2007 Annual Report - Windsor Essex County Health Unit

Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
ANNUAL REPORT
2007
Photo of Point Pelee © Parks Canada/B. Morin - 2003

THE BOARD
Gary
McNamara
County
Appointee
Chair
Tom Bain
County
Appointee
Vice Chair
Bill Allison
City Appointee
(Non-Council)
Treasurer
Bill Allsop
Provincial
Appointee
Lorraine
Hodgson
Provincial
Appointee
Wayne Hurst
County
Appointee
Mike
Holdsworth
City Appointee
(Non-Council)
Ken Lewenza
City Appointee
Rosemary
Limarzi
Provincial
Appointee
Bill Marra
City Appointee
Ron
McDermott
County
Appointee
Rob
Modestino
Provincial
Appointee
Lynda Monik
Provincial
Appointee
BOARD OF DIRECTORS - RESOLUTIONS 2007
Resolution Date Passed
Endorsement of the Private Member’s Bill to Amend the Smoke-Free
Ontario Act to Ban Smoking in Cars Containing Children.
(Recommendation to Ministry) to expand the Human Papillomavirus
Immunization Program to all women between the ages of 9 to 25.
Request for Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to continue
to financially support the West Nile Virus (WNV) Control and
Surveillance Program.
Employer support for the Canadian Forces Reserve Force.
WNV services of GDG be employed and approval of $416 000 budget.
Approval of the 2007 Health Unit budget for $13 687 557.
Adoption of the “Common Approaches for Farmers’ Markets
and Special Events” guidelines for implementation in the
inspection of food premises exempt from Food Premises
Regulation (O. Reg. 562/90).
December 20, 2007
October 18, 2007
October 18, 2007
April 19, 2007
April 19, 2007
April 19, 2007
February 8, 2007
1
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

T HE
MEDICAL OFFICER
OF HEALTH
Two thousand and seven saw significant
challenges and accomplishments for the Board
and staff of the Windsor-Essex County Health
Unit. On January 16, 2007, Minister of Health
Promotion, Mr. Jim Watson, visited the Health
Unit to formally present the Board and staff
of the Health Unit with the Heather Crowe
award to recognize the Health Unit’s efforts in
smoking cessation and tobacco control. This
award marks many years of hard work and
dedication to the reduction in the use of and
exposure to tobacco in Windsor-Essex.
Throughout the year staff worked with
the Ministry as part of the consultation
process for the mandatory programs review.
In February 2007, the Ministry of Health and
Long Term Care produced the first draft of
the Ontario Public Health Standards document
which includes standards for Chronic
Disease and Injury Prevention, Family Health,
Infectious Disease, Environmental Health, and
Emergency Preparedness. The focus is on
evidence informed public health planning and
performance. The standards will be supported
by a set of protocols and guidance documents
which will outline in detail the requirement
of the proposed Standards.
Dr. G. Allen Heimann
The Health Unit hosted the 2007 Annual
Association of Public Health Agencies’
Conference. A highlight of the conference
was a presentation of personal reflections
by Dr. Sheela Basrur, the former Chief
Medical Officer of Health of the Province
of Ontario.
Staff continue to support education
programs for nurses and public health
inspectors in 2007. Twenty four Public
Health Nurses provided preceptorships
to fourth year nursing students from the
University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing
and two Public Health Inspectors
participated in training of student Public
Health Inspectors.
I continued to participate in the work of
the Great Lakes Border Health Initiative
which is supported by the United States
Center for Disease Control. Their primary
goal is to increase surveillance among public
health organizations of the Great Lakes on
both sides of the International border.
These activities represent a few
highlights of the extensive work and
accomplishments of 2007. I would like
to thank the management team and the
entire staff for all of their dedication
andsupport throughout the year.
2

HBHC
HEALTHY BABIES
HEALTHY CHILDREN
Healthy Babies Healthy Children
Reaches out to Physicians in 2007
The Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC)
program reinforced an ongoing commitment
to ensure that every child (prenatal to
six years) in Ontario is provided with
opportunities to achieve his or her optimal
potential through access to integrated
programs and services that support healthy
child development.
Families need easy access to screening and
monitoring for healthy child development
throughout their children’s early years. One
way to achieve this is to obtain the support
of primary health care providers in the
ongoing monitoring of child development
through universal prenatal screening and
an enhanced 18 month immunization and
well baby visits.
3
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

