Board of Health Meeting Documents

A by-law respecting the management of real property of the Board of Health for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

  1. The Chief Executive Officer or designate, shall be responsible for the care and maintenance of all properties required by the Board (where they are owned not leased), including but not limited to, the following:
    1. The repair and maintenance of building systems such as heating and cooling systems, roof, structural work, plumbing, electrical systems;
    2. The repair and maintenance of the parking areas and exterior of buildings, where applicable;
    3. The care and upkeep of the grounds of the property, where applicable;
    4. The cleaning, maintaining, decorating, and repairing of the interior of the buildings, where applicable; and
    5. The maintenance of up-to-date fire and liability insurance coverage.
  2. Where a property required by the Board is a leased, not owned, property, the Board shall enter into a lease that addresses all maintenance, care and insurance requirements. The Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible for ensuring that the property is operated in accordance with the terms of any such lease.
  3. The Board shall ensure that all such properties comply with all applicable local, provincial and/or federal statutory requirements (I.e. Building codes and fire codes).
  4. The Board shall maintain and adopt policies with respect to the acquisition, sale and other disposition of real property. The Asset Management Policy will be reviewed on a three (3) year basis, or more frequently, if appropriate. The CEO shall report asset disposals to the Board annually as per the Health Unit’s Asset Management Policy.
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TITLE

CEO and MOH Performance Appraisals

APPROVED BY

Board of Health

DATE OF ISSUE

2022

ISSUED BY

Board Executive

Purpose

To ensure that regular performance appraisals are completed in a timely manner and in accordance with human resources best practices.

Policy

The Board of Health will conduct performance appraisals with both the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) individually, annually or more often as determined by the Board. The goals of the performance management shall be:

  • To maximize performance potential
  • Identify short term and long term strategic goals 
  • Identify strengths and weaknesses for the purpose of development efforts

Procedure

  1. In the first quarter of each year the MOH and CEO individually will complete a self-assessment report for the previous year and submit to the Board Chair.
  2. Each review will be conducted by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board. A meeting to discuss the review results. Following the meeting, the Board will be informed of the outcome of the review and discuss accordingly.
  3. Goals and objectives outlined in the review will be shared with the Board for discussion.
  4. The final review once approved will be stored in the employee’s personnel file.
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TITLE

Public Attendance and Delegations at Board of Health Meetings

DEPARTMENT

Administration

APPROVED BY

Board of Health

DATE OF ISSUE

2022/09/16

ISSUED BY

Chief Executive Officer

Preamble

The Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) requires Boards of Health to pass by-laws respecting the management of its property; banking and finance, the calling of and proceedings at meetings, the appointment of an auditor and any other matter necessary or advisable for the management of the affairs of the board of health.

The WECHU Board by-laws included a provision for public attendance and delegation at regular meetings of the board of health.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this policy is to outline the procedure and guidelines associated with public attendance and delegations at regular meetings of the WECHU Board of Health.

Policy

Members of the public are permitted to attend open portion meetings of the Board of Health. In order to be hears at a meeting (verbally or in writing) members of the public must register as a delegation or have the consent of the meeting.

Procedure

How to make a request for delegation:

  • Registration requests must be submitted by noon, at least three days preceding the day of the Board Meeting at which the delegation wishes to be heard (verbally or in writing). In the event of short notice meetings the three day time limit may be reduced accordingly.
  • To register the request shall be submitted via the delegation registration section of the Health Unit’s website.
  • Request may also be submitted in person by delivering the request in writing to the WECHU office located at 1005 Ouellette Ave, Windsor, Ontario.
  • Once a request for delegation is received, the WECHU board secretary will send an acknowledgement of the request.
  • Registration requests shall include the following information:
    • Name of Delegation
    • Contact information for the Delegation
    • Names of Delegation spokespersons, if any
    • Business item in connection with which Delegation wishes to be heard and whether Delegation intents to make a verbal presentation and whether the Delegation intends to use any audio visual equipment
    • Written materials, if any, shall: be limited to five 8.5”X11” pages; signed by the author, not contain any improper matter in the opinion of the Secretary and meet such other requirements from time to time set by the Board.

Timing for Verbal Presentations

  • Verbal presentations of Delegations shall be limited to five minutes, subject to that time being extended by the Chair for a further five minutes

Questions

  • Board Members may not ask any questions until all Delegations on the agenda item have been heard. Thereafter, Board Members may question Delegations.
  • No motions shall be recognized by the Chair during questioning of Delegations but once a motion has been accepted by the Chair, no further representation shall be permitted by or of Delegations.

Rules

Delegations shall be subject to the following rules:

  1. Delegations shall address only those items in connection with which they are registered or have the consent of the meeting.
  2. Delegations shall not enter into cross debate with other Delegations, Health Unit staff or Board Members.
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TITLE

Delegation of Duties: CEO & MOH

APPROVED BY

Board of Health

DATE OF ISSUE

2022

ISSUED BY

Board Executive Committee

Purpose

To outline the delegation of duties requirements and responsibilities for the positions of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Medical Officer Health (MOH).

Policy

The Board of Health recognizes that the duties of the Medical Officer of Health and the Chief Executive Officer are required to be carried out, even in the case of vacation and short leaves.

The Board of Health shall ensure that the Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer shall have coverage for his/her positions while away from the office on vacations and leaves.

Procedure

MOH Coverage:

If the Health Unit has an AMOH, the AMOH will be provide coverage for the MOH in his/her absence. If there is no AMOH, the Health Unit will establish arrangements with neighbouring Health Unit’s to request MOH coverage. The covering MOH will serve as Acting MOH for the WECHU during the absence of the MOH.

CEO Coverage:

The CEO will arrange for coverage from available Directors within the organization. Director(s) assigned will serve in the role of Acting CEO in the absence of the CEO and as such will have the delegated authority of the CEO.

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PREPARED BY:

Epidemiology & Evaluation Department

DATE:

September 15, 2022

SUBJECT:

Windsor-Essex Health Status Indicator (WE-HSI) Dashboard

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

The focus of public health is to understand and address the health of the whole population. Through a population health approach and applying a social determinants of health lens, the goals of public health include improving health & quality of life, reducing morbidity and premature mortality, and reducing health inequities.

The Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS; 2021) establish the requirements for public health programs and services and describe how those programs are to be implemented. The four domains of focus include: 1) Social determinants of health (SDOH); 2) Healthy Behaviours; 3) Healthy Communities; and 4) Population Health Assessment.

As the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) transitions into conducting non-COVID-19 programs and services, the Epidemiology & Evaluation (E&E) department will be responsible in conducting population level assessment and surveillance of Windsor-Essex County (WEC). Assuming that COVID-19 activity will ebb and flow locally, the transition to non-COVID work will not be linear and will require ongoing flexibility to adapt as required.

The E&E department will approach the renewal and transition phase of the pandemic by assessing the population’s health through a topical approach as identified in the OPHS (2021) through a phased approach in 2022 and into 2023.

DISCUSSION

The E&E department has applied Business Intelligence (BI) principles to WECHU’s renewal and transition efforts. As a result, dashboards will be focal point of deliverables, which will produce a visual and interactive deliverable to end users. The collection of topic based dashboards will provide internal WECHU staff, local stakeholders, policy and decision-makers, community partners and residents of WEC the resources to understand their community while aiding in program and policy decisions.

