Fabio Costante
Board of Health Chair
For over 100 years, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has supported the health and well-being of our community, and 2023 was no different. The WECHU staff were able to continue dedicating their focus on delivering the services prescribed in the Ontario Public Health Standards.
Early in 2023, the WECHU launched the Supporting Better Health for All campaign. This initiative served an important purpose - to highlight the wide range of services and programs provided by public health. Following the global pandemic, public health has become synonymous with disease prevention. While this is a focus of our work, we want our community to be aware of our other core services and programs that play a role in their overall health and well-being.
Utilizing feedback from the public and our staff, the Supporting Better Health for All identified seven programs to capture the work done by the WECHU. These programs, and their related services, were highlighted through various media outlets with the intent to raise awareness around the role of public health. The feedback collected from the corporate campaign will continue to inform future strategies promoting our valuable programs and services to the Windsor-Essex community.
The opening of SafePoint, the region’s first safer consumption site, was another important milestone in 2023. Following nearly a decade of work by the WECHU, in collaboration with various partners, the doors officially opened on April 26, 2023. Over the course of the year, SafePoint saw a total of 1,257 client visits offering important health-related services including drug checking, supervised consumption, first aid, wound care, as well as referrals to addiction treatment and mental health and social services.
It has been an eventful year for the WECHU, full of many positive stories as well as a handful of challenges. I am thankful for the members of the Board of Health who supported us through the successes and the difficult decisions. I also extend my appreciation to all WECHU staff – from the frontline workers, to managers, and the leadership team. I have enjoyed my first year in this role and look forward to being a part of the great work still to come.