Physician Outreach Project
In July 2007, the Physician Outreach Project
was incorporated into the vulnerable families
funding and continued to grow throughout
the year.
Currently, there are ten obstetricians, one
midwife, four paediatricians, and nine family
physicians involved in the prenatal and
18 month developmental screening. Physicians
appreciate the face-to-face public health nurse
contact and state they were unaware of the
services the health unit and HBHC have to
offer in the community.
Most importantly, the physicians are
referring to HBHC and wish to continue the
relationship. Evaluation results identified that
prenatal and early identification referrals have
increased. As well, local physicians are coming
forward and asking to participate in this
exciting initiative!
HBHC Celebrates!
HBHC staff began preparations for the
10th anniversary celebration in early 2007.
The festivities will be held on May 29, 2008,
at our Windsor office and on May 30, 2008,
at our Leamington office.
PROGRAM STATS
Annual live births
4 419
Families screened with the
Parkyn Postpartum tool
4 373
Families who received a postpartum
contact from a PHN
4 292
Families contacted within 48 hours
of hospital discharge
3 865
Number of families with children
6 weeks to 6 years referred to
the HBHC program
317
Number of women screened
using a Larson
1 743
HBHC
4

COMPREHENSIVE
SCHOOL HEALTH
Are you juiced?...
Youth and Steroids Pilot Project
Implementation of the Youth and Steroids
Pilot Project took place in the spring and fall
of 2007. The goal of the campaign was to raise
awareness among youth athletes, coaches, and
parents about the issue of anabolic steroid
use. Posters, a Coach’s Booklet, Student
Wallet Card, and Parent Pamphlet were
developed. School educators and coaches
from 12 secondary schools received the
resources including 665 student wallet cards.
A workshop for school coaches and educators
was presented at the request of the Windsor
Essex County Secondary Schools Athletic
Association. The 50 participants received
information about anabolic steroids and
supplements, prevention strategies, and
resource information.
PROGRAM STATS
Number of Public Schools that the Sexual
Health Elementary School program was
presented to
14
Number of teachers who attended teacher
Workshops (Elementary School Sexual
Health program)
32
Number of Parenting Workshops hosted
(Bullying, Stress)
3 with 52 parents who attended
Number of Where’s the Shade?
brochures distributed
625
Number of schools who participated in the
Where’s the Shade intiative
40
Number of Sun Safety Booklets titled
Over-Exposed that were distributed
7 350
Number of schools who’s Grade 3 and
Grade 6 students participated in the
Turn off the Screen campaign
45
Number of high schools who were
provided with the Quit 4 Life smoking
cessation program
5
5
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

Mamba Challenge
In December 2007, 113 Grade 1 classes from
72 English and French schools across Windsor
and Essex County (over 69% participation rate)
moved to the beat as part of the Mamba
Challenge. The Mamba Challenge encourages
children to become more active during
their school day. It is sponsored by the
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit and Health
Action Windsor-Essex. Six area schools won
gift certificates for sporting equipment in a
random draw of participating schools.
Eat Smart
The Eat Smart! Award of Excellence was
presented to three new high schools in
2007; Leamington District High School,
Assumption High School (Windsor), and
St. Anne High School (Tecumseh). Currently,
56% of the high schools in Windsor-Essex
County participate in the Eat Smart! Program.
A
CHALLENGE
YOUTH ACTION ALLIANCE
Knot In My Life had a successful first year
organizing and attending many events. The
Peer Leaders organized an Unmasking the
Tobacco Industry event which highlighted
the deceptive tactics of the tobacco industry.
They also posted love letters in their high
schools on Valentines Day with a message
written with a twist from the perspective of
the tobacco industry.
In March, they celebrated Kick Butts Day
by inviting students to share their opinions
regarding the impact of smoking on their
lives. They also had a display at Devonshire
Mall, and preformed a Drop Dead
event representing lives lost due to the
tobacco industry.
YAA
6

