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February 19, 2013 - Minutes

Members Present

Mr. Marcel Meyer (Chair)
Mr. David Bolton
Mr. Al Edmondson
Ms. Trish Fulton
Mr. Stephen Orser
Mr. Ian Peer
Ms. Viola Poletes Montgomery
Ms. Nancy Poole
Mr. Mark Studenny

Regrets

Ms. Denise Brown (Vice Chair) and Ms. Sandy White

Others Present

Mr. Wally Adams, Director, Environmental Health and Chronic Disease Prevention Services
Ms. Marylou Albanese, Manager, Healthy Communities and Injury Prevention
Ms. Ally Balfe, Youth Create Healthy Communities Group
Ms. Barbara Balfe
Ms. Diane Bewick, Director, Family Health Services
Mr. Graham Cartwright, Youth Create Healthy Communities Group
Ms. Chris Callaghan, Public Health Dietitian
Ms. Michelle Cowin, Public Health Nurse
Ms. Penny Farmer
Mr. Dan Flaherty, Manager, Communications
Mr. Mark Hunt
Mr. Iqbal Kalsi, Manager, Environmental Health
Ms. Kim Leacy, Public Health Dietitian
Ms. Bernadette McCall, Public Health Nurse
Mr. John Millson, Director, Finance and Operations
Ms. Chris Preece, Manager, Young Adult Team
Ms. Sherri Sanders, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health (Recorder)
Mr. Rick Shantz, Director, Information Technology
Ms. Kristen Turner, Youth Create Healthy Communities Group
Ms. Louise Tyler, Director, Human Resources and Labour Relations Services
Mr. Alex Tyml, Online Communications Coordinator
Dr. Bryna Warshawsky, Acting Medical Officer of Health & CEO and Director, Oral Health, Communicable Disease & Sexual Health Services

Media Outlets

Mr. Craig Gilbert - London Community News

Chair Marcel Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Disclosures of Conflict(s) of Interest

Chair Meyer inquired if there were any disclosures of conflict of interest to be declared. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

Chair Meyer asked that two items be added to the agenda.

  1. Motion under Business Arising re appointment of new Medical Officer of Health
  2. In Camera session added to the agenda

It was moved by Mr. Orser, seconded by Mr. Edmondson that “Under Business Arising” the Board of Health make a motion in public session concerning the recommended appointment of Dr. Chris Mackie as Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer. Carried

It was moved by Ms. Poole, seconded by Mr. Bolton that the Board of Health will move in camera at the end of the agenda to consider matters concerning personal matters about an identifiable individual, including Board employees. Carried

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Mr. Orser that the Agenda for the February 19, 2013 Board of Health meeting be approved with the addition of the two items approved by the Board. Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Bolton that the Board of Health minutes for the following meetings be approved:

  1. January 17, 2013
  2. January 22, 2013
  3. January 31, 2013

Carried

It was moved by Mr. Bolton, seconded by Mr. Edmondson that the Confidential Board of Health minutes for the following in camera sessions be approved:

  1. January 17, 2013
  2. January 31, 2013

Carried

Business Arising from Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Orser that the Board of Health approve the Medical Officer of Health Search Committee’s recommendation to appoint Dr. Christopher Mackie to the position of Medical Officer of Health & Chief Executive Officer for Middlesex-London Health Unit. Carried

Reports

1) Report No. 015-13 re “Student Bus Pass Advocacy Initiative”

Ms. Diane Bewick, Director, Family Health Services, introduced Ms. Christine Preece, Manager, Young Adult Team, and Ms. Michelle Cowin, Public Health Nurse. Ms. Preece introduced Ms. Ally Balfe, Ms. Kristen Turner and Mr. Graham Cartwright, three secondary school students and members of the Youth Create Healthy Communities Group, and acknowledged the other members of the Youth Create Healthy Communities Group in attendance in the gallery. Ms. Balfe, Ms. Turner and Mr. Cartwright assisted Board members with their understanding of this report using a PowerPoint presentation.