The following table identifies the topics the E&E team will produce over the course of 2022 and into 2023. Topics not identified are not due to exclusion, rather a lack of data availability (e.g., CCHS for indicators pertaining to healthy eating, physical activity, sleep, etc.). Where possible, alternative (or proxy) indicators will be identified.

Topics E&E will produce over 2022/2023 by month
Topic* Month
Infectious Disease (monthly and annual) June
Mental Health (including self-harm)  
*assuming survey roll out		 June
Reproductive Health Outcomes July
All Cause Mortality August
Substance1 (hospital data on alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamines, etc.) August
Healthy Pregnancies, Preconception Health (Folic Acid) and Infant Feeding (BORN) September
All Cause Morbidity & Quality of Life October
Growth and Development October
Injury (including falls and concussion) October
Socio-Demographics – Based on 2021 Census release schedule November
Oral Health November
School Immunizations December
Cancer February 2023

*Topics not found on this list are due to existing data not being available. This includes sleep, healthy eating, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, etc.

1Excludes opioids which will have its own dashboard congruent with what is found on the WECOSS website.

Access the WE-HSI dashboards.

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PREPARED BY:

Communications Department

DATE:

September 15, 2022

SUBJECT:

May 15 – August 14, 2022 Communications Update

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:

Provide regular marketing and communication updates to the Board of Health.

Data Notes can be provided upon request.

SOURCE MAY 15 – JUNE 14 JUNE 15 – JULY 14 JULY 15 – AUGUST 14
News Releases, Media Advisories and Statements, or Notices Issued 13 16 18
Media Requests Received 11 27 27
Wechu.org page views 148,952 171,443 193,890
YouTube Channel Subscribers 1,742 1,739 1,738
Email Subscribers 7,926 7,852 7,791
Emails Distributed 16 19 18
Facebook Fans 18,640 18,785 18,801
Facebook Posts 105 88 73
Twitter Followers 8,645 8,665 8,690
Twitter Posts 93 86 69
Instagram Followers 1,448 1,453 1,467
Instagram Posts 45 34 32
LinkedIn Followers 1,128 1,153 1,182
LinkedIn Posts 56 52 36

Media Exposure

 215 235 331

Media Exposure Overview Graph

May 15 - June 14

May 15 - June 14 2022 Media Exposure overview chart

June 15 - July 14

June 15 - July 14 2022 Media Exposure overview chart

July 15 - August 14

July 15 - August 14 2022 Media Exposure overview chart

Website Overview Graph

May 15 - June 14

May 15 - June 14 2022 Website Overview

June 15 - July 14

June 15 - July 14 2022 Website Overview

July 15 - August 14

July 15 - August 14 2022 Website Overview

DISCUSSION

May 15 – June 14 Notable Project thumbnail

May 15 – June 14 Notable Projects:

The Communication’s department launched the promotion of student catch-up immunization clinics. A news release was issued on June 2, 2022. The team has contacted school board and municipality communication representatives to share our messages, with support confirmed from all groups.

A guest column was published in the Windsor Star by Dr. Nesathurai regarding the importance of the HPV vaccine for youth. The social media post published with the link received the most reactions for the week. The article is available in our Newsroom.

June 15 – July 14 Notable Project thumbnail

June 15 – July 14 Notable Projects:

The Communication’s department launched the Fight the Bite campaign to raise awareness around West Nile virus. Components include radio ads, social media and digital ads, and TV display graphics which have been shared with various community partners. Two social media ads have reached a total of 14,378 users.

Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, was asked by the Ontario Medical Association to provide a comment on the challenges faced by Ontario patients in terms of healthcare access and inequalities. His comment was published in the Ontario Medical Review at the end of June, 2022.

July 15 – August 14 Notable Project thumbnail

July 15 – August 14 Notable Projects:

The Communication’s department launched a campaign to raise awareness of sexually transmitted infections. Utilizing the Grindr platform, a location-based social networking and online dating application for gay, bi, trans, and queer people, the ad has garnered a total of 25,379 impressions and 2,695 link clicks in three weeks.

Additional components for this campaign also included paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, organic and boosted posts on @theWECHU social media channels, and a printed ad in the Windsor and Essex County Pride Fest 2022 magazine.

Both the print and digital ads directed users to a survey housed on WECHU.org, which has approximately 200 responses at the time of writing this summary.

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PREPARED BY:

Finance Department

DATE:

September 15, 2022

SUBJECT:

Registered Charity Status

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

On July 14, 2022, Administration for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) brought forward a recommendation to the Board of Health to support an application for charitable status for the WECHU.  The recommendation to move forward with registering as a charity was approved and Administration asked to report back to the Board on whether other public health units in Ontario are registered as a charity under Section 149 of the Income Tax Act.

DISCUSSION

Of the thirty-four (34) public health units in Ontario, ten (10) are registered charities.  The effective date of their charitable status is prior to 2012.  They include:

  • Board of Health for the Peterborough County – City Health Unit
  • Board of Health for the Algoma Health Unit
  • Brant County Health Unit
  • Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit Charitable Organization
  • Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
  • Middlesex-London Health Unit
  • North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
  • Northwestern Health Unit
  • Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
  • Eastern Ontario Health Unit

In 2012, there were amendments to the Income Tax Act, allowing municipalities, and municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada, to apply for qualified donee status.  As a qualified donee, these entities would be eligible to issue official donation receipts, to receive gifts from registered charities, have the ability to apply for rebates (i.e. property taxes), and access other grant opportunities.    Of the thirty-four (34) public health units in Ontario, the Board of Health for Oxford Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit, is the only public health unit with qualified donee status.  Locally, the following public sector entities have the qualified donee status:

  • City of Windsor
  • County of Essex
  • Townships of Essex, LaSalle, Leamington, Lakeshore, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, and Pelee
  • Caldwell First Nation
  • Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation
  • John McGivney Children’s Centre School Authority
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Board Members Present:

Joe Bachetti, Tracey Bailey, Rino Bortolin, Aldo DiCarlo, Mark Ferrari, Judy Lund, Robert Maich, Ed Sleiman

Board Member Regrets:

Gary McNamara, Fabio Costante, Gary Kaschak

Administration Present:

Nicole Dupuis, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Lorie Gregg, Felicia Lawal, Kristy McBeth, Eric Nadalin, Dan Sibley, Konrad Farrugia

Guests:              

Ramsey D’Souza, Marc Frey

QUORUM: Confirmed

 

  1. Call to Order

    Vice-Chair, Rino Bortolin, acting as Chair in G. McNamara’s absence, called the Regular meeting to order at  4:02 p.m.

  2. Agenda Approval
    Motion: That the agenda be approved.
    CARRIED
  3. Announcement of Conflict of interest – None
  4. COVID-19 Update (Dr. S. Nesathurai)

    Dr. Nesathurai said we have to normalize our life with COVID. However, that does not mean we should normalize COVID’s impact or its burden. There have been 663 deaths in Windsor-Essex County since the beginning of the pandemic. In the past week there have been six deaths. Of those six deaths, four people had been living in the community. COVID affects those in long-term care homes and retirement homes but deaths do occur in those living in the community. There is now a Bivalent vaccine available for the highest risk populations. As the weeks progress the Bivalent vaccine will be available for everyone who wants the vaccine. 
    At the current time, there are 250k people who are eligible for the vaccine who have not been vaccinated. About 16% of people are up to date on their vaccines. Dr. Nesathurai said it is important for those eligible for vaccination to get up to date on their vaccines. When vaccinated people are less likely to be ill, pass away, or be hospitalized.
    Dr. Nesathurai said that there are multiple distribution channels for the vaccine and those distribution channels are pharmacies, physician offices, clinics, and the public health service. Up to this point in the pandemic 64% of vaccinations had been completed by the public health service. This is not sustainable due to competing priorities. It is important that physician offices and pharmacies and other additional distribution channels to assist with vaccination. 

