Minutes - April 15, 2021 - Board of Health Meeting

Members Present: 

Ms. Maureen Cassidy (Chair)
Ms. Aina DeViet (Vice-Chair)
Mr. Matt Reid
Mr. John Brennan
Ms. Arielle Kayabaga
Mr. Bob Parker
Ms. Kelly Elliott
Mr. Mike Steele
Mr. Aaron O’Donnell

Regrets:

Ms. Tino Kasi

Others Present:

Dr. Christopher Mackie, Medical Officer of Health (Secretary-Treasurer)
Ms. Stephanie Egelton, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health/MOH/AMOH and Communications Coordinator (Recorder)
Dr. Alexander Summers, Associate Medical Officer of Health
Ms. Emily Williams, Director, Healthy Organization/Interim CEO
Mr. Dan Flaherty, Manager, Communications
Ms. Carolynne Gabriel, Librarian
Ms. Angela Armstrong, Program Assistant, Communications
Ms. Heather Lokko, Director, Healthy Start/Chief Nursing Officer
Mr. Stephen Turner, Director, Environmental Health and Infectious Disease
Ms. Maureen MacCormick, Director, Healthy Living
Mr. Mirek Pawelec, Manager, Finance
Mr. Joe Antone, Manager, Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation
Ms. Isabel Resendes, Manager, Best Beginnings West
Ms. Suzanne Vandervoort, Manager, Best Beginnings East
Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Strategic Projects
Ms. Victoria Mazzarolo, Student, Healthy Organization

Chair Maureen Cassidy called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

Chair Cassidy inquired if there were any disclosures of conflicts of interest. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was noted that there will be a walk-on report, re: alPHa resolution.

It was moved by Ms. Kelly Elliott, seconded by Mr. Matt Reid, that the AGENDA for the April 15, 2021 Board of Health meeting be approved.
Carried

Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Aina DeViet, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the MINUTES of the March 18, 2021 Board of Health meeting be approved.
Carried

It was moved by Ms. Aina DeViet, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the MINUTES of the April 1, 2021 Finance and Facilities Committee meeting be received.
Carried

Reports and Agenda Items

Finance and Facilities Committee Meeting Summary (Report No. 18-21)

Mr. Matt Reid, Chair of the Finance and Facilities Committee presented the meeting summary from April 1, 2021.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Board of Health receive Report No. 10-21FFC re: “Q4 Financial Update and Factual Certificate” for information.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Board of Health approve the renewal of the group insurance rates administered by Canada Life as described in Report No. 11-21FFC re: “Canada Life Benefits – Renewal Rates”.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Aaron O’Donnell, that the Board of Health approve the renewal of the Health Unit’s insurance as outlined in Report No. 12-21FFC re: “Health Unit Insurance Policy Renewal.”
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Aaron O’Donnell, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 13-21FFC re: “2021 COVID-19 Vaccine-related costs” for information;
2) Approve the 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine-related budget, outlined in Appendix B, as a one-time expense within the 2021 Annual Service Plan submission to the Ministry of Health.
Carried

Governance Committee Meeting Summary

Mr. Bob Parker, Chair of the Governance Committee presented the meeting summary from April 15, 2021.

It was moved by Mr. Bob Parker, seconded by Mr. Mike Steele, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 07-21GC re: “Governance By-law and Policy Review” for information; and
2) Approve the governance by-laws and policies as appended to this report.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the Board of Health to create a communication for the Board and public regarding the roles of the Board of Health (Governance) and key positions within the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Ms. DeViet, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 08-21GC re: “Board of Health Self-Assessment”;
2) Approve the revised Board of Health Self-Assessment Tool appended to this report; and
3) Approve initiation of the Board of Health self-assessment process for 2021.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Ms. DeViet, that the Board of Health amend the revised Board of Health Self-Assessment Tool to include questions about standing committees within the Middlesex-London Board of Health.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 08-21GC re: “Board of Health Self-Assessment”;
2) Approve the revised Board of Health Self-Assessment Tool appended to this report; and
3) Approve initiation of the Board of Health self-assessment process for 2021.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Ms. Arielle Kayabaga, that the Board of Health receive Report No. 09-21GC re: “2020 Strategic Plan Summary” for information.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 10-21GC re: “2021-22 MLHU Provisional Plan” for information; and
2) Approve the 2021-22 Provisional Plan (Appendix A) and reporting template (Appendix B) as appended to this report.
Carried

Addressing Anti-Black Racism: A Plan for the Middlesex-London Health Unit (Report No. 19-21)

Ms. Heather Lokko, Director, Healthy Start/Chief Nursing Officer, Mr. Joe Antone, Manager, Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation and Dr. Chris Mackie, Medical Officer of Health presented this report. The key components of this plan included the “Ways of Working” and “Recommendations”.

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. John Brennan, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 19-21 re “Addressing Anti-Black Racism: A Plan for the Middlesex-London Health Unit” for information;
2) Endorse the proposed Anti-Black Racism Plan for MLHU; and
3) Direct staff to develop an implementation plan, including immediate implementation of recommendations that can be enacted in the short term, and resource implications as appropriate.
Carried

alPHa Resolution: Regulatory Measures to Address the Harms, the Availability and Youth Appeal of Electronic Cigarettes and Vapour Products (Report No. 22-21)

Ms. Maureen MacCormick, Director, Healthy Living and Ms. Donna Kosmack, Manager, Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network presented this report. It was noted that this resolution would be submitted to alPHa for consideration at their Annual General Meeting on June 8, 2021.

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Board of Health:
1) Receive Report No. 22-21, “Regulatory Measures to Address the Harms, the Availability and Youth Appeal of Electronic Cigarettes and Vapour Products”;
2) Endorse the Statement of Sponsor Commitment and the Association of Local Public Health Agencies Resolution submission, “Reducing the Harms, the Availability and Youth Appeal of Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping Products through Regulation” attached as Appendix A; and,
3) Direct staff to submit the resolution (Appendix A) to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) for consideration at the Annual General Meeting on June 8th, 2021.
Carried

Program Update: Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation

Mr. Joe Antone, Manager, Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation provided an update on his program. Highlights of this program included:
• Served as COVID liaison team (March-September) to support organizations who serve vulnerable populations in their COVID planning (group homes, homeless-serving agencies, Indigenous agencies, settlement services, and schools initially)
• Co-developed with community partners a swabbing and isolation system for people experiencing homelessness
• Promoted self-determination for Indigenous communities by supporting the development of Indigenous-led swabbing clinics
• Provided leadership to the development of MLHU’s Diversity and Inclusion Assessment, and Anti-Black Racism Plan and will lead implementation of recommendations
• Provided significant guidance and support for vaccine clinics for Indigenous populations, and will continue to guide and support vaccine clinics for Indigenous and Black populations
• Will lead development of a vaccine confidence program with Black communities and other priority populations
• Continue to provide ongoing health equity-related consultation support across MLHU

Program Update: Best Beginnings

Ms. Suzanne Vandervoort, Manager, Best Beginnings East and Ms. Isabel Resendes, Manager, Best Beginnings West provided an update on their program. Highlights of this program included:
• Teams support pregnant women and families, with children from birth to school entry, who are experiencing multiple challenges
• MLHU is lead agency for Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) in Ontario (intensive public health nursing visiting program for young, first-time, socially disadvantaged mothers)
• Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) and NFP programs were prioritized in 2020: in-hospital screening was maintained and services were provided through phone, virtual, and home visits (some program adaptations were required)
• HBHC program is well-positioned to continue providing support to families in 2021, as recently directed by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS)
• In addition to promoting healthy growth and development and addressing many public health topics, home visiting programs will continue to support MLHU’s COVID-19 efforts and address MLHU’s priority recovery areas

COVID-19 Disease Spread and Vaccine Update (Verbal)

Dr. Alexander Summers, Associate Medical Officer of Health and Dr. Chris Mackie presented the verbal COVID-19 update.

Discussion about this verbal report included:
• The region being at a peak in the third wave and seeing an exponential increase across the province
• Yesterday, 176 cases were reported (the highest to date)
• Driven by Variants of Concern and gatherings
• Uptake in those taking the vaccine in all age groups
• Concerns of vaccine allocation and still aiming to keep all vaccine clinics open
• The potential of advocating to declare the N6A postal code region as a “hot spot”

It was moved by Ms. Kayabaga, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the Board Chair and Medical Officer of Health advocate to the Province of Ontario to declare the N6A postal code zone a COVID-19 hot spot.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Parker, that the Board of Health receive the verbal report on COVID-19 Disease Spread and Vaccine Update for information.
Carried

Summary Information Report for April 2021 (Report No. 20-21)

Ms. Heather Lokko, Director, Healthy Start/Chief Nursing Officer and Ms. Maureen MacCormick, Director, Healthy Living presented this summary report.

It was moved by Ms. DeViet, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Board of Health receive Report No. 20-21 re: Summary Information Report for April for information.
Carried

Medical Officer of Health Activity Report for April 2021 (Report No. 21-21)

Dr. Mackie presented Medical Officer of Health Activity Report for April 2021. There were no comments or concerns from the Board of Health.

It was moved by Mr. Parker, seconded by Mr. O’Donnell, that the Board of Health receive Report No. 21-21 re: “Medical Officer of Health Activity Report for April 2021” for information.
Carried

Correspondence

It was moved by Mr. Steele, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Board of Health receive correspondence item a).
Carried

Other Business

• Next Board Meeting is Thursday, May 20th, at 7 p.m.

Confidential

At 8:56 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Parker, that the Board of Health will move in-camera to consider personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees, matters that are subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose, labour relations or employee negotiations, and to approve confidential minutes from the March 18, 2021 Board of Health meeting.
Carried

At 10:11 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Parker, that the Board of Health rise and return to public session.
Carried

Adjournment

At 10:11 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Parker, that the meeting of Board of Health be adjourned. 

Maureen Cassidy
Chair

Christopher Mackie
Secretary-Treasurer