It was moved by Mr. Bolton, seconded by Mr. Edmondson that Report No. 015-13 re “Student Bus Pass Advocacy Initiative” be endorsed by the Board of Health and forwarded to the London Transit Commission and London City Council. Carried

Board members requested that Family Health Services staff members provide an update on the status of the Student Bus Pass Advocacy Initiative at the June 2013 Board of Health meeting.

2) Report No. 016-13 re “Healthy Communities Partnership Middlesex-London Update”

Mr. Wally Adams, Director, Environmental Health and Chronic Disease Prevention Services, introduced Ms. Marylou Albanese, Manager, Health Communities and Injury Prevention, and Ms. Bernadette McCall, Public Health Nurse. Ms. Albanese and Ms. McCall assisted Board members with their understanding of this report using a PowerPoint presentation.

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Mr. Orser that the Board of Health endorse the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Healthy Communities Fund – Partnership Stream funding agreement attached as Appendix A to Report No. 016-13 re “Healthy Communities Partnership Middlesex-London Update”. Carried

3) Report No. 017-13 re “Overview of Information Technology Services”

Mr. Rick Shantz, Director, Information Technology Services, assisted Board members with their understanding of this report using a PowerPoint presentation. This report is intended to assist Board member in preparation for their deliberations regarding the interim report of the Shared Services Review by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It was moved by Mr. Edmondson, seconded by Mr. Studenny that Report No. 017-13 re “Overview of Information Technology Services” be received for information. Carried

4) Report No. 018-13 re “Mandate, Authority and Scope of the Board of Health”

Dr. Bryna Warshawsky assisted Board members with their understanding of this report using a PowerPoint presentation. Dr. Warshawsky explained that this report is in response to a request by Board members at the January 17, 2013 Board meeting as follows:

“It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Ms. White that the Board receive a presentation at a future meeting re the Board of Health’s mandate, scope and authority”.

It was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Bolton that Report 018-13 re “Mandate, Authority and Scope of the Board of Health” be received for information. Carried

5) Report No. 019-13 re “Finance and Property Committee – Draft Terms of Reference”

Mr. John Millson, Director, Finance and Operations, assisted Board members with their understanding of this report using a PowerPoint presentation.

In response to a question about if other Boards of Health have Property and Finance Committees, Mr. Millson reported that he polled other health units with autonomous boards and received approximately 12 responses. Of the 12, only one reported having a committee related to Finance and Property. Mr. Millson reported that he was meeting with representatives from Thames Valley Children Centre on February 20th to discuss that organization’s Finance and Property committee.

Discussion / questions ensued about the following:

  1. How is this committee related to and impacted by the PricewaterhouseCoopers review? It was discussed that this committee will focus on governance issues whereas the PricewaterhouseCoopers review is looking for operational efficiencies.
  2. At what level of detail should this committee operate with regard to budget information?
  3. Should the Board consider having a Property committee in the future that is separate from the Finance committee?
  4. It may be challenging for Board members to prepare for the extra commitment of a standing committee.
  5. Whether the draft Terms of Reference captures the true relationship between the standing committee and the full Board. It was suggested that the Finance and Property Committee should make recommendations to the whole Board and not just report to the Board.
  6. The size of the committee is important so that the committee cannot make the decision for the whole Board.
  7. The benefit of a Finance and Property Committee was discussed as being a committee made up of Board members with the same accountability as the Board; the Committee could look at the budget in more detail to ensure that all Board members feel more comfortable with finance-related matters.

Chair Meyer turned the Chair over to Past Chair, Ms. Poletes Montgomery, so that he could address the issue.

It was moved by Ms. Poole, seconded by Mr. Orser that Report No. 019-13 re “Finance and Property Committee – Draft Terms of Reference” be tabled until the new Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer begins his employment. Carried

6) Report No. 020-13 re “Healthy Living Champions Awards for 2011-2012”

It was moved by Mr. Bolton, seconded by Mr. Peer that Report No. 020-13 re “Healthy Living Champions Awards for 2011-2012” be forwarded to the Thames Valley District School Board, the London and District Catholic School Board, the Conseil scolaire de district des ecoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest, the Conseil scolaire Viamonde and participating private schools. Carried

7) Report No. 021-13 re “Bill C-460: the Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada Act”

Ms. Bewick introduced Ms. Chris Callaghan and Ms. Kim Leacy, Registered Dietitians, to assist Board members with their understanding of this report.