    Dr. Nesathurai said that vaccines are probably one of the most effective treatments we have in medicine and are particularly effective in public health practice. In Ontario there is a very progressive piece of legislation called the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) and it provides the framework in which we can ensure that young people are vaccinated. It is a vaccine verification process which results in people becoming up to date in vaccines. This year there were 19k young people in grades 10 through 12 that needed to get up to date on vaccination; 18k have done so. The benefit for these young people once they leave high school they will be up to date on their vaccines and the vaccine verification process highlights the fact that there are some vaccines that are not part of ISPA but people do have an opportunity to receive those vaccines as well. This is a benefit for the public health service, the Board of Health, and for the community overall.

    Motion: That the information be received.
    CARRIED

  5. Approval of Minutes
    1. Regular Board Meeting:  August 11, 2022
      Motion: That the minutes be approved. 
      CARRIED
  6. Business Arising

    1. Charitable Status (L. Gregg)
      L. Gregg said as a follow up to the question asked of administration in July 2022 in regards to applying for charitable status and the report brought forward at that time; administration investigated the number of public health unit’s in Ontario that had charitable status. Of the 34 public health unit’s in Ontario there are 10 that are registered as charities – all of which had effective dates for charitable status prior to 2012. In 2012, there were amendments to the income tax act that allowed municipalities and municipal and public bodies performing the function of government in Canada to apply for what is called the qualified Donee status. The status is effectively similar to a charible status. Donee status allows an organization to issue official donation receipts for gifts it receives from individuals and corporations and the ability to apply for rebates and access grant opportunities. Of the 34 Public Health Units in Ontario there is one Public Health Unit that has Donee status and that is Southwest Public Health Unit. The WECHU reviewed other local entities to find out if there were any other qualified Donee status organizations. The City of Windsor, County of Essex, Townships of Essex, LaSalle, Leamington, Lakeshore, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, Pelee, Caldwell First Nation, the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation, and the John McGivney Children’s Centre School Authority all have Donee status. As a result, the WECHU has drafted a letter to the Canada Revenue Agency to apply for Donee status as well.
      That the information be received.
      CARRIED

    2. Board of Health By-Laws (First Reading) and Policies (N. Dupuis/L. Gregg)
      N. Dupuis said that Board of Health by-Laws have been brought forward since April of 2022. These are the remainder of the outstanding by-laws. The format of the by-laws have been changed as per the direction received by the Board of Health early on. Previously, the by-laws were about 170 pages in length. The new format breaks the by-laws down into four (Governance, Finance, Human Resources, and Management of Real Property). Items that were procedural in nature have been moved to Board Policies and are also included for review and approval. All of these by-laws have been reviewed by WECHU’s legal council. The by-laws presented to the Board of Health today are merely the first reading. These by-laws would then be brought forward again in October for a second reading as per the current bylaws. This will provide the Board of Health with time to read the by-laws and report their feedback or any changes. Final approval of the by-laws is expected at the November Board of Health meeting. By-laws are to be reviewed by the Board of Health very 2 years. However, policies will be reviewed annually or as indicated (i.e. Whistleblowing).
       
      M. Ferrari said that normally when there is something that is this large that is undertaken on behalf of the Board of Health there is an ad-hoc committee or a standing committee on policy governance that handles the creation and monitors the fielding of governance related questions as part of the process. Has this Board of Health ever considered striking a policy governance committee and would that be helpful for the Board of Health to have more involvement?

      R. Bortolin said there has not been a policy governance committee in his time but it is a good suggestion. He noted that administration may be able to identify how the process was done in the past. 

      N. Dupuis said the by-laws have not been reviewed by a committee in her time at WECHU. The Board of Health by-laws have not been reviewed since 2017. The current by-laws were developed by WECHU legal council. Sections of the bylaw were brought to JBEC for review and discussion at meetings for over a year. Once completed they were brought to the full board for review and approval. N. Dupuis noted she cannot speak to processes prior to that time. This time administration identified the bylaws required updating and review and suggested an alternate format for the bylaws. Direction was given for administration to take on the task with legal counsel and bring to the board for review. 

      R. Bortolin suggested that a policy governance committee be struck after the local election has taken place. There will be new members assigned to the Board of Health at that time.

      M. Ferrari said that if a policy governance committee is developed is should happen before the next election term.  

      T. Bailey said that she would be willing to wait until the election is over in November to develop a policy governance committee. T. Bailey suggested having a report that comes back to the Board of Health that guides the new policy governance committee.

      Motion: To request a report from WECHU administration outlining what has been past practice and how to develop a Policy Governance Committee going forward that would begin at the start of the next term of the Board of Health committee after the fall election.
      CARRIED

      R. Bortolin said that the by-laws brought forward today will proceed once approved by the Board of Health. However, the motion to develop a Policy Governance committee will be for by-laws and other associated needs moving forward via the Board of Health.

      1. Public Attendance and Delegations at Board of Health Meetings

      2. Delegation of Duties
        N. Dupuis said there was no policy related to this item nor was it referenced in the previous by–laws. Any gaps for this item were corrected by borrowing language from other health units.

      3. Performance of Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer

      4. By-Law No. 1 – Governance

      5. By-Law No. 2 – Finance

      6. By-Law No. 3 – Human Resources

      7. By-Law No. 4 – Management of Real Property
        The Board of Health By-Laws will be brought back to the October 20, 2022 Board meeting for a second reading.  

        Motion: That the information be received. 
        CARRIED

  7. Consent Agenda
    1. INFORMATION REPORTS
      1. Q2 Financial Report (L. Gregg)
      2. Windsor-Essex Health Status Indicator (WE-HSI) Dashboard (N. Dupuis/R. D’Souza)
      3. 2022 Board of Health Competency and Self-Assessment Report (N. Dupuis/M. Frey)
      4. WECHU Strategic Plan – 2022-2025 (N. Dupuis/M. Frey)
      5. Communications Report (July-September 2022) (E. Nadalin)

        Motion: That the information be received.  
        CARRIED

    2. CORRESPONDENCE
      1. Chatham-Kent Public Health – Letter to Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario – Support for alPHa Resolution A22-4 and Appendix A – that the drug poisoning crisis in Ontario be declared an emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, (RSO 1990) – For Support
      2. Sudbury & Districts Public Health – Letter to Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services – Healthy Babies Healthy Children Funding – For Support
      3. Niagara Board of Health – Letter to Hon. Dominic Leblanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities – Improving Air Quality to Sustainably prevent COVID-19 – For Information

        Motion: That the information be received.  
        CARRIED

  8. Resolutions/Recommendation Reports

    1. Renewed Strategic Plan (N. Dupuis)
      N. Dupuis introduced Marc Frey, Manager of Planning & Strategic Initiatives, to present the Renewed Strategic Plan – See 9.4

      Motion: That the Renewed Strategic Plan be approved.
      CARRIED

    2. Signing Authority (L. Gregg)
      Motion: That the Signing Authority be approved
      CARRIED

  9. New Business

    1. Bivalent Vaccine Update (K. McBeth)
      K. McBeth said doses of the Bivalent Moderna vaccine is available in Windsor-Essex County. The vaccine is available to six priority groups which include health care workers, indigenous community, immunocompromised individuals age 12+, long-term care home and retirement residents, staff, and one essential caregiver, pregnant individuals, and those aged 70+.

