The Southeast Public Health Board of Health met yesterday in Kingston for their regular monthly meeting. The agenda package is available online.
Branch Office Report
The board received the Branch Office Report (Schedule 8.2) and voted to continue to have branch offices and revisit the decision in September 2026, following a review of an updated report on the rural strategy implementation and use of the branch offices.
As outlined in the report, Southeast Public Health conducted an assessment to determine whether the tangible and intangible benefits of the agency’s branch offices are meeting its commitment to provide a robust complement of rural services, including consistent staffing with a dedicated presence within rural communities. The assessment found that the branch offices are underutilized and not operating at full capacity. They are also failing to make the best use of time and resources (costing approximately $550,000 annually) and may not be providing optimal service delivery for hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations.
Deputations
The board received deputations from Warden Corrina Smith-Gatcke, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville; Barinder Gill, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Family Health Team; Prince Edward County Councillor Kate MacNaughton; and Frank Vassallo, President and CEO of the Kemptville District Hospital.
Rural Services Delivery Strategy
Southeast Public Health’s Rural Services Delivery Strategy was presented to the board by Dr. Piotr Oglaza, Medical Officer of Health and CEO, and several frontline staff. The board endorsed, in principle, its direction with several caveats including no closure of satellite offices without prior approval of the Board of Health, meaningful consultations with stakeholders and partners, and an audit of available space in rural areas that will accommodate mobile and pop-ups services.
Southeast Public Health’s assessment of public health delivery in rural areas showed a need to find new ways of delivering services to rural communities, and the strategy was developed using four guiding principles:
- Serving people, not places: Focusing on client needs and meeting them where they’re at rather than prioritizing physical office locations.
- Evidence-based programs and services: Ensuring all services reflect the best available data and public health best practices.
- Resource stewardship: Using resources efficiently and responsibly to support sustainable service delivery.
- Health equity: Focusing programs and services on equity-deserving populations who have been systemically disadvantaged by the social determinants of health, such as income, education, housing, race, gender, religion, etc.
During the presentation (Schedule 8.1) frontline staff provided examples of current work underway that is guided by these principles. Mary Southall, a clinical nursing facilitator, leads an outreach team made up of nurses and harm reduction workers who deliver services to those experiencing homelessness, living in poverty, or facing other barriers to accessing health care, and explained that by going into the community, rather than having clients attend a specific office location to access services, Southeast Public Health is meeting its commitment to deliver person-centred, needs-based care, regardless of geographic location.
In Kingston alone, the outreach team visits more than 25 sites, including shelters, warming centres, and youth hubs, helping underserved populations access essential health services including immunizations such as COVID-19, influenza, and RSV; and testing for infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis, Hepatitis C, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
Another critical component of the strategy is to find ways to deliver services in the most cost-efficient way possible, by leveraging community spaces to offer the same number of clinics, or more, for a fraction of the cost.
It was announced at the meeting that this work is already showing positive results, and a recently signed partnership agreement with the Prince Edward Family Health Team will allow Southeast Public Health to continue using a clinical space in Picton, as well as the board room for vaccine clinics, and space to support the well water sampling program, free of charge.
Dr. Oglaza expressed his gratitude to the Prince Edward Family Health Team, and all municipal and community partners, for their generosity and willingness to collaborate in continuing partnerships to best serve communities across the Southeast Public Health region.
Merger updates
As 2025 comes to an end, the board received an overview of significant merger projects completed in Southeast Public Health’s first year, including, but not limited to:
- Selection of an Enterprise Resource Planning vendor for human resources, payroll, and finance
- Assessment of all properties
- Harmonization of non-unionized wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment (pending approval in January)
- Selection and transition of all staff to a new benefit provider and Employee and Family Assistance Program provider
- Establishment of the senior level (Medical Officer of Health, Deputy Medical Officers of Health, and directors) organizational structure, and Management-level organizational structure
- Initiation of the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act process
- Needs assessment for an organizational training plan
- Change management training for managers and staff
- Tenancy migration to Microsoft 365 with common SoutheastPH.ca e-mail addresses, supported by training on new Microsoft 365 tools
- Implementation of Hedgehog system for Environmental Health inspection data collection
- Selection of a vendor for the electronic medical record
- Development of program and policy harmonization process and accompanying tools
- Completion of quarterly change readiness assessment surveys
- Implementation of a change management advisory group
- Delivery of culture building events, including townhalls, coffee chats, and All Staff Day
- Recognition of the legacy public health units and the strengths that they brought to the newly merged Southeast Public Health with special events
The board acknowledged the tremendous amount of work completed by staff in the first year of the new agency and thanked them for their efforts.
The next meeting of the Board of Health is January 28, 2026.
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Media contact:
Communications@SoutheastPH.ca
