The work done through the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s immunization, dental programs and family health teams is still on hold as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a new report says.
According to the report, the stoppage has resulted in thousands of children who have missed their Grade 7 vaccinations and hundreds of low-income families who have been unable to access the health unit’s dental clinics.
It’s also resulted in many more who have not received in-home health unit and breastfeeding support.
“New programs, like in-school vision screening, are still on hold,” the report reads.
“Sexual health clinics, tobacco cessation workshops, infection prevention and control inspections, prenatal classes and inspection of restaurants and other food service providers are a few of the other health unit programs and services that will need to resume as our economy and our businesses continue to reopen, while we balance the demands of our COVID-19 response.”
The report says the COVID-19 pandemic dominated the health unit’s work for most of 2020.
“At peak community transmission of COVID-19 in April, the health unit had paused most routine programming and had redeployed about 180 staff to the infectious diseases and health connections programs,” the report reads.
“More than 50 other staff remained in their department and program but devoted 100 per cent of their time to COVID-19 work.”
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According to the report, most of the health unit’s employees continue to work on COVID-19.
“The pandemic is something we are going to live with for some time and the next months and beyond are going to be the most challenging,” the report says.
In 2019, the report says, the health unit brought in $38.9 million in revenue and had $38.6 million of expenditures.
Last year, the health unit also reported giving 22,256 vaccines at schools, conducting 7,916 food establishment inspections and administering 948 hepatitis A immunizations in response to a community and institutional outbreak.
There were also more than 23,300 children who were screen for tooth decay, 1,882 parent or caregiver visits to the health unit’s Breastfeeding Place and 4,127 home visits by public health nurses and/or family home visitors.
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