Distributed by e-mail August 8, 2014
This update provides information on the following:
- The Naloxone Program - update
- St. Joseph’s Health Care taking further steps to become smoke-free
- Upcoming CME course: What Physicians Can Do About Poverty in Practice
- Change in Tubersol availability
- Ebola virus disease (EVD) situation overseas
1. The Naloxone Program- update
In response to a growing number of opioid overdose deaths in this region, the Middlesex-London Health Unit, Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, London InterCommunity Health Centre and the London Area Network of Substance Users have partnered to develop The Naloxone Program. Community naloxone distribution programs have been key components of opioid overdose prevention in many communities worldwide, saving thousands of lives in the process. Through The Naloxone Program, those at risk of opioid overdose receive education regarding overdose risk factors, including the importance of calling 911 for all overdoses. Trainees are then provided with a pocket-sized overdose management kit. The training and naloxone kits are provided at the Middlesex-London Health Unit, Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, and the London InterCommunity Health Centre by certified staff, under medical directive.
At this time, naloxone kits will be provided only to clients who access support from the needle exchange or Hepatitis C Care Team programs. Please encourage clients to contact 519-434-1601 for training session dates and times.
2. St. Joseph’s Health Care taking further steps to become smoke-free
This month, St. Joseph's Health Care London will take its next steps in becoming a smoke-free organization. Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care will be smoke free as of August 1st, followed by Regional Mental Health Care London on August 18th. The last site to go smoke-free will be Parkwood Hospital on October 6th this year.
For Mount Hope this means there will no longer any designated smoking area (DSA) onsite and, as of August 1st no smoking will be permitted on hospital property, including the parking garage. The same applies for Regional Mental Health Care London as of August 18th.
3. Upcoming CME course: What Physicians Can Do About Poverty in Practice:
The aim of this CME module is to raise awareness among Canadian physicians that poverty poses a risk to the health of individual patients. This course will also provide physicians with practical interventions for their practice.
We know that individual health is influenced by a complex inter-play between different factors such as: human biology including genetic predispositions; the consequences of personal behaviors like smoking or a sedentary lifestyle; and access to, and the design of, the health care system. But health–both individual and collective– is also profoundly influenced by social factors. These factors lead to differences in health at the individual level as well. It is those individuals, in their role as patients, on which most physicians focus their attention.
Click here for more information, or to register.
4. Change in Tubersol availability:
In compliance with Ministry of Health and Long Term Care directives, the Middlesex-London Health Unit will provide provincially funded Tubersol to Health Care Providers under the following conditions only:
- To screen contacts of cases of active tuberculosis to assess for possible transmission;
- To screen immigrants who have been referred to Public Health for medical surveillance by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as well as all new refugees;
- To screen people for whom it is deemed medically necessary including those who are immunocompromised or undergoing treatment that would make them more susceptible to TB disease;
- To screen residents under the age of 65 years of age upon admission to Long Term Care Homes. Please note that Tubersol for tuberculin screening is not publicly funded for residents of retirement homes.
Health care providers have the option of purchasing Tubersol from another source. Sources for accessing Tubersol include local pharmacies or the manufacturer - Sanofi Pasteur at 1-888-621-1146, www.sanofipasteur.ca.
Please note that the Health Unit will continue to provide tb screening for individuals who do not meet the publicly funded criteria; the cost is $30.00 per step. Visit the Health Unit’s web site (http://healthunit.com/tb-skin-tests) or call 519-663-5317, extension 2330 for more information.
5. Ebola virus disease (EVD) situation overseas:
On August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Event of International Concern. A memo (PDF 133KB) from Dr. Graham Pollett, interim Chief Medical Officer of Health, indicates that the Ministry is working with all relevant partners to monitor the Ebola situation in Africa. Although no cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been contracted outside of Africa in the current epidemic, there have been over 1300 cases in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone - including 729 deaths. Here in Ontario, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is monitoring the situation closely and has taken measures to ensure the province’s health sector is prepared if a returning traveller from a country where EVD is circulating is suspected of having the disease.
Public Health Ontario’s Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) webpage page has been updated. Please refer to the links below for information on the clinical features of VHF and the collection of laboratory specimens:
International travel has always been associated with potential risks. These situations highlight the importance of routinely asking about travel and travel activities to obtain valuable information regarding potential exposures to infectious diseases.
Please be in touch with the Health Unit at 519-663-5317 ext. 2330 if there are any individuals with relevant symptoms and travel history, or if we can support your practice in any related way.