      Anyone is eligible to receive the Bivalent vaccine as long as they have had the primary series.  A minimum of 3 months since the last dose with a recommendation of six months is required for eligibility.

      K. McBeth said that currently there is a limited supply of the Bivalent vaccine and the focus is the high risk congregate living facilities. Mobile teams have been focused on these types of facilities (shelters, supporting housing, etc.).

      Starting the week of September 26th the province is expected to open up eligibility for the Bivalent vaccine to everyone in Ontario 18+. The same minimum and recommended time frame applies to this group as well.

      An updated vaccine recommendation statement for those 6 months to 5 years of age is expected soon for the newly approved infant pediatric Pfizer vaccine which will be arriving to the community next week.

      K. McBeth said there are 20 pharmacies in Windsor-Essex County that have received the Bivalent vaccine and they are also administering it to priority groups. WECHU is supporting any access to primary care that are interested in vaccinating clients from the priority groups for the next few weeks.

      K. McBeth said there has been a delay in the Pfizer Bivalent approval. Therefore, the Moderna Bivalent vaccine will be the vaccine with the most ready access at this time.

      Motion: That the information be received
      CARRIED

    2. WE-HSI Dashboard – Presentation (R. D’Souza)
      N. Dupuis introduced Ramsey D’Souza, Manger of Epidemiology and Evaluation, to present the Windsor-Essex Health Status Indicator (WE-HSI) Dashboards. 

      R. D’Souza said WECHU embarked on an ambitious journey to reimagine how we would conduct our public health surveillance at WECHU. 

      Prior to the pandemic WECHU developed large scale reports such as the Community Needs Assessment and Oral Health Report. These reports were well developed but also time consuming.
      From conceptualization to the final product it could take 3-6 months on the topic area and sometimes up to 1 year. 

      Pandemic Challenges & Solutions
      Challenges
          - Population Health Assessment and Surveillance focus shifted to COVID-19 for 2.5 years
          - Need for timely data for evidence-informed decision-making for COVID-19

      Solutions
          - Development of interactive data visualization tools (dashboards)

      From Static to Routine Interactive Reporting
          - Build interactive dashboards by topic
          - Users can engage with the data
          - Routinely updated as newer data becomes available
            - Transition from 5-year to yearly (or as data is available) updates
          - Allows WECHU to be proactive and identify newer data sources
            - Similarly, identify gaps for primary data collection    

      R. D’Souza presented a demonstration of the live WE-HIS webpage on www.wechu.org.

      WE-HSI Next Steps
          - Develop 2021 Census dashboard by municipality
          - Connect with community partners for data sharing and developing a centralized health data portal
          - Conduct primary data collection to address data gaps (e.g. child and youth data, mental health, etc.)
          - Develop a health neighbourhood dashboard
            - Key population health indicators by smaller geographical areas
            - Will allow for targeted approaches for health interventions and programming.
          
          N. Dupuis said that R. D’Souza will also be presenting the WE-HSI dashboard to the OHT partnership table.
          
      Motion: That the information be received
      CARRIED

    3. 2022 Board of Health Competency Self-Assessment (M. Frey)
      M. Frey said the purpose of the Board of Health Competency Self-Assessment is to find areas of strength within the Board of Health that can be leveraged for future actions. The self-assessment also helps identify potential training opportunities for the Board of Health and whether the Board of Health perceives themselves as improving over time. This self-assessment is also a requirement of the Ontario Public Health Standards. The self-assessment consists of a series of questions dived up into 12 competencies. These competencies were identified and the questions were developed based on the Ontario Public Health Standards, Board of Health bylaws, and the alPHa Board of Health governance toolkit. Leadership and Governance was recognized as the greatest strength. Most of the scores fall under the satisfactory range. There were two competency scores that scored below satisfactory – Health Equity and Knowledge & Delivery of Public Health Programs/Services. 

      M. Frey said that questions about Board of Health Operations all scored similar – Agree or Strongly Agree. Scoring varied under – I feel the makeup of our board is reflective of the diversity of the Windsor-Essex community. There is disagreement regarding this question and the Board of Health composition meeting this requirement. 

      Overall recommendations included:
          - Providing training and education to the Board of Health, beginning in the areas with the lowest scores
          - Return to in-person Board of Health meetings when practical
          - Consideration of Board of Health diversity should be given when selecting or appointing new Board of Health members

      M. Ferrari said that it will be important for the Board of Health to complete this competency self-assessment again once new board members are appointed after the election.

      Motion: That the 2022 Board of Health Competency Self-Assessment be received.
      CARRIED

    4. Strategic Plan – Presentation (N. Dupuis)
      N. Dupuis introduced Marc Frey, Manager of Planning & Strategic Initiatives, to present the Renewed Strategic Plan. 

      M. Frey said that WECHU is required to by the Ontario Public Health Standards to produce and maintain a strategic plan. The current plan under review was developed to address the post pandemic challenges and opportunities. The lifespan of this plan is from 2022-2025. This timeframe was selected to address the acute need to have a plan in place post-pandemic. This timeframe also provides leeway to develop a longer term plan in the future. This plan included a lot of consideration from the previous strategic plan.

      The development process included interviews with the Board of Health and the Leadership Team, a survey conducted with local partner groups (N=37), 2-day Board of Health meeting to develop plan characteristics, a review and discussion period with the WECHU management team, an all staff survey (N=104), and lastly a survey issued to the Board of Health. The feedback received from the survey was incorporated into the strategic plan.
       
      Key highlights of the renewed strategic plan include:
          - Vision: Healthy people in a healthy community
          - Mission: The WECHU promotes, protects, and improves health and well-being for all people in our community
          - Values: Accountability, Empowerment, Leadership, Collaboration, and Equity
          - Priorities: Partnerships, Organizational Development, and Effective Public Health Practice

      This information will be published on www.wechu.org following this meeting. 

      J. Lund said in the strategic plan equity is references as one of the values. J. Lund said unless we are proactive in the area of diversity and inclusion the Board of Health needs to review how the BOH is assembled. 

      N. Dupuis said the current by-laws do allow for some consideration for outside members, not provincial appointees or elected officials appointed to the BOH. This could include indigenous representation or representation from other communities.

      Motion: That the Renewed Strategic Plan be approved.
      CARRIED

  10. Committee of the Whole (CLOSED SESSION, in accordance with Section 239 of the Municipal Act)
    The Board moved into Committee of the Whole at 5:17 pm
    The Board moved out of Committee of the Whole at 5:43 pm
  11. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, Thursday, October 20, 2022 – Via Video
  12. Adjournment
    Motion:  That the meeting be adjourned.   
    CARRIED

     

    The meeting adjourned at 5:47 pm.

RECORDING SECRETARY: K. Farrugia

SUBMITTED BY: N. Dupuis

APPROVED BY: The Board of Health - October 20, 2022
 

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Please contact us if you require an alternate format of this report.