CLINIC
CLINIC
The sexual health clinic sees people for
testing of sexually transmitted infections,
treatment, and follow up. Birth control is
sold at cost, and a physician will see women
wanting to start birth control and follow-up
with them for their annual assessments.
In 2007, the sexual health clinic implemented
the offering of the Gardasil vaccine for HPV.
Clients would see the physician first for an
assessment and then a nurse administered
the vaccine. This is a series for three vaccines
in a six month period.
PROGRAM STATS
For 2007 Clinical Services
Total Clinic visits
4 708
Pap Tests
642
HIV tests (non-nominal)
781
Physician visits
1 468
For 2007 Travel Services
First assessment’s
1 532
Client visits
3 060
Yellow Fever Certificates
600
Community follow-up for STIs continues with
nurses following up in the community on
reported cases of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea,
Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV. The
STI hotline receives calls from the community,
clients, and physicians on issues related to
education and treatment of STIs.
Travel Clinic
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
is the only designated Yellow Fever provider
in Windsor-Essex County. Yellow Fever
certificates have increased this year as more
people are travelling and are required to have
the vaccine for entry into certain countries.
Calls to the clinic for travel counselling have
increased due to awareness of travel related
disease and illness.
Vaccines include:
• Yellow Fever
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Typhoid
• Meningitis
• Japanese Encephalitis
• Rabies
7
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

NURSE PRACTITIONER
Ms. Julie German, R.N. (EC) is a Primary
Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHCNP) with
the Prenatal/Postnatal Nurse Practitioner Clinic
at the Health Unit. She provides care to women
who don’t have a family doctor, are planning
a pregnancy, are pregnant, or after they have
a baby. She also offers care to families with
young children under the age of six.
PROGRAM STATS
Total Visits
1587
Visits to clients without a family doctor
1554
New clients
270
Referrals to other services
745
GENETICS
Our satellite genetics program from
Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario saw
a total of 435 separate cases in 2007. This
included 156 prenatal referrals dealt with
exclusively by Michele Jardine, Public Health
Nurse for the Genetics program. We hosted
24 clinic days with the two genetic
paediatricians from London. Over 82% were
new paediatric referrals to these clinics. This
was also an opportunity for local medical
students to gain needed genetics experience.
We are one of five other health units that
participate in the satellite program, which is
designed to save families the time and
expense of distance travel.
GENETICS
8

REPRO
C
HEALTH
My Healthy Pregnancy
Calendar
CHILD HEALTH AND
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
The Child Health and Reproductive Health
teams provide programs related to health
before pregnancy, during pregnancy,
breastfeeding, parenting, and children’s
growth and development (birth to six years).
The teams serve the community by providing
resources, consultations, classes, workshops,
and population-based campaigns. The target
population includes parents, caregivers, child
care providers, social service providers, and
health care providers.
In 2007, the child health team continued its
focus on the prevention of childhood obesity.
One highlight was the completion of the
booklet, Starting Early: Keeping Your
Preschooler at a Healthy Weight that
provides information on healthy eating and
active living with a focus on the family.
During 2007, the Reproductive Health team
worked on the prevention of low birth weight.
Many resources were developed, including
the My Healthy Pregnancy Calendar that helps
women track their diet and healthy habits one
week at a time. Our calendar has been offered
free of charge across the country through a
maternal child list serve and we’ve received
over 100 inquiries to date. The Are You
Pregnant scratch card allowed women to test
their knowledge about preterm birth and
enter a draw to win a baby gift.
9
Obesity
Prevention
Booklet
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007
This department is also responsible for
answering the Intake line. Although it
provides information on a wide variety of
topics, the largest proportion of calls (18.1%)
relate to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding women
are encouraged to call the intake nurse for
help or to schedule an appointment at our
breastfeeding clinic. This clinic expanded
service to two clinics per week in 2007.

