September 2021 Board of Health Meeting - Minutes

Moved by: Rino Bortolin 
Seconded by: Ed Sleiman
That the agenda be approved.
CARRIED

Welcome and Introduction:  Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Acting Medical Officer of Health 
G. McNamara introduced Dr. Shanker Nesathurai to the Board of Health and welcomed him to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit as Acting MOH.  G. McNamara thanked him for standing in and offering his expertise and to help lead the WECHU.  Dr. Nesathurai addressed the Board of Health and said he was happy to be of assistance.

Committee of the Whole
Moved by:  Larry Snively
Seconded by:  Rino Bortolin 
That the Board move into Committee of the Whole at 4:10 pm
CARRIED

Moved by:  Judy Lund
Seconded by:  Fabio Costante 
That the Board move out of Committee of the Whole at 5:21 pm
CARRIED

1. COVID-19 Update

   Dr. S. Nesathurai provided an update on COVID-19 in our region.  The burden of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex is greater now than it was during the 3rd wave.  One in eleven who go for testing are testing positive for COVID-19. We have two dozen cohorts, or more, excluded from schools, daycares and employers, and want to work on containment in a strategic manner to ensure it does not spread out of control when the virus enters these institutions. 

   Our key priority is to keep the schools open and focus on educational instruction, especially in the elementary school level.  University can always be taught virtually but it is challenging to teach socialization to those in the elementary school grades.  Public health measures like masking, keeping two meters distance indoors, and parents not sending children to school who are ill will help in containing the virus and keeping schools open.  

   We currently have 70,000 people in our region eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine who are not vaccinated.  Those that are fully vaccinated are less likely to get infected, and if you do happen to get the virus, you are less likely to be hospitalized and the risk of death is reduced.  If you are vaccinated you are less likely to contract and transmit the virus.  Hospital resources and over capacity are a concern but these situations are preventable when more individuals are fully vaccinated. 

   The actions that each one of us takes will contribute to controlling the pandemic and achieving our goals as a community.  In public health we make judgements, we work with the data we have and we base our planning around this.  

   Moved by: Judy Lund
   Seconded by: Rino Bortolin
   That the information be received.
   CARRIED

1. Regular Board Meeting:  July 22, 2021

   Moved by: Joe Bachetti
   Seconded by: Judy Lund
   That the minutes be approved.
   CARRIED

1. INFORMATION REPORTS

   1. Vaccine Distribution Update – COVID 19 and UIIP (K. McBeth)
      K. McBeth noted that there are various key stakeholders in our communities talking to their clients about the benefits of vaccine.  We are partnering with CRST providing mobile clinics, along with 120 pharmacies and over 100 primary care providers who are administering the vaccine.  Our mass clinic at Sears is on a bus route and centrally located for ease of attending.  N. Dupuis advised that we are working with various partners, i.e. ESHC, EMS, CMHA and social services to target high priority areas with low vaccination rates.  WECHU is also in partnership with Transit Windsor (Destination Vaccination) where buses are provided and used as mobile vaccination sites in high priority areas.  Individuals can walk up and get vaccinated, and these have been well attended. 

      F. Costante said that there have been quite a few pop-up clinics in his Ward and they have been quite successful.  K. McBeth said attendance at these clinics can range greatly in terms of day to day numbers.  There have been days where we have had 4-5 people at a clinic and also as many as 80-90 people.  Attendance of 50-100 people in a day is considered highly successful to us as this point. 

      Dr. Nesathurai said that one of our challenges is about building alliances with the people we serve.  The vaccines are made available and we all need to reach out to various communities that may not have had positive relationships with health services.  Unfortunately, infectious or communicable diseases seem to disproportionately affect the disadvantaged.

   2. Q2 Financial Report 
      L. Gregg provided a brief update on the Q2 Financial Report.  We received approval from the Ministry of Health in July for $17M in total base funding for mandatory programs and the Seniors Dental Program. We have been approved for Mitigation Funding to bridge the gap, i.e. for the 70%-30% ministry and municipal funding allocations, for one more year in 2022.  Various initiatives in response to COVID-19 were discussed.

   3. Recruitment of the Medical Officer of Health
      This Resolution was brought to the August Board of Health meeting in Committee of the Whole and is provided here for information purposes in our regular September Board of Health meeting.

