We still have a long way to go in many areas. Obesity will be the major health promotion challenge of the 2010s, as tobacco was in the 1990s. The recent outbreak of Ebola shows us that we cannot neglect our Infection Control defenses.
As I leave, I am confident that the Health Unit is in good hands, with a supportive Board, excellent leadership, and a highly trained professional staff.