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2014 Snapshot of Public Health: Chapleau Area

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Introduction

The Sudbury & District Health Unit (SDHU) is proud to work in partnership with the Township of Chapleau. Chapleau’s engaged municipal leaders work hard to ensure residents and visitors experience the best that the region has to offer.

In the sections that follow, readers will find a brief overview of the Ontario public health system and its local arm, the SDHU. The 2014 Snapshot report includes highlights of public health activities in the Chapleau area during the 2014 calendar year. This snapshot of public health activities shines a light on the SDHU’s public health work that is done in collaboration with the public, community agencies, and municipalities. It is hoped that the contents are helpful in sharing the local public health story and in informing people about how their public health dollars are being spent to promote and protect the health of everyone.

Map of the Sudbury & District Health Unit service area

Public Health in Ontario

Public health works “upstream” to promote and protect health and prevent people from becoming sick. If we can imagine the health system as a continuum, the treatment services of hospitals would be at one end and public health would be at the other, working to keep people from needing hospitals and other health care services in the first place.

As with fire, police, and education services, public health is a “public good”: publicly funded and always there for us. Public health works behind the scenes to promote our health (e.g. helping municipal councils make bylaws for healthier food options in recreational centres) and front and centre to protect our health (e.g. issuing boil water advisories when drinking water is unsafe).

In Ontario, there is a provincial network of 36 non-profit public health units, all responsible for delivering standard public health programs and services, and for upholding the public health law. About every 25¢ of local municipal funding for public health is matched by 75¢ from provincial funding. The law specifies that municipal funding to public health is on a per capita basis.

The 36 health units, together with provincial ministries and agencies, and in partnership with primary care and laboratories, comprise the formal public health system of the province.

Your Local Public Health Unit—Our Structure

The SDHU is governed by an autonomous board of health. Sudbury & District Board of Health members are determined by legislation and the membership includes municipally elected representatives and citizen representatives from across the SDHU area. Chapleau is represented by one individual who has historically been a local mayor or councillor.

The Sudbury & District Health Unit works hard to meet the needs of the diverse population we serve and to meet our legislative requirements. To do this, the SDHU is organized into five divisions each reporting to the Medical Officer of Health.

This image depicts a high livel organizational chart for the Sudbury & District Health Unit.

Did you know?
The SDHU employs a number of public health professionals to carry out its mission and public health mandated programs. These include, but are not limited to, a public health physician (Medical Officer of Health), public health nurses, public health inspectors, dental educators and hygienists, dietitians, and epidemiologists. We also employ a number of technical and support staff who assist in the operational functions of the organization and the work we do in the various communities throughout Chapleau.

Public Health Activities in Chapleau

The SDHU actively supports health in Chapleau by providing services to protect and to promote health. The following is a snapshot of these Chapleau public health activities that occurred in 2014. Together, they paint a picture of the variety and volume of local public health work.

Health Protection

The SDHU delivers a number of services designed to protect the health of its communities. These services include for example, immunizations, health hazard investigations, sexual health services, food safety, and safe water initiatives. The snapshots in the section below highlight the health protection services provided by the SDHU to Chapleau in 2014.

Did you know?
The work of public health involves a huge amount of collaboration and partnerships with many sectors and agencies within the community. These include but are not limited to individuals, families, community groups and seniors clubs, faith groups, organizations, health professionals, health centres, child care groups, businesses, social services, local municipal staff and council, school boards and their staff and administration, the police and fire, and provincial ministries.

Control of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control

Sexual Health Program

Dental Services

Food Safety

Health Hazards

Vector Borne Diseases, Rabies, and Lyme Disease

Drinking Water

Small Drinking Water Systems

Part 8 Land Control (under Ontario Building Code)

Recreational Water and Safe Water

Children’s Water Festival

Extreme Weather Alerts

Smoke-Free Ontario Act Enforcement

Did you know?

In order to meet the unique needs of the Chapleau area, the SDHU has aligned its highly skilled and trained staff to provide quality public health services. The SDHU has an office in Chapleau from which two public health nurses, one public health inspector, and one office assistant support Health Unit programming for the residents of the Chapleau area. Other services are provided to Chapleau where and when needed and include, for example, dental health services, and emergency preparedness and response.

Health Promotion

Public health also plays a key role in the promotion of health and prevention of chronic diseases and injuries. We do this through the delivery of a number of health promotion programs and services including healthy eating and healthy weights, falls prevention, substance misuse and tobacco use prevention, and child and reproductive health. This section includes Chapleau statistical and narrative information about a broad range of health promotion programs provided in 2014 by the SDHU. Many of these programs are delivered in collaboration with important partners such as other service agencies, community groups, schools, and municipalities.

Tobacco Use Prevention

In May 2014, the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board (DSB) passed a Smoke-Free Housing policy, which came into effect in January 2015. The SDHU provided support for the implementation of the policy by delivering education and information sessions to residents of eight DSB housing units in the Chapleau area. The presentations provided residents with smoking cessation resources and information on local support for quitting smoking. Additional tobacco use prevention and cessation efforts for Chapleau residents include the distribution of information and the implementation of campaigns targeted to students and young adults (e.g. wouldurather . . ., Leave the Pack Behind) and to adults (e.g. Driven to Quit). In addition, Chapleau residents were given the opportunity to participate in a Stop on the Road workshop. This program, implemented in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), provides cessation education and access to free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The SDHU arranged for one-on-one cessation counselling via the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN), and established a partnership with a local Chapleau pharmacy to accept SDHU-issued NRT vouchers for individuals who were not clients of the local family health team.

In the spring and summer, the SDHU worked in partnership with the municipality’s Recreation Director to support and promote tobacco-free recreation by developing and providing the funding for tobacco-free recreation signage for the local arena, one large billboard was placed in the arena lobby and five smaller signs were placed in each dressing room. The arena is a well used establishment in the community, thus providing an ideal location to promote this important message.

School Health

The SDHU has active partnerships with five local elementary and secondary schools. These partnerships are supported through consultations with teachers and principals and the provision of resources on topics such as nutrition, sexual health, and resiliency. In addition, classroom chats continued to be offered, upon request, to all Chapleau schools as this was an identified need in the community. Classroom chats covered topics such as sexually transmitted infections (STI), contraception, and growth and development. Through these chats, the SDHUs sexual health services were promoted, thereby increasing the accessibility of low-cost contraception and STI testing for teens in the Chapleau area.

April 2014 marked the start of the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program in four schools in Chapleau. In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, the SDHU coordinated the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program to increase elementary student access to vegetables and fruit. As part of the program, the participating schools received fresh vegetables and fruit each week from April to June 2014.

Early Detection of Cancer/Exposure to Ultra Violet Radiation

Through the distribution of resources, including the Sun Safety and Hot Weather Practices Policy Toolkit, the SDHU promoted the importance of creating and implementing sun safe policies at the local daycares and throughout the community. Individuals were also informed of the potential harms associated with artificial tanning through the No tan is worth dying for campaign while local golf courses displayed posters that promoted sun safe behaviours during the summer months. Members of the community were also informed of the importance of cancer screening through the dissemination of promotional materials.

Prevention of Substance Misuse

Efforts to increase awareness about injury and illness related to alcohol and drug use for the Chapleau area included the distribution and promotion of campaigns and resources such as Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines and the Medication Clean Out Campaign to a number of local agencies, including schools, seniors groups, and the local Family Heath Team. The SDHU has also supported the community’s annual Sobriety Walk which is coordinated through the Chapleau elementary and secondary schools every November during Drug Awareness Week. This event enables local partners to collaboratively promote substance misuse messaging through the distribution of resources, presentation of displays and facilitation of activities such as drug use and misuse sessions by the OPP.

Injury Prevention

In an effort to reduce injury, the SDHU offered two car seat inspection clinics in addition to those inspections scheduled by appointment. The sessions were held in partnership with the local Best Start Hub. The SDHU encouraged safer walking environments for older adults by promoting the Adult Walking Club, which is held at a local school during the winter months. Falls prevention presentations were also given to local seniors’ groups in both English and French and information was provided to reduce the incidence of falls. Additionally, the SDHU continued to support the Home Support Exercise Program facilitated through the local hospital and continued to promote the STAND UP! program training to community partners. Finally, the SDHU partnered with the Best Start Hub and the OPP for the annual Bicycle Rodeo, which was held in conjunction with an open house organized by the local Network of Service Providers committee in June 2014.  During this event SDHU provided information on safe biking, rules of the road, and the proper use of helmets to approximately 50 children and adults.

Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Healthy Weights

Throughout 2014, a local SDHU public health nurse participated on the Municipal Leisure & Culture Services Committee (LCSC) in Chapleau. Through this connection, the SDHU worked with partners to promote the benefits of physical activity, access to recreation, healthy eating, and sun safety. As a member of the LCSC, the SDHU supported professional development opportunities for committee members, helped to plan and implement municipal events, and advocated for increased access to affordable recreation in the community. With support from the Healthy Communities Fund Partnership Stream, the SDHU provided the Chapleau Recreation Director, the municipal representative on the LCSC, with the opportunity to attend the Northeastern Ontario Recreation Association (NeORA) Education Forum and Trade Show in September 2014. The SDHU public health nurse also supported the committee’s proposal for the development of an outdoor skate park in Chapleau, providing an opportunity for children and youth to access recreation at no cost. In February 2014, during the LCSC’s annual Winter Carnival weekend, the SDHU offered a free Skate Exchange Program, at which a total of 22 pairs of skates were distributed to children and adults in the community at no cost.

Efforts to promote healthy eating included the promotion of various campaigns and the distribution of resources to service providers such as Aboriginal Peoples Alliance Northern Ontario, daycare centres, Best Start Hubs, registered dietitian and physicians’ offices. In conjunction with the Child Care Centre in Chapleau, a SDHU public health dietitian and a public health nurse helped to organize a NutriSTEP® community screening event for service providers and members of the public. A screening session was then offered at the local Best Start Hub and both local daycares. The SDHU public health dietitian, public health nurses, the Chapleau registered dietitian and the local Family Health Team also collaborated to discuss the implementation of a NutriSTEP® screening partnership in the community. The Chapleau and District Family Health Team agreed to incorporate this screening tool into their practice, with implementation beginning in 2015.

On three occasions, the SDHU, through Diabetes Prevention Program funding, arranged for Bring Back the Tradition of Healthy Living print advertisements in the Chapleau Express. The campaign targeted the prevention of type 2 diabetes among Indigenous adults with a focus on eating well, being active, and drinking water.

Family Health

The SDHU continues to support the implementation of the Triple P program in the community through the provision of tip sheets for parents and through referrals to local Triple P practitioners. The SDHU offered two in-person prenatal classes in addition to a new course available online. In April 2014, six students from a parenting class at a local high school participated in a mini prenatal and breastfeeding class hosted by the SDHU. Videos and resources on other parenting topics were provided to the high school teacher for further information. To inform the community of educational materials related to pregnancy and breastfeeding, prenatal packages and breastfeeding, resources were provided to local physicians and service providers such as the Best Start Hub, Aboriginal Peoples Alliance Northern Ontario, Children’s Aid Society and infant development. A partnership was also established with the Chapleau and District Family Health Team (FHT) to offer a breastfeeding education session for prenatal clients enrolled with the FHT practice. A total of 14 individuals attended this event in spring of 2014.

Summary

The Sudbury & District Health Unit is part of a provincial system of public health that works “upstream” to promote health and prevent disease. Locally, the SDHU provides a broad range of programs and services in collaboration with local community partners and community members throughout the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and in Greater Sudbury.

This snapshot of public health was developed in order to provide a picture of SDHU activities in Chapleau during the 2014 calendar year for Chapleau municipal leaders and citizens. The variety and volume of programming to meet local needs is impressive.

The Sudbury & District Health Unit is grateful to the leadership of the Township of Chapleau, for their keen interest in public health in their community.

Sudbury & District Health Unit staff are passionate about their work and eager to work with partners to support health and ensure opportunities for health for all throughout Chapleau and beyond!

Did you know?
Public Health staff can be reached at any time from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday through the main office for routine business, and are available 24/7 for after-hours emergencies at 705.688.4366.

This item was last modified on April 30, 2024