   4. Appointment of an Acting Medical Officer of Health
      This Resolution was brought to the August Board of Health meeting in Committee of the Whole and is provided here for information purposes in our regular September Board of Health meeting.
      Moved by:  Judy Lund
      Seconded by:  Gary Kaschak
      That the above information be received.
      CARRIED

2. RECOMMENDATION REPORTS

   1. Consumption and Treatment Services (E. Nadalin)
      E. Nadalin advised the Board that WECHU has been involved in the process to locally establish a Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) for quite some time. We have gone through process of a feasibility study to determine acceptance of such a facility in our community, have received 448 responses to the community survey, conducted 13 interviews and have targeted residents with 3 virtual Town Halls sessions. We issued RFQ’s and RFP’s to landlords in our communities for potential sites, and have landed on two potential locations within the N9A postal code area. These two potential sites are: 

      101 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor, ON
      This location is on the corner of Wyandotte Street East and Goyeau and is situated across from the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel entrance and McDonald’s Restaurant.  This building has 3 entrances and shares an alley with 628 Goyeau Street.

      628 Goyeau Street, Windsor, ON
      This location is on Goyeau Street and is also situated cross from the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel entrance and McDonald’s Restaurant.  This building has 2 entrances and shares an alley with 101 Wyandotte Street East, and proved to be more cost-effective.

      Our CTS Advisory Committee has endorsed 628 Goyeau Street, Windsor, ON as the preferred location and we are asking that the Board of Health to support and endorse this location.

      R. Bortolin applauded the efforts of WECHU and the entire CTS Committee and is eager to see this initiative progress further.

      Moved by:  Rino Bortolin
      Seconded by:  Ed Sleiman
      That the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health endorse and support the CTS Advisory Committee’s decision of 628 Goyeau as the preferred location for the Consumption and Treatment Site in Windsor, ON
      CARRIED

   2. Signing Authority – Dr. W. Ahmed
      Dr. Wajid Ahmed resigned as Medical Officer of Health from the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health effective September 12, 2021.  Therefore, we ask that the Board accept his resignation and that any signing authority that Dr. Ahmed has under the organization be revoked as of that date.

      Moved by: Judy Lund
      Seconded by: Rino Bortolin
      That the Board accept Dr. Ahmed’s resignation as Medical Officer of Health of the Windsor-Essex county Health Unit, and that any signing authority Dr. Ahmed has under the organization be revoked. 
      CARRIED

1. Membership on Audit Committee and Project Governance Committee (N. Dupuis/L. Gregg)
   L. Gregg advised that currently Tracey Bailey (Treasurer) is the only Board member on the Audit Committee.  Historically, and as noted in our Terms of Reference, we have had three Audit Committee members.  We are looking to nominate one more board member as well as an external member.  Nominations will be held at the October Board meeting.

   We are also looking to resurrect our Project Governance Committee.  Currently, and according to our Terms of Reference, the composition for the committee must consist of: two Board Members who have been appointed by The Corporation of the City of Windsor Council; two Board Members who have been appointed by Essex County Council; two Board Members who have been appointed by the Ontario Lieutenant Governor in Council and ex officio, the Project Sponsor.  We are also looking to engage an external stakeholder to take part in this committee. 

   Moved by: Larry Snively
   Seconded by: Fabio Costante
   That the above information be received.
   CARRIED

2. GEM Extension (N. Dupuis)
   N. Dupuis advised that the WECHU wishes to extend its contract with GEM (Global Excel Management Inc.) wherein GEM provides Case Coordinators to assist with WECHU’s workload in Case and Contact Management due to COVID-19.  Our current agreement expires at the end of September and we would like to extend this to the end of year, due to the increasing number of positive COVID cases. We reached out to GEM last week and they are willing to work with us. 
   Moved by: Joe Bachetti
   Seconded by: Judy Lund
   That the contract with GEM be extended until the end of December 2021 
   CARRIED

   6:01 pm – R. Bortolin, F. Costante, T. Bailey left the meeting
   QUORUM – not met

1. Windsor-Essex County Health Unit – Letter to Hon. Christine Elliott and Hon. Doug Ford – Appeal to the Province of Ontario – Public Health Funding

2. Ministry of Health – Letter to WECHU Board Chair, Gary McNamara – Ontario government extending the one-time mitigation funding through 2022

3. Northwest Public Health – Letter to Hon. Christine Elliott – Support to Establish the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Hub Model as an ongoing program

4. Peterborough Public Health – Letter to Hon. Christine Elliott – Funding increase to cost-shared base budget to accommodate additional FTEs to update the Environmental Health Database for the Implementation of the Menu Labelling, Child Vision Health and Vision Screening, and Consumption and Treatment Services Compliance and Enforcement 

   The information was received.  

Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, or October 21, 2021 – Via Video

The meeting adjourned at 6:10 pm.