October 2011 – Message from OPHA’s President and Executive Director

We are in the final stretch of the 2011 provincial election. Since the election campaign kicked off, Ontarians have yet to hear any meaningful discussion or any vision for strengthening our public health system. The election platforms for the three main parties contain little or no references to public health, which is very troubling. Some issues of relevance to OPHA members highlighted in some of the platforms include: chronic diseases, childhood obesity and seniors health… but little detail is available at this time.

But with the current drive by governments to bend the ever-escalating health care cost curve, OPHA is concerned that public health is not on the government or the public’s radar.

As public health professionals working with your local communities, this is our opportunity to champion the public health agenda so we can continue to promote, protect and maintain the health of Ontarians.

Although Ontario may spend a significant proportion of the public purse on health, the study by D. Manuel et al, estimated that public health only receives 11% of the health budget in Ontario, which translates to approximately less than $8.00 per person in Ontario. This is one-third of that compared to British Columbia and one-half in Quebec. Greater investments in public health will be one of the key components of the solution towards curbing the health care costs and minimizing future demand for health care services as Drummond and Burleton pointed out in the TD report. This will need to translate to a more comprehensive approach towards chronic disease prevention beyond current government programming (i.e., focus on built environment, environmental health, focus on a food and nutrition provincial strategy). Moreover, equitable access to public health needs to be a focus for those who are at risk and vulnerable – the health gap continues to grow between the general population and a number of priority populations. Lastly, an issue that is looming on the horizon that needs greater attention is healthy aging and the role of public health to encourage seniors to live healthy, independent and rich lives. The Ministry of Finance’s latest projections suggest that by 2036, those who are 65 and over will represent nearly 23% of the Ontario population. The next government needs to focus on the value and opportunity that public health has in healthy aging through the lifespan with new and incremental investments in public health.

Over the course of the election campaign, OPHA has been active in educating and engaging the three party leaders. Our meeting on August 30, 2011 with France Gelinas, MPP for Nickel Belt and the health critic for the NDP was positive and an opportunity to highlight specific issues in order to build a truly effective and responsive public health system. On other fronts, we continue to advocate the importance of continued and increased public health investments as a means to support the new government’s interest in managing the overall health budget. In the next few days, OPHA will send a letter to each of the party leaders calling on them to commit to increased, sustained funding for public health and to recognize the valuable role of public health as a solution to limiting future health care utilization through health promotion, prevention and protection. OPHA will also issue a media release echoing similar messages and providing members with an election tool so the same messages can be communicated to local candidates across different ridings. Our work will not end after October 6th. Once the new government is in place, we will be engaging in a number of post-election advocacy efforts to continue driving home the message that public health cannot be ignored and it must play a front and centre role in the evolution of a sustainable and more effective health system.

In addition to these efforts, we have been busy with a number of other activities since we last connected with you. Our membership drive was rolled out. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies again to our dear and valued long-time members who received notices to renew their membership in error. As part of our membership drive, we are transitioning from a manual membership management system to a more automated system – a development that is long overdue. During this process, we discovered limitations with our membership database and a number of errors occurred. Although the Association has made herculean efforts to try and address these oversights, the system is still not yet perfect, and your patience is much valued during this time of change. What we are striving for is an improved membership management system that will help us to stay connected, on a regular and proactive basis, with our members.

In the course of reviewing our e-bulletin subscriber list, we discovered that some subscribers are not OPHA members. There has never been a better time to join OPHA – we have enhanced the membership benefits and features: mentorship program for new professionals, free knowledge exchange / transfer webinars to members, discounts to our events, and access to documents and other services (gratis or for a modest fee). OPHA is an excellent way to expand to contribute towards public health at the provincial level. OPHA brings people together – people working in various disciplines, at different levels, with unique experiences and differing points of view. OPHA means different things to different people. Members looking for professional development will certainly find it. If you want to build relationships or engage in various advocacy initiatives (resolutions and position papers) or contribute to work groups, OPHA is a beehive of activity. You can find out more on our website

In addition, we are nearing our 2nd Annual Fall Forum on Engaging Priority Populations. Please visit our website to learn more. Our line up of speakers is now complete and it will be an exciting and diverse group of speakers and thinkers (e.g., Joe Fiorito, Toronto Star; Dr. Rosana Pellizzari, Peterborough Public Health Unit; Drs. Bob Gardner and Michael Shapcott, Wellesley Institute; Dr. Vasanthi Srinivasan, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and Public Health Ontario to name a few). Do be sure to attend, change to less than 3 days away from the event (October 5 and 6th, 2011 in Toronto). In honour of this year’s theme, we hope that you will enjoy our special article on the social determinants of health and health equity by OPHA’s and alPHa’s newly established Joint Health Equity Work Group.

As well, we have been busily planning our 2011 Annual General Meeting set for October 5, 2011 (4-5:30pm). This year’s AGM promises to be a critical one. Key decisions will need to be made by the membership in order to set the Association’s course towards a more sustainable and energized path. In a video posted last week on the members-only section of the website, Liz provides our members with the context for the issues, challenges and opportunities that OPHA currently faces. We have much to report back to you in November. Get involved and stay tuned...

Sincerely,
Liz Haugh, President, Board of Directors
Siu Mee Cheng, Executive Director