2022 Board of Health Competency Self-Assessment Report - PDF
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A refreshed strategic plan allows our health unit to identify key priorities and directions over the next three years while building on the foundation of our 2017-2021 Strategic Plan

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September 15, 2022

ISSUE/PURPOSE

Nicole Dupuis, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (Health Unit or Corporation) has resigned effective September 23, 2022. 

Upon Nicole Dupuis’ departure, Eleanor Groh has agreed to fill the role of Interim CEO of the Health Unit until such time as recruitment of a permanent CEO has concluded.  As Interim CEO, Eleanor Groh shall report directly to the Board of Health and have authority to bind the Health Unit. 

PROPOSED MOTION

Whereas, the Board of Health for the Health Unit approved the appointment of Eleanor Groh as Interim CEO of the Health Unit, effective September 24, 2022,

Now therefore be it resolved that the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health approve Eleanor Groh as a signing authority of the Health Unit, having authority to bind the Corporation

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September 15, 2022

ISSUE/PURPOSE

Strategic planning supports an organization’s focus and attention on priority work and helps key decision makers ensure how best to mobilize work in support of these priorities. This plan can assist organizational leaders and staff to make today's decisions with future outcomes in mind. At the April 21, 2022 Board of Health meeting, WECHU leadership advised that the WECHU’s previous Strategic Plan had expired at the end of 2021.  It was determined that the organization would proceed on the development of a shorter 3-year plan in the near term, supporting the organization’s transition process post-pandemic towards renewal and recovery.

BACKGROUND

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) initiated a renewal process for the WECHU Strategic Plan over the last several months. The Organizational Requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards (2021) require that “The board of health shall have a strategic plan that establishes the strategic priorities over 3 to 5 years” (p.64).  This process has involved consultation with the Board of Health, local community partners, and WECHU employees. The Strategic Plan will detail the organization’s vision, mission, values, and strategic priorities for the next 3 years.

A refreshed strategic plan allows the health unit to identify key priorities and directions over the next three years while building on the foundation of the 2017-2021 WECHU strategic plan. This plan will provide strategic direction to the ongoing COVID-19 response, support recovery from unintended population health consequences of the pandemic and help understand how best to engage and support our community as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to subside, with a specific focus on priority populations. The plan outlines our ongoing strategic priorities and introduces new ones that are relevant for the immediate local public health needs, adapts our organization’s values statements to the current climate, and sets objectives of importance for the WECHU’s priorities over the next 3 years.

This refreshed strategic plan will be continuously monitored against changes in community context and needs to determine Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s future readiness to develop the 2027–2032 future strategic plan.

PROPOSED MOTION

Whereas, the WECHU is required to have a strategic plan in place per the Ontario Public Health Standards (2021) and,

Whereas, in support of the refreshed Strategic Plan, operational plans, measurement, and reporting components will be developed to support the implementation and monitoring throughout the duration of the plan and,

Whereas, the WECHU has previously established processes and communication strategies that can be used effectively to ensure the refreshed Strategic Plan is communicated to all employees, stakeholders and clients.

Now therefore be it resolved that the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health approves the refreshed WECHU Strategic Plan for immediate implementation through the next 3 years (2023-2027) and,

FURTHER THAT, and the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health will be provided with reporting components and updates about the plans implementation status and progress beginning in 2023 on a quarterly basis.

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September 15, 2022

ISSUE/PURPOSE

Nicole Dupuis has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (Health Unit) effective September 23, 2022.

Upon Nicole Dupuis’ departure on September 23, 2022, any signing authority that she may have under the Health Unit will be revoked as of that date.

PROPOSED MOTION

Whereas, the Board of Health for the Health Unit accepts Nicole Dupuis’ resignation as Chief Executive Officer effective September 23, 2022,

Now therefore be it resolved that Nicole Dupuis’ signing authority for the Health Unit be revoked effective September 23, 2022.

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Meeting held via video: https://youtu.be/-EkV0sLMpE8

  1. Call to Order
  2. Agenda Approval
  3. Announcement of Conflict of Interest
  4. COVID-19 Update (Dr. S. Nesathurai)
  5. Approval of Minutes
    1. Regular Board Meeting:  July 14, 2022
  6. Business Arising
    1. Board of Health Policies (N. Dupuis)
      1. Cybersecurity Awareness Program and Training Policy   
  7. Consent Agenda
    1. INFORMATION REPORTS
      1. Cybersecurity Report and Presentation (L. Gregg)
    2. CORRESPONDENCE – None                                                               

  8. RESOLUTIONS/RECOMMENDATION REPORTS

  9. New Business - None
  10. Committee of the Whole (Closed Session in accordance with Section 239 of the Municipal Act) 
  11. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, or September 15, 2022 – Via Video

  12. Adjournment

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PREPARED BY:

Information Technology Department

DATE:

August 11, 2022

SUBJECT:

Cybersecurity

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is committed to ensuring its information technology (IT) infrastructure and data housed therein, is secure.  Our IT infrastructure plays an essential role in delivering services within the community of Windsor and Essex County.  As such, it is crucial that the WECHU adopt measures around cybersecurity to “protect critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks, whether those threats originate from inside or outside of the organization.” (IBM 2022)  Recent examples of entities negatively impacted by cyber-related activities include:

  • In June of 2022, the University of Windsor was impacted by a cybersecurity incident. The incident affected several platforms including the UWindsor website, Blackboard Learning Management System, UWinsit Student and campus Wifi.  On a preliminary basis, it has been determined that personal data of associated users was secure and not subject to misuse.
  • In June of 2022, Celero Solutions Inc., a third-party company that provides technology services to Northern Credit Union as well as other credit unions experienced a cybersecurity incident that compromised members’ private information. 

DISCUSSION

The WECHU’s approach to cybersecurity focuses on four areas, its users, its IT infrastructure, the transfer of risk of financial loss and continuous improvement. 

Users and IT infrastructure

The WECHU users, including staff and Board Members, represent the first layer in our approach to cybersecurity. Recognizing the importance of this layer, the WECHU has implemented a Cybersecurity Awareness Program and Training Policy (Policy).  This Policy prescribes mandatory training at the beginning of employment with the WECHU and annually thereafter, or more frequently, if determined appropriate.  It provides guidance regarding on-going communications with WECHU users regarding cyber-related activities.  The Policy identifies the WECHU’s use of periodic phishing campaigns to test the competencies of the WECHU users, identifying those requiring additional training and education.  Lastly, the Policy identifies a comprehensive reporting structure ensuring accountability and transparency surrounding the WECHU’s Cybersecurity Awareness Program.

The next layer in our approach to cybersecurity represents the WECHU’s Intrusion Detection System, more specifically, our Palo Alto Appliance.  This allows the WECHU to stop known threats before they can connect to our IT infrastructure. The firewall also employs secure sockets layer (SSL) decryption, a method that allows the WECHU to see inside normally secure traffic.

The third layer in our approach to cybersecurity is our firewall. The firewall exposes a nominal portion of the WECHU network to the outside world. The WECHU only allow services such as inbound e-mail, and web-traffic to pass to the WECHU network. This traffic is untrusted and moved into a zone of control. The zone of control allows us to read the packets of data to ensure it is safe for forwarding on through the next layer. The WECHU maintains several zones to prevent communication between services and computers that are not required. For example, once the Barracuda E-mail Security Gateway processes our e-mail traffic, it is the only device that can forward e-mail traffic directly to our firewall, which in turn gets sent to our e-mail servers. These basic zones of control ensure that a compromised node (server or workstation) is limited in the extent of the WECHU infrastructure that it interacts with.