DENTAL
Five teams of registered dental hygienists and
dental assistants provided school screening
and clinical services through out Windsor and
Essex County.
In 2007, staff identified 1 899 children
with urgent dental problems. Parents were
notified and 1 338 children received C.I.N.O.T
(Children in Need of Treatment) claims which
allowed them to receive free treatment from
their own dentist and preventative services
from the Health Unit.
The C.I.N.O.T program is provided by the
Ministry of Health Promotion and is available
for children under 14 years old who require
urgent treatment, have financial need,
and don’t have other dental coverage.
PROGRAM STATS
Number of schools screened
130
Number of students screened in schools
25 462
Number of children screened in clinics
3 873
Number of cleanings and fluorides
completed in clinics (includes oral
hygiene instruction)
1 342
Number of children who
received sealants in clinics
216
C.I.N.O.T Pamphlet
10

WECHU hosts the
alPHa conference
The alPHa conference
program developed
by the Windsor-Essex
County Health Unit.
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
was privileged to host the 2007
Annual Meeting and Conference of
the Association of Local Public Health
Agencies (alPHa). Over 120 delegates
from 31 out of 36 health units
enjoyed our warm southern hospitality
at the Hilton. A special guest of honour
was Dr. Sheela Basrur, former Chief
Medical Officer of Health of Ontario.
She received an Honorary Membership
Award in recognition of her
dedication to Public Health prior to
her early retirement. Her parents and
sister joined in the festivities at the
dinner reception at the Art Gallery
of Windsor.
The group also heard many
presentations such as ones from
Ron Sapsford, Deputy Minister of
Ministry of Health and Long Term
Care, and Veronique Mandal, our
local media expert.
The Health Unit’s talented staff
contributed to the success of the two
day event. Jen St. Louis and the IRD team
developed the program and all the
promotional materials. Lise Legault and
Rosanne St. Denis warmly welcomed the
delegates at the registration desk. The
opening reception was made magical by
the gifted crooning of one of our own
staff, Fernando Bayuga who performed
a melody of favourite tunes, in addition
to providing videography support with
Radek Filas at the dinner reception.
Karen Lukic got the circulation going of
attendees during the physical activity
breaks. Board members who attended
were Tom Bain, Mike Holdsworth and Ron
McDermott. Bill Allison and Lynda Monik
joined the senior management team at the
awards dinner at the Art Gallery
of Windsor.
The event was deemed a resounding
success with the right mix of education
and networking in a great location,
by all those in attendance.
11
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007
12

PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTION
Safe Drinking Water Act
O. Reg 243 — In June of 2007, the
Government passed a regulation under the
Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 (O. Reg 243/07)
governing flushing and lead testing
requirements for schools, private schools,
and day nurseries. From the testing conducted
in 2007 we saw a total of 23 lead exceedances
reported (above the provincial standard of
10ug/l). All of these exceedances were
followed up by corrective action and
re-testing as recommended by the Health Unit.
PROGRAM STATS
City Animal Bite Investigations
438
County Animal Bite Investigations
250
Vaccines Issued
26 City / 8 County
Boil Water Advisories – Single Premises
52
Boil Water Advisories – Area Wide
4
O. Reg 170 — The initial round of community
lead testing required by the amended
Drinking Water Systems Regulation,
(O. Reg. 170/03) under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, 2002, began on December 15, 2007
(ends April 15, 2008). Participation in this
testing program is voluntary and the
number of sampling sites required by each
water authority is determined on a
population basis. No results under this testing
were received in the 2007 calendar year
but planning and consultation activities
commenced in December. Results expected
to begin in January 2008.
Hedgehog
We added the service request module to our
existing set of computerized programs which
allows us to track all of the complaints and
requests that come in through the Health
Inspection Intake line. Breakdown of these
service request types for 2007 is listed on the
next page. There were a total of 1145 service
requests received in 2007 by the Health
Inspection Department.
13
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

Food Safety
Emergency Response May 25, 2007 — An
industrial fire in the heart of Windsor spread
a thick layer of smoke through an area with
more than 20 food premises. In the face of a
toxic plume of undetermined content all
food premises were ordered closed. Some
facilities were without electricity for more
than 12 hours. When it was safe, the
inspection team evaluated each food premise
and corrective action was ordered.
Summer Festivals — In Windsor-Essex
County the Health Inspectors were very
busy with weekly fairs and festivals from
May to October.
West Nile Virus 2007 Results Summary
Positive Combined Surveillance Data
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Bird Surveillance
Total 6 11 11 12 5 4
Mosquito Pool Surveillance
Total 80 5 7 30 14 13
Human Surveillance
Total 38 10 2 23 6 2
Food Safety Inspections — In 2007 we
inspected more than 2 400 food premises
in which 4 242 compliance inspections and
498 re-inspections were preformed to
ensure compliance with the Food Premises
regulations. In addition, 327 Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point Audits were conducted
along with the training of 555 individuals
in Food Safety.
Beach Testing
Over a period of 12 weeks the Inspection
Department tested 9 public beaches
throughout the city and county. More
than 500 samples were taken in order to
determine beach quality for this year. We had
52 postings advising the public of adverse
water conditions and we ordered 2 beaches
closed due to extremely high bacterial counts.
PROGRAM STATS
General Topic Service Request
Food Safety
380
Health Hazards
282
Safe Water
101
Other
382
PHI
14

