It’s one last ride for the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health before they take their usual summer break, but despite the pending time off this is going to be an unusually laidback agenda. There are some pretty important updates though about the loss of harm reduction services downtown, and the annual community report about the overall work of the unit, but to learn more about the agenda, scroll through the preview below.
NOTE #1: This meeting will held virtually online. To get the link you will have to send a request to join the meeting via an online form that you can find here. Deadline to send in the request is Wednesday June 4 at 11 am.
NOTE #2: The meeting begins at 2 pm.
MOH Update(s) – Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer will deliver her verbal report on current matters facing Public Health.
PRESENTATIONS:
2024 Annual Community Report – See the report below.
Supporting Transition: WDGPH’s Role in the Guelph CTS Closure – See the report below.
2024 Annual Community Report – It’s that time of year again, time to get the glossy 20-page review highlighting the good work of Public Health. You can see the full report here, but it discusses – among other things – harm reduction, children’s health, dental care, immunisations, and even Public Health’s role ensuring the safe enjoyment of last year’s solar eclipse.
Client and Community Support Team – This is one of the most public facing aspects to Public Health, which connects, connect members of the community to the important health information that they need to hear. The CCS team has seen their workload increase over the last several months as measles has started making a comeback. The multilingual Generative AI Chatbot and the Parent Insight Survey are other examples of the expanded work that the team has been doing to improve access to health information.
Supporting Transition: WDGPH’s Role in the Guelph CTS Closure – The consumption and treatment site out of Guelph Community Health Centre closed at the end of March per provincial mandate, and Public Health has been one of the orgs trying to pick up the pieces. In this report, staff review the mitigation efforts including their clinic at Royal City Mission which offers harm reduction supplies, drug testing, naloxone distribution and more, and the placement of needle disposal bins at strategically chosen areas in corporation with the City of Guelph. Still, the report notes that the CTS closure is a “significant loss” for the community.
EH and IC Food Safety Program Updates – There are a total of 1,746 fixed food premises in the region, and public health has got to inspect them all. It’s no easy task, especially since there’s been a 15.6 per cent increase in the number of establishments since 2022, and all while the number of infractions has remained steady. Aside from the stats, this information report also outlines how Public Health is increasing education efforts about food allergies, making it easier to get food handler certification, and the changes they’re making to better inspect catered events following a 2023 International Women’s Day incident involving Bacillus cereus.
Children’s Health Services: April 2024-March 2025 – This is a Public Health program that’s full funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and it now covers the Health Babies Healthy Children initiative that supports new parents before their baby is born, after birth, and as the baby enters early childhood. It’s enjoyed some great success, and part of that has been the way that Public Health has been making changes to meeting the changing needs of new parents, including the way they’ve leveraged partnerships with other agencies to enhance it. There’s no direction needed from the board, this is just an information report.
Guelph Politico 