The Barracuda E-mail Security Gateway, looks at all e-mail before delivery to our mail servers. This allows the IT Department to inspect, remove or quarantine e-mails before reaching the network. Additionally, the gateway has Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) which automatically scans e-mail attachments in real-time; suspicious attachments are detonated in a sandbox environment to observe behaviour. In addition to blocking the attachment, the results are integrated into the Barracuda Real Time Intelligence System providing protection for all other customers. (Barracuda Networks 2022)

The fourth layer in our approach to cybersecurity is the Antimalware.  Antimalware engines at both the firewall and desktop levels monitor the behavior of applications using a decision model to determine if the applications are behaving as anticipated. If they are not, the system quarantines the process, notifying the IT Department immediately of the potential threat.

The fifth layer in our approach to cybersecurity is the WECHU’s antivirus application. When retrieving files and processes, the computer accesses memory, which are reviewed and sandboxed or tested, until proven safe. This process can quickly identify files as they move between workstations and the internet or vice versa.

Graph illustrating various layers of IT security

The final layer of the WECHU’s approach to cybersecurity are the operating systems.  The WECHU IT Department monitors operating systems including Windows, Linux and vendor proprietary systems. Daily, the IT Department reads bulletins, release notes and threat assessments and determines what actions are required to mitigate the risk of a cyber-threat. By maintaining current patches, and eliminating legacy systems or protocols, the IT Department is able to provide a secure environment for WECHU staff to carry out their responsibilities.

Transfer of Risk of Financial Loss

To address the transfer of risk of financial loss resulting from a cyber-related incident, the WECHU has engaged third-party insurer.  Specific coverage provided under the policy include:

  1. Breach response services due to an actual or reasonable suspected Data Breach or Security Breach including legal, forensic and public relations/crisis management support.
  2. First party loss coverage including business interruption, dependent business loss, reputational loss, cyber extortion loss, hardware replacement and data recovery.
  3. Liability coverage including data and network liability, regulatory defence and penalties, payment care liabilities and costs and media liability.
  4. eCrime coverage including fraudulent instruction, funds transfer fraud, telephone fraud, impersonation fraud loss.
  5. Criminal reward coverage.

The insurance policy is renewed annually through a detailed application process.  Policy limits are subject to change depending upon contractual requirements the WECHU is subject to (i.e. Data Sharing Agreements) as well as industry-related changes (i.e. changes in insurable limits available through third party providers).

Continuous Improvement

The topic of cybersecurity is continuously evolving.  As such, the WECHU must actively improve its approaches to cybersecurity. Currently, the WECHU is undertaking a procurement process to engage a third-party consultant to perform penetration testing.  The purpose of penetration testing it to simulate a cyber attack on the WECHU’s IT infrastructure identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities.  Once identified, the WECHU can remediate vulnerabilities reducing the risk that its IT infrastructure will be negatively impacted by cyber-related activities or events.

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Meeting held via video: https://youtu.be/jKYaPzPfYko

  1. Call to Order
  2. Agenda Approval
  3. Announcement of Conflict of Interest
  4. Approval of Minutes
    1. Regular Board Meeting:  June 16, 2022
    2. Audit Committee Meeting Minutes:  March 25, 2022
  5. Business Arising
    1. Board of Health Policies (N. Dupuis)
      1. Borrowing Policy (L. Gregg)
      2. User Fee Policy (L. Gregg)
  6. Consent Agenda
    1. INFORMATION REPORTS – None
    2. CORRESPONDENCE – None
  7. RESOLUTIONS/RECOMMENDATION REPORTS
    1. Registered Charity Status (N. Dupuis)
    2. 2021 Annual Audited Financial Statements (L. Gregg)
  8. New Business
    1. CEO Quarterly Report (April – June 2022) (N. Dupuis)
  9. Committee of the Whole (Closed Session in accordance with Section 239 of the Municipal Act)
  10. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, or August 11, 2022 – Via Video
  11. Adjournment
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TITLE

Borrowing Policy

DEPARTMENT

Finance

APPROVED BY

Chief Executive Officer

DATE OF ISSUE

2022/06/22

ISSUE BY

Director of Corporate Services

REVIEW/REVISE DATE:

 

Disclaimer: printed versions of this document may be out of date. Always refer to the Policies and Procedures Intranet site for the most current versions of documents in effect.

Preamble

In order to satisfy the operating or capital cash disbursement requirements, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) may, from time-to-time, be required to obtain external temporary financing.  The requirement to fund operating cash disbursements should be short-term, in that they do not exceed a period of six (6) months in any fiscal year.  The requirement to funding capital cash disbursements may exceed a period of one (1) fiscal year.

Policy

The WECHU may enter into borrowing transactions under the following circumstances:

  1. Borrowing money upon the credit (credit cards or corporate accounts, and line of credit) of the WECHU;
  2. Issue, sell or pledge debt obligations of the WECHU, including without limitation, bonds debentures, notes or other similar obligations of the WECHU whether secured or unsecured;
  3. Charge, mortgage, hypothecate or pledge as or any currently owned or subsequently acquired real or personal, movable or immovable property of the WECHU, including book debts, rights, powers, franchises and undertaking, to secure any such debt obligations or any money borrowed, or other debt or liability of the WECHU.

Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – The CEO shall be responsible for:

  • Approving all credit card and corporate account applications in advance of submission;
  • Submission of business cases in support of WECHU borrowing requirements to the Board of Health (Board);
  • Signing all Borrowing Agreements including renewals with financial institutions or other acceptable lending agencies, in conjunction with on of the Chair, Vice-Chair or Treasurer of the Board.

Director of Corporate Services – The Director of Corporate Services shall be responsible for:

  • Preparation of all credit card and corporate account applications for approval by the CEO.
  • Preparation of the business case in support of WECHU borrowing requirements to be presented to the Board;
  • Overseeing the repayment, reconciliation and reporting process on account of Borrowing;
  • Reporting to the Board on an annual basis the annual audited financial statements and all supplemental reporting on account of the WECHU’s borrowing transactions.

The Finance Department – The Finance Department shall be responsible for:

  • Processing, recording and reporting of all borrowing transactions throughout the course of the fiscal year.

Procedure

Borrowing:

Borrowings through a credit card or corporate account shall:

  • Be short-term in nature (typically 30 to 45 days);
  • Be on the WECHU corporate credit card;
  • Be on the WECHU corporate accounts, supported by a credit application approved by the CEO.

For other borrowings, the CEO, supported by the Director of Corporate Services, shall submit a business case in support of the WECHU’s borrowing requirements to the Board for approval.  The business case shall include:

  • The purpose of the borrowing including the strategic and operational objectives it supports;
  • The amount of borrowing and proposed timeframe;
  • The cost of borrowing;
  • The plan for repayment of borrowings over the proposed timeframe.

The CEO or their designate together with one of the Chair, Vice-Chair or Treasurer of the Board are authorized:

  • To borrow from a financial institution or other acceptable lending agency on behalf of the WECHU as required from time-to-time;
  • To sign all required Borrowing Agreements including renewals as required from time-to-time.

Repayment of Borrowing:

Borrowings on account of credit cards or corporate accounts shall be repaid in accordance with the credit card or corporate card payment terms.