TB AND VACCINE
PREVENTABLE DISEASE
Tuberculosis Summary of the year
In 2007, the Tuberculosis team investigated
and monitored 10 residents with active
TB disease.
Citizenship and Immigration notified us of
73 individuals that may be at risk for
developing active TB. These individuals will
be monitored for up to five years after arrival.
The TB School Screening Program for
students new to Canada, saw record numbers
again this year. Over 2 340 clients were
seen, 878 were positive (37%) and 1 462 were
negative (62.48%).
PROGRAM STATS
Total number of vaccines provided
at Health Unit Clinics
2 430
Number of Grade 7 students who received
their first dose of the Hep B vaccination
3 239
Number of students immunized
at school for Menningitis C
4 826
Number of students who received
the HPV vaccination
1 260
The number of flu vaccines
administered by eight contract nurses
10 966
Total number of injections for the
vaccine program
22 721
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
On August 2, 2007, the provincial government
announced that the HPV vaccine, the first
cancer preventing vaccine, would be free for all
females in Grade 8. This program, like the
Hepatitis B program for Grade 7, is voluntary
and consists of three doses. HPV vaccine can
prevent certain types of Human Papillovirus
infections and genital warts. The Health Unit
provided education on HPV vaccine and the
virus for health care providers and parents.
Two parent information sessions were held
prior to the start of the school vaccination
clinics giving parents the opportunity to ask
questions and express their concerns.
Local School Boards supported the HPV
vaccine initiative, and only one private school
declined our services. In Windsor–Essex
County, 2 459 Grade 8 females were identified
as being eligible for the free vaccine. School
based clinics were held in November and
December for the first dose.
15
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

INFECTIOUS
DISEASE CONTROL
The outbreak team handles respiratory and
enteric outbreaks in the community. This
team was established by the Ministry of
Health and Long Term Care in response to
the SARS outbreak in Toronto. The goal of the
outbreak team is to assist the community in
the identification of outbreaks and to prevent
further spread into the community.
The team consists of three public health
inspectors and one nurse. The inspectors are
responsible for the inspection of long term
care facilities, lodging homes, retirement
homes, and daycares.
The communicable disease team follow-up
on all reportable diseases in Windsor-Essex
County. The outbreak and communicable
disease teams work together in the event that
one reportable disease case is linked to other
cases which define an outbreak. The team
provides educational sessions to daycares
and long term care facilities in the community
and assists in all aspects of outbreak
control. The outbreak reporting season ran
October 1, 2006, to September 30, 2007.
The Education and Evaluation Team
consists of a Graphic Designer, Health
Promotion Specialist, and a Program
Evaluation Specialist. This newly developed
team is responsible for updating fact
sheets, developing power point
presentations, educational material,
and program evaluation.
PROGRAM STATS
Number of respiratory outbreaks
in Windsor-Essex County
13
Number of individual cases of Influenza
34 - Influenza A
1 - Influenza B
Number of health care providers who
attended our Annual Infectious
Disease Conference
Over 200
Dollar amount of provincially
funded vaccines
$3 965 140.78
IDC
16

