December 2010 - Association Update

Farewell greeting from Connie L. Uetrecht, Executive Director

After almost six very busy and challenging years at OPHA, I am stepping down as Executive Director (ED) of the association at the end of December. I have truly enjoyed this challenging position that I have served during a time of tremendous change in the public health landscape.

So, what have I accomplished in these years and what lies ahead for OPHA?.

The governance of the organization is now more effective than when I took the acting position of Executive Director during a period of crisis almost six years ago. During the initial years as ED, I assisted the Board in implementing plans to reshape OPHA following its Governance Review. This involved the formation of new by-laws, Board policies and procedures, operational policies and procedures, and application for supplemental letters patent. We now have excellent and up-to-date financial and IT processes, and a strong staff and management structure at OPHA — something that was not evident before. I would like to highlight some of the other success that have been achieved in the past six years.

OPHA has had five successful Annual Conferences and one Fall Forum since I came to OPHA. The OAHPP will now lead the delivery of the large annual public health conference that will become known as TOPHC. To carve out a role for OPHA in continuing professional development, this year we experimented with a new model at our Fall Forum and focused on policy discussions. Hopefully this model will be used by OPHA in the future as the Association has a unique role in advocating for healthy public policy. The proceedings are summarized in this issue of the e-bulletin (Our Voice in Action) and you can download the proceedings report from our website.

Our major programs — the Alcohol Policy Network, the Healthy Communities Consortium at OPHA (formerly the Heart Health Resource Centre), and the Nutrition Resource Centre — have remained strong and for several years were been enhanced during the substantial changes in the provincial landscape. We have had several successful projects over the years. Three that I have worked to sustain, despite less funding options, are Core Competencies for Public Health, the Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (OCDPA), and Towards Evidence-Informed Practice. The successes of these projects have been featured in earlier issues of the e-bulletin.

In addition to our partners in the OCDPA, OPHA has established some strong partnerships with other provincial organizations in the past several years. Our relationships with Parks and Recreation Ontario, Ophea, Health Nexus, Ontario Neurotrama Foundation, and Smartrisk, have led to new collaborations aimed at advancing public health and health promotion. Presently, we have several projects underway through collaboration with partners.

Government officials and politicians all value collaboration among NGOs. It is really powerful to have many organizations coming together to make one set of recommendations and/or one proposal rather than independent voices or individual project asks. Greater time investment in strengthening collaborations with other will be critical in the years to come.

There is work still to be done to make OPHA a stronger organization.

Although we have experienced some growth in OPHA membership, our membership levels remain less than desirable at just over 700 people. There is confusion about membership that needs to be overcome; health units do not belong to OPHA. We do have Constituent Society memberships but our by-laws limit the number to 12. This is a situation that needs to be addressed. Joint OPHA and Constituent Society membership should be considered in the future to increase the sustainability of not only OPHA, but also to strengthen the Constituent Society. Our Workgroups are numerous and active; they clearly fill a provincial niche for networking and advocacy. With all this interest, there is no reason OPHA cannot move forward to increase its membership.

I have led OPHA during tremendous change in Public Health by steering the organization through the provincial landscape — navigating with three provincial ministries rather than one, and ensured that OPHA made its voice heard during the formation of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion. The new resources available to public health and health promotion have and will continue to influence the service OPHA provides. OPHA now needs to determine its core business and build an organization based upon its new role within a stronger public health system.

Lastly, we need one strong public health voice, not two. While strong professional associations are essential, all public health professionals need to come together to strengthen the public health voice that is now being marginalized by having two separate organizations. Better alignment of functions and relationships among public health professionals must be explored in order to strengthen the focus on population and public health within the health care system.

I would like to say farewell to all the e-bulletin readers and wish OPHA all the best in the future.

 

Staff Updates

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the resignation of Tina Wadham from the Youth Engagement Project (YE) at OPHA. Tina has worked on the Youth Engagement Project since September 2009, and before that the Core Competencies Performance Management Project since September 2008. Tina has been a valuable team member and team lead on both these initiatives. Her passion and skill-set in public health will be missed. At the same time, we are excited to learn that Tina will be sharing her talents with one of our partners, Ophea, as a Project Lead.

We are happy to announce that Jennifer Lodge has been promoted to Program Coordinator effective December 6, 2010. Jennifer will continue to split her time between the Youth Engagement Project and the Injury Prevention Initiative. Jennifer has shown great skill and dedication to both these projects as an Administrative Coordinator, and this promotion is a natural fit for Jennifer’s skill-set and interests.

Jennifer started as a placement student in January 2008, and proved invaluable early on. She joined OPHA’s staff team in May 2008. Jennifer has a Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and a post-graduate certificate in Workplace Wellness and Health Promotion.

Hoi Ki Ding, Manager of the Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (OCDPA), will also be leaving OPHA. Her last working day will be Friday, December 17, 2010.

OPHA congratulates Hoi Ki for her new position at Peel Health as a Health Promotion Officer, Diabetes and Cancer Prevention Division, where she will be gaining public health experience at the community level.

OPHA has benefited from Hoi Ki’s research skills as she held the roles of Project Coordinator, and then Manager with the OCDPA. In addition, Hoi Ki provided research support for CPCHE. Hoi Ki leaves OCDPA with the challenge to convince politicians that ‘we can Make Ontario the Healthiest Province in Canada”. Best wishes to you Hoi Ki. OCDPA and OPHA will miss you.

Michelle Manarina will be leaving OPHA as Program Coordinator on December 17, 2010 to explore the opportunities in British Columbia. Michelle began her experience at OPHA as a placement student from University of California at Berekley. After graduation, she returned to OPHA to take on several projects including: conducting the Ontario portion of a tobacco survey being coordinated by CPHA on behalf of PHAC; the development of a healthy eating component of a youth engagement project with Parks and Recreation Ontario; and, the design and implementation of a survey of public health units regarding their actions on the social determinants of health.

Michelle's signature project was the coordination of the 2010 OPHA Fall Forum for which she worked extensively with the five think tank planning teams. You will find the Executive Summary of the proceedings of the Fall Forum in the Our Voice in Action section of the e-bulletin. Michelle, we wish you all the best in BC.

Kim Hodgson has joined the Healthy Communities Consortium team at OPHA as a Program Coordinator. Kim had been a consultant with the team (formerly known as the Heart Health Resource Centre) for several years delivering on-site consultations, developing educational resources, and developing and delivering webinars. Kim’s 20 years of experience in health promotion and her extensive knowledge of community partnerships and the Healthy Communities Fund are an incredible asset to the Consortium and our clients and we are thrilled to have her join our staff team. Please join us in welcoming Kim!