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FULL CONFERENCE BROCHURE
alPHa and the Porcupine Health Unit joined together to host alPHa's Annual General Meeting in Timmins Ontario, the theme of which was Emergency Response: Public Health in Action. On June 14 through 16 2009, a compelling list of speakers presented and discussed topics related to emergency planning and response, in order to enhance understanding of the obligations of different jurisdictions when planning for and responding to emergencies and inform about different approaches.
Regular business meetings of the Association and its Sections (Board of Health and Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health), the annual Resolutions session and meetings of the outgoing and incoming Boards of Directors also took place, along with the Annual Awards Dinner and a special reception to welcome Ontario's new Chief Medical Offcer of Health, Dr. Arlene King.
Business Meetings 4 PM - 7 PM
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PHOTOS
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Final meeting of the 2008-2009 alPHa Board of Directors.
Agenda, Background Materials and Minutes to be distributed to BOD members via e-mail.
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Welcoming Reception for Delegates and Guests - 7:30 - 9:30 PM
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PHOTOS
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Following the final meeting of the 2008-2009 alPHa Board of Directors, delegates and guests were invited to a welcoming reception at the Shania Twain Centre. |
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Business Meetings - 8:00 - 9:30
alPHa Annual Business Meeting
Resolutions Session
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Opening Remarks - Dr. David Williams - 10:00-10:30
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Dr. David Williams offered comments on his experiences as Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health, emphasizing the sharpened importance of planning in order to achieve more effective and efficient responses to emergencies as they arise, pointing out that good planning can be the key difference between an incident and a disaster.
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He also spoke of the importance of strong leadership as exemplified by Dr. Sheela Basrur, and of enhancing the capacity to gather and use evidence for effective responses, citing the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP), the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and the enhanced capacity of Ontario’s Laboratory system as positive steps forward in that regard.
He recalled some of examples of how effective planning was put into practice, notably when a passenger died on a VIA Rail train in 2008 while six other passengers fell ill at the same time. While this incident turned out to be a confluence of unrelated events, it was a demonstration of public health's improved ability to quickly to assess, manage and communicate risk. Even the Premier had noted that the public health response was excellent, informed in no small part to the lessons learned from the SARS outbreak in 2003.
The 2008 Listeriosis outbreak was also characterized as a test for a strengthened system, where effective surveillance facilitated the quick identification of cases and helped to manage the outbreak much better than it otherwise would have been, while also identifying other areas requiring improvement.
He characterized the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic as the latest test of public health’s ability to respond to contingencies, based on careful planning, effective surveillance and analysis, and timely and accurate communications.
He made a point of relaying the congratulations he has received during his time as Acting CMOH for public health’s responses to all of those doing the work, and thanking them for it.
Biography
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Keynote Address: An Ethical Perspective on Emergency and Pandemic Planning- 10:30-11:30
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Dr. Timothy Christie, Medical Ethics Specialist, University of New Brunswick, used specific case examples to illustrate the various points in a decision making process that necessitate ethical considerations, and the methods that must be used to evaluate decisions as such.
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These methods, he demonstrated, are neither perfect nor are they meant to arrive at a clear answer, but they must me very carefully analysed in order to decide among various options. Ambiguities in information, differences in values, considerations of specific circumstances and reliability of evidence itself are all critical. The issue is that in ethical decisions, certain assumptions must be made, which builds more questions into the process that may not have clear answers. This, at times requires consideration of the Precautionary Principle, which he essentially framed as, “what is the cost of being wrong?”
He then defined ethics and the role of philosophy in determining the rational basis for making decisions based on them, in order to ensure that what makes an action right or wrong (rights and duties; motivations, consequences, eqauality and virtue).
He then sketched different principles that inform approaches to making difficult decisions on difficult problems. He then applied the summary of the theory to pandemic planning and the specific assumptions that needed to be made.
He also referred to a survey that measured public opinions about Health Care Workers’ duty to care, restrictive measures designed to serve the greater public good, distribution of antivirals, and obligation of wealthy countries to assist poorer ones.
Presentation
Biography
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Panel Discussion: Yours, Mine and Ours: Emergency Planning Jurisdictions - 12:30 - 2:45
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Using the recent H1N1 outbreak as an example, this panel steered delegates around the international, federal, provincial and local emergency management jurisdictions and outlined how various levels prepare and interact during an emergency. |
Moderated by: Allison Stuart, A/Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
Presentation
Biography
Olga Michie, Regional Coordinator, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Public Health Agency of Canada, was not able to attend, but