For all other borrowings, balances shall be repaid in accordance with their applicable repayment schedules included in the Borrowing Agreement. Early repayment of borrowings, if permitted by the Borrowing Agreement, shall be proposed by the Director of Corporate Services to the Board for approval.

Reconciliation and Reporting on account of Borrowing:

The Finance Department shall be responsible for reconciling all borrowing transactions on a monthly basis.  Refer to the Cash Management Policy and Procedure for information regarding the reconciliation process.

Any borrowings on account of the line of credit by the WECHU of $100,000 and greater for a period extending beyond ten (10) business days, shall be reported to the Joint Board Extension Committee by the Director of Corporate Services.  This includes any relevant information regarding the nature of the borrowing.

As required by the terms of the applicable Borrowing Agreement, the Director of Corporate Services, shall report compliance with covenants included in Borrowing Agreements to the Board of Health (Board).

On an annual basis, the balances outstanding on account of borrowing transactions, shall be reported to the Board through the presentation of the annual audited financial statements.  For further details on the annual audited financial statements refer to the Financial Reporting Policy.  To supplement this reporting the Director of Corporate Services shall report:

  • The current (as at date of presentation) and projected borrowing levels.  The projection shall be for a one (1) year timeframe.
  • The amount of borrowings at a fixed and variable rate of interest.
  • The term of the borrowings.
  • Other information as determined appropriate.

Compliance

Failure to comply with this Policy and any associated Procedures may result in appropriate disciplinary measures.  Please see WECHU’s Discipline Policy.

Related Documents

Financial Reporting Policy

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TITLE

User Fee Policy

DEPARTMENT

Finance Department

APPROVED BY

Chief Executive Officer

DATE OF ISSUE

2022/06/29

ISSUE BY

Director of Corporate Services

REVIEW/REVISE DATE:

 

Disclaimer: printed versions of this document may be out of date. Always refer to the Policies and Procedures Intranet site for the most current versions of documents in effect.

Preamble

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is a publicly funded entity.  The WECHU is responsible for delivering programs and services in accordance with the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS).  If the WECHU determines, based upon the nature of the service being delivered, that a user fee is reasonable and appropriate, the WECHU must have policies and procedures providing guidance on the assessment of services for which a user fee could apply, and how the user fee should be established.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of the policy is to provide guidance on the establishment of user fees by the WECHU.  Such fees may be charged for services that exceed the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS), are not already funded by the Province of Ontario, the Federal Government, or other funding agency.   User fees should provide for either full or partial cost-recovery of the service.  Costs to be recovered through user fees include salaries, benefits, and material costs incurred to support the delivery of the service.

Roles and Responsibilities

Director and/or Manager:

  • Identify or assess whether a user fee shall apply to a service based upon the User Fee Policy;
  • Review the cost-recovery model;
  • Review the user fee with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Leadership Team (LT), if appropriate;

Manager

  • Identify service(s) that should be subject to a user fee in accordance with the User Fee Policy and discuss with their Director;
  • Compile the cost-recovery model and discuss with their Director;
  • Compilation of a Board Recommendation Report for review and approval.

Director of Corporate Services

  • Review of services subject to user fees to ensure that they are appropriate and in accordance with the User Fee Policy;
  • Review the User Fee Policy on a three (3) year basis or more frequently if determined appropriate, with approval required by the Board of Health.

Policy

The WECHU shall assess services delivered to determine if a user fee should be charged in accordance with the required procedure. In general, the assessment should consider whether the OPHS provides guidance on the application of a user fee to a service, and what benefit the service conveys to a specific individual, group or business (i.e. allowing an individual to earn income).  If appropriate, a user fee shall be charged to fully or partially recover the cost of providing that service.

The calculation of the user fee shall include reference to the time required to deliver the service, the role(s) required to deliver the service, and material(s) required to deliver the service.  On an annual basis, the calculation of the user fee shall be reviewed to ensure that it continues to be appropriate, in that it either fully or partially recovers the cost of providing the service.

The User Fee policy shall be reviewed by the WECHU on a three (3) year basis, or more frequently if appropriate, and approved by the Board of Health.

Procedure

A Director and/or Manager identifies a service provided to determine whether a user fee should be charged.  The assessment should include:

  • Determination whether the OPHS permits or prohibits a user fee for the service.
  • Review to ensure that the service is not funded by the Province of Ontario, Federal Government or other funding agency.
  • If permitted, and no other funding source is available, the Director and/or Manager would identify the benefit to be conveyed by the service and whether the user fee would be a barrier to the service.  The following should be considered:
    • Public service – Does the service provide benefit to the general public?  If so, would a user fee act as a barrier limiting the ability for the general public to access the service? 
    • Private Service – Does the service provide benefit to an individual, group or business?  If so, would a user fee act as a barrier limiting the ability for the individual, group, or business to access the service?
    • Mixed service – Does the service provide benefit to the general public and the private sector?  If so, would a user fee act as a barrier limiting the ability for the general public or specific individual, group or business to access the service.
  • In addition to the assessment above, the Director or Manager shall solicit feedback from other Public Health Units as to whether they are charging a user fee and if so, how much?
  • The Manager would compile a cost recovery model that considers the following:
    • The time required to perform the service in its entirety;
    • The salary and benefit costs incurred for the WECHU staff involved in the process;
    • The materials required to support the provision of services.

Once the cost recovery model is developed the Manager shall review with the Director and arrive at an appropriate user fee.  The proposed user fee can either be a full or partial cost recovery model. 

  • The Director shall discuss the assessment of the service, the proposed user fee and the communication plan with the impacted user groups, with the CEO and LT, if appropriate. 
  • The Manager shall compile a recommendation report in support of the user fee for review and approval by the Board.  The report shall include a summary of the assessment completed, the results of the survey with other Public Health Units, a summary of the proposed user fee and the communication plan with relevant user groups.

Compliance

Failure to comply with this Policy and any associated Procedures may result in appropriate disciplinary measures.  Please see WECHU’s Discipline Policy.

Related Documents

None

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Board Members Present:

Gary McNamara, Joe Bachetti, Tracey Bailey, Rino Bortolin, Fabio Costante, Mark Ferrari, Gary Kaschak, Robert Maich, Ed Sleiman

Board Member Regrets:

Aldo DiCarlo, Judy Lund

Administration Present:

Nicole Dupuis, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Lorie Gregg, Kristy McBeth, Eric Nadalin, Dan Sibley, Lee Anne Damphouse

Administration Regrets:              

Felicia Lawal

QUORUM: Confirmed

 

  1. Call to Order
    The Chair, G. McNamara called the Regular meeting to order at 4:08 pm.
  2. Agenda Approval
    Motion: That the agenda be approved.
    CARRIED
  3. Announcement of Conflict of interest – None
  4. COVID-19 Update (Dr. S. Nesathurai)
    Dr. Nesathurai provided a brief update on the status of COVID-19, noting that we are in period of increased disease activity, with increasing cases, higher percentage positivity, and outbreaks. Some have characterized this as the “7th wave” of COVID-19.  The reality is that we are going to have to live with COVID-19 and there will be periods of increased and decreased activity, which essentially means:

    • Regular vaccinations
    • Access to antiviral medications
    • Allocating the right hospital space and resources based on demand
    • Maintaining physical distancing and washing your hands regularly
    • Accepting risk with certain activities, i.e. indoor dining and large events/gatherings

    The Province has increased vaccination eligibility for individuals aged 18-59 for second boosters, i.e. the fourth COVID-19 vaccination, and we have approximately 100,000 people in our region who are eligible to receive their fourth shot.  Approximately 25,000 people in the 18-59 age group have not received any vaccine, and about 25,000 over the age of 60 have not received their fourth dose. Although 35% of individuals are up to date with their vaccinations, many received their last dose at least 6 months ago and there is the concern of weaning immunity.