It was moved by Mr. Edmondson, seconded by Mr. Orser:

  1. That the Board of Health endorse Bill C-460: The Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada Act; and further
  2. That the Board of Health send a letter of support for Bill C-460 to the Prime Minster of Canada; the Federal Minister of Health; local Members of Parliament; the Chief Public Health Officer at the Public Health Agency of Canada; the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario; the Ontario Public Health Association; the Association of Local Public Health Agencies; the Southwest Local Health Integration Networks; and the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Carried

8) Report No. 022-13 re “Vector Borne Disease Program - Request for Proposal”

Mr. John Millson and Mr. Iqbal Kalsi, Manager, Environmental Health, assisted Board members with their understanding of this report.

Mr. Edmondson reported that there had been a discussion at the recent Association of Local Public Health Agencies Symposium comparing West Nile Virus to influenza. Dr. Warshawsky reported that 2012 saw seven reported human cases of West Nile Virus; however, only approximately 1% of cases are severe enough to be reported. She also stated that influenza results in more reported cases of illness.

In response to a question about the severity of the mosquito problem in Parkhill in 2012 versus 2011, Mr. Kalsi reported that mosquito control was dealt with much more aggressively in 2012. More details will be provided when the report entitled, “Vector-Borne Disease Report: West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Surveillance and Control Activities for 2012” is presented to the Board at a future Board of Health meeting.

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Mr. Orser:

  1. That Canadian Centre for Mosquito Management Inc. be awarded a two-year contract for West Nile Virus Larval Mosquito Surveillance & Control in the amount of $169,400 (before taxes) per year; and further
  2. That GDG Environnement be awarded a two-year contract for Mosquito Identification and West Nile Virus Viral Testing in the amount of $27,540 (before taxes) per year.

Carried

9) Report No. 023-13 re “Extension of Acting Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer”

It was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Edmondson that the Board of Health endorse the extension of Dr. Bryna Warshawsky’s appointment as Acting Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer of the Middlesex-London Health Unit until Dr. Chris Mackie’s tenure commences. Carried

10) Report No. 024-13 re “Overview of Five Provincial Initiatives”

It was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Studenny that Report No. 024-13 re “Overview of Five Provincial Initiatives” be received for information. Carried

11) Report No. 025-13 re “Second Annual Youth Empowerment Conference”

12) Report No. 026-13 re “Life-Threatening Allergies in Schools”

13) Report No. 027-13 re “Tops & Bottoms: Women’s Cancer Prevention and Screening Awareness”

14) Report No. 028-13 re “2012 Vendor Payments”

15) Report No. 029-13 re “2012 Board of Health Remuneration”

16) Report No. 030-13 re “Acting Medical Officer of Health Activity Report – January 10 to February 11, 2013”

It was moved by Mr. Orser, seconded by Mr. Bolton that Agenda Items #11 through #16 be received for information. Carried

Correspondence

There were no questions re correspondence.

In Camera

At 9:15 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Studenny, seconded by Mr. Peer that the Board of Health move in camera to consider personal matters about an identifiable individual, including Board employees. Carried

At 9:19 p.m., it was moved by Ms. Poletes Montgomery, seconded by Mr. Studenny that the Board of Health rise and report that the Board of Health endorses the reappointment request of Provincial Appointee, Ms. Nancy Poole, for an additional term. Carried

Other Business

Next scheduled Board of Health Meeting – Thursday, March 21, 2013 7:00 p.m.

Adjournment

At 9:20 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Mr. Orser that the meeting be adjourned. Carried

 

MARCEL MEYER
Chair

BRYNA WARSHAWSKY

Secretary-Treasurer

 
Date of creation: March 21, 2013
Last modified on: March 21, 2013