CHRONIC DISEASE
AND INJURY PREVENTION
Alcohol as a Risk Factor for
Chronic Disease
The Health Unit continues its work in
addressing alcohol as a risk factor for chronic
disease. Smoking, physical inactivity, and diet
are well documented risk factors for chronic
diseases. When it comes to alcohol, most
people understand that chronic alcohol overuse
can cause liver disease. However, over the
past several years, alcohol has been increasingly
identified as an important risk factor for
cardiovascular disease and
some cancers.
17
PROGRAM STATS
Number of calls to the Nutrition
Hotline handled by Health Unit Dietitians
216
Number of people who attended
nutrition presentations and supermarket tours
500
Individuals who attended Losing Weight
the Healthy Weight classes
132
Number of Windsor-Essex County
workplaces who received Workplace Health
Promotion Recognition Awards
19
Number of workplaces representing
more than 23 000 employees who
participated in the Working Toward Wellness
Workplace Wellness Program
42
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007
The World Health Organization reports that
alcohol is related to more than sixty diseases.
In developed countries such as Canada,
alcohol is identified as the third leading cause
of death.
In November of 2007, the Health Unit
helped form a community-based work group
to provide health and social service
providers with an awareness, education,
and skill-building workshop on an alcohol
and chronic disease initiative called Straight
Up, the Truth about Alcohol and Health.
The workshop was a huge success with 130
people from 31 agencies attending. Attendees
responded favourably to the workshop and
expressed a need for additional information
related to brief interventions as they relate to
alcohol use.
In a three month post-evaluation, 50% of
participants stated that they were speaking to
their clients more about alcohol risk, and 88%
would be interested in attending another work
shop on the topic. In response, the
work group has applied for additional funding
to advance this project in 2008.

Go For Health – A Call For Action
The Health Unit, along with Health Action
Windsor-Essex and the Cancer Prevention
Network, Erie St. Clair, developed a
community partnership to address the
unacceptably high rate of preventable
chronic disease in our community.
This partnership believes that creating
healthy and supportive physical and social
environments throughout our community
will go a long way to encouraging and
supporting our residents to reduce their
risk for chronic disease and improve their
overall health and well being.
In 2007, a comprehensive document entitled
A Call For Action – An Urgent Green Light
initiative for Community Health was
developed and disseminated. This document
calls on leaders and stakeholders from seven
sectors (i.e., government, business/workplace,
health, leisure and recreation, education, food
service, and media) to identify, develop,
implement, and monitor relevant policies in
their sector to promote and support healthy
living. Examples of relevant policy areas
include healthy meetings policies, alternate
transportation policies, land use development
policies, municipal alcohol policies, and
much more.
The Call For Action was formally launched
at a workshop on June 7, 2007. In total, 70
people representing all seven sectors
attended. Interest and support for
Go For Health was high.
On September 19, 2007, a
follow-up Community Forum was
held. At this forum, a facilitator
brought representatives from all
sectors up to speed on health
policies and how these policies
impact health.
Representatives from all sectors spent
the rest of the morning discussing
health promotion policies that could
be implemented in their sector both
in the short and long term.
The plan is for the Go For Health
community partnership to continue
its work with each of the sectors in
the coming year.
18

19
PROGRAM STATS
Total charges laid under the
Smoke Free Ontario Act in Windsor-Essex
102
Number of charges for selling to oa
person under the age of 19 Years
40
Number of display or permit
handling offences
14
Selling without Health Warning offences
9
Work place public place ash tray offences
39
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007
TOBACCO
In 2007, two locations were issued Automatic
Prohibitions based on multiple infractions
and convictions under the SFOA. The
Automatic Prohibition restricts vendors from
selling tobacco for a six month period.
Since the beginning of 2007, there were
405 calls to the Tobacco Hotline and all
complaints received are investigated by
an enforcement officer.
STOP Study Sessions
On March 7 and 8, 2007, in partnership with
the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health,
we offered a series of cessation sessions.
All participants were provided with a free
ten week supply of the Nicotine Replacement
Therapy of their choice.
Driven to Quit 2007
Final registration for the province-wide
contest was 27 272, surpassing the 25 000
goal. In Windsor-Essex, registration was 556,
the highest in the southwest region. Last
year’s winner was from the Windsor-Essex
County area.
Ministry of Finance Joint Visits
Four joint operations were conducted
between the Ministry of Finance and our
Tobacco team throughout 2007. These
inspections that reinforce compliance,
resulted in 18 charges and 14 notices
of violations.
Lunch & Learn Cessation Workshop
As part of our cessation strategy, we offer
cessation sessions to help the smoker
understand the process of quitting smoking.
Each session is 30 to 60 minutes in length
and provides smoking cessation literature
to all participants.