    We are also experiencing a strain on health care resources, and there are things that each of us can do to mitigate this risk to the community, recognizing that we may see greater activity with COVID-19 come the fall. 

    Motion: That the information be received.
    CARRIED

  5. Approval of Minutes
    1. Regular Board Meeting:  June 16, 2022
    2. Audit Committee Meeting:  March 25, 2022
      Motion: That the minutes be approved. 
      CARRIED
  6. Business Arising
    1. Board of Health By-laws (N. Dupuis/L. Gregg)
      1. Borrowing Policy

        N. Dupuis said that the Borrowing Policy is being brought to the board for review. This is a new policy and will be brought back with other by-laws for approval.

        L. Gregg walked through the key aspects of the policy.  We have identified that the policy review period will be every 2-3 years, or more frequently if appropriate.  If any borrowings are required under the policy, those borrowings would be brought to the Board for approval and any changes would be according to best practices.

      2. User Fee Policy
        N. Dupuis said that the User Fee Policy is being brought to the board for review.  The policy will be brought back with other by-laws for approval.

        L. Gregg walked through the key aspects of the policy. We have identified that the policy review period will be every three years, or more frequently if appropriate.
        Motion: That the information be received.
        CARRIED

  7. Consent Agenda
    1. INFORMATION REPORTS - None
    2. CORRESPONDENCE – None 
  8. Resolutions/Recommendation Reports
    1. Registered Charity Status (N. Dupuis)
      N. Dupuis advised that the WECHU previously looked at the opportunity to achieve Registered Charitable Status.  Our legal counsel has reviewed this opportunity and there are a number of advantages for us to achieve this designation.  There are grants, donations and certain funding that we currently are not eligible to receive, however we would be if we achieved Registered Charitable Status. Potentially, obtaining this status would increase our financial reporting responsibility by having to file an Annual Registered Charity Information Return. 

      M. Ferrari asked if there are other health units who have achieved this status and if the WECHU could draw upon their experiences.  L. Gregg said that we do not know the exact number of health units who have achieved Registered Charitable Status, but that there are a number of them who have been able to take advantage of some significant cost savings, i.e. subscriptions for software licensing and property tax rebates.

      T. Bailey would like a report on how Registered Charitable Status is being handled by other health units with this designation. G. Kaschak asked if the WECHU did obtain Registered Charitable Status would this provide the ability for people to donate and would the WECHU provide tax receipts.  N. Dupuis said that asking the public for donations is not the WECHU’s intention of achieving Registered Charitable Status, but to take advantage of some significant savings.

      R. Maich supports this concept but noted there is a Canada Revenue Agency Income Tax Application Rule that notes Voting Members be paid, and to ensure that there are no tax implications.  N. Dupuis asked if the Board would like Administration to amend the proposed Motion.  R. Maich said that it would not be necessary to amend the Motion since the WECHU is still in the investigative stages, and would be happy to second it.
      Motion: That the Board of Health approve that WECHU Administration proceed with the process of investigating and applying for Registered Charity Status.
      CARRIED

    2. 2021 Annual Audited Financial Statements (L. Gregg)
      L. Gregg presented the annual Audited Financial Statements to the Board for approval for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit for the year ended December 31, 2021.

      L. Gregg presented the annual Audited Financial Statements to the Board for approval for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit programs funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for the year ended March 31, 2022.  L. Gregg highlighted the key elements for the Board.
      Motion: That the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health approve the Annual Audited Financial Statements of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the Annual Audited Financial Statements of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services Program Initiatives for the year ended March 31, 2022.
      CARRIED

  9. New Business

    1. CEO Quarterly Report (April 2022 – June 2022) (N. Dupuis) 
      N. Dupuis noted that the WECHU is still operating in emergency response mode and our operations have shifted to meet the needs of the organization. One item to note is an insurance claim for an item that was stolen from the health unit, and there were no other issues to report.
      Motion:    That the information be received. 
      CARRIED

  10. Committee of the Whole (CLOSED SESSION, in accordance with Section 239 of the Municipal Act)
    The Board moved into Committee of the Whole at 4:45 pm
    The Board moved out of Committee of the Whole at 5:58 pm
  11. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, Thursday, August 11, 2022 – Via Video
  12. Adjournment
    Motion:  That the meeting be adjourned.   
    CARRIED

    The meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.

RECORDING SECRETARY: L. Damphouse

SUBMITTED BY: N. Dupuis

APPROVED BY: The Board of Health - August 11, 2022
 

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Board Members Present:

Tracey Bailey, Treasurer 

Board Member Regrets:

Robert Maich, Audit Committee Member

Administration Present:

Nicole Dupuis, Lorie Gregg, Amy Wolters, Lee Anne Damphouse

Guests:

Cynthia Swift, Partner, KPMG LLP

QUORUM: Confirmed

 

Call to Order
Board Treasurer, Tracey Bailey, called the Audit Committee meeting to order at 2:00 pm.

  1. Agenda Approval
    Motion: That the agenda be approved.
    CARRIED

  2. Announcement of Conflict of interest – None

  3. Approval of Minutes

    1. Audit Committee Meeting:  July 15, 2021
      Motion: That the minutes be approved.  
      CARRIED

  4. Standing Items

    1. KPMG Audit Planning Report (C. Swift, Partner, KPMG LLP)
      C. Swift walked through the audit planning report, noting that there has been some financial impact on the Health Unit resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic.  She touched upon risks and the approach from an audit perspective, namely the review transactions, and journal entries to ensure that management cannot manipulate. In addition, she spoke about the approach to the audit of future employee benefits, and the requirements to review the actuarial report, and the underlying assumptions.  Lastly, she discussed the audit fees and reminded the Committee that they are based upon the fee proposal to the City of Windsor with a minor additional cost associated with work to be performed on account of management estimates. 
      Motion: That the information be received.
      CARRIED

  5. In-Camera Sessions

    1. In-camera Session with External Auditors
      L. Gregg noted that the Treasurer, T. Bailey, has the option to go into an in-camera session with the Auditor.  T. Bailey waived the option to go in-camera.
    2. In-camera Session with Management
      L. Gregg noted that Management has the option to go into an in-camera session with the Auditor. Management waived the option to go in-camera
  6. New Business - None

  7. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, or Thursday, June 16, 2022 @ 3:30 pm
    At the Audit Findings Committee meeting on June 16, 2022, draft Audited Financial Statements and a Recommendation Report with an Analytical Review will be provided to the Audit Committee for review. The Audit Committee will bring forward the Audited Financial Statements to the Board for approval in July 2022. 

  8. Adjournment
    Motion: That the meeting be adjourned.
    CARRIED
    The meeting adjourned at 2:08 pm.

RECORDING SECRETARY: L. Damphouse

SUBMITTED BY: N. Dupuis

APPROVED BY: WECHU Audit Committee - June 16, 2022
 

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