SUPPORT SERVICES
The Support Services team within the Health
Unit strives to support the approximately
200 staff located in Windsor, Essex and
Leamington. Two Systems Support Specialists
provide support in the Information
Technologies area. They put in place upgraded
servers and back-up battery equipment for
both computer and phone services within
the organization. Our Maintenance team
and Reception staff in both Windsor and
Leamington are always willing and able
to assist in any way possible. We are proud to
belong to an organization that strives to make
the community a healthier and better place
in which to live.
PROGRAM STATS
Information Technology
2006 2007
T
S C S
New Visitors to Website
80 000 140 000
Total New computers / thin clients
208 228
Total of Received Mail
1 000 000 1 260 000
Total of IT Related Service
Tickets Submitted Internally
1 417 1 514
TOBACCO
Total Facilities in Hedgehog
5 500 7 559
Increase in 2007 numbers is
due to new website launch.
20

INFORMATION RESOURCES
DEPARTMENT
The Information Resources Department or
IRD has undergone some structural changes
in 2007. It acquired two new Information
Coordinators, and although they are full IRD
team members, they are embedded in the
Family Health Team and the Comprehensive
School Health Team to be a direct support for
communication projects under the quality
assurance guidance of the entire IRD team.
PROGRAM STATS
Number of Express Forms completed in 2007
681
Number of Communication Reviews
completed in 2007
305
The New Website Layout
Website Launch
For over ten years, the Windsor-Essex County
Health Unit has been on the World Wide Web
at the address www.wechealthunit.org. During
this time period, we made many changes to
the design, layout, and technical features of
our website.
On May 1, 2007, we launched a new layout
and design with many extra and easy to use
features the best of which is a more robust
search engine. Our newest changes to the
website allow us to provide you with precise,
timely, and trusted information in a much
more user friendly and accessible way.
Visit us online and please provide us with any
feedback. We are always looking for new ways
to improve our website
21
WECHU ANNUAL REPORT 2007

2007 FUNDING
Cost Shared Budget
Ontario Ministry of Health $10 265 668
City of Windsor $1 882 925
County of Essex $1 536 468
Township of Pelee $2 496
Total $13 687 557
G
Funded by Ontario Government
HBHC (MCYS*) $2 727 896
Genetics (MHLTC*) $187 080
Heart Health (MHP*) $98 160
Nurse Practitioner $143 000
Infection Control (MHLTC) $341 513
West Nile Virus (MHLTC) $237 000
Smoke Free Ontario (MHP) $946 723
Total $4 681 372
*MCYS (Ministry of Children & Youth Services), *MHLTC (Ministry of Health & Long Term Care)
*MHP (Ministry of Health Promotion)
The dedicated staff of Finance and Payroll skillfully coordinated just under
20 million dollars of ins and outs for the Health Unit in 2007.
2007 MANAGEMENT TEAM
2007
MANAGEMENT
TEAM
Dr. G. Allen Heimann, Medical Officer of Health
Deb Bennett, Director of Health Protection
Liz Haugh, Director of Health Promotion
Sharon Kelly, Director of Finance and Administration
Shirley Davies, Manager of Healthy Babies Healthy Children
Nichole Geha, Manager of Clinical Services
Deb Gemmell, Support Services Officer
Beth Kinnaird-Iler, Manager of Healthy Babies Healthy Children
Sue Kocela, Manager of Child Health, Reproductive Health, and Dental Health
Line Lauzon, Manager of Infectious Diseases
Rob Lyons, Senior Manager of Health Inspection
Neil MacKenzie, Manager of Chronic Diseases and Injury Prevention
Theresa Marentette, Manager of Comprehensive School Health
Kristy McBeth, Manager of Health Inspection
Nancy Smith, Human Resources Officer
22

www.wechealthunit.org
Windsor Office
1005 Ouellette Avenue
Windsor, ON N9A 4J8
519-258-2146
fax: 519-258-6003
Windsor
Essex Office
360 Fairview Avenue West, Suite 215
Essex, ON N8M 3G4
519-776-5933
fax: 519-776-6102
Essex
Leamington Office
215 Talbot Street East
Leamington, ON N8H 3X5
519-326-5716
fax: 519-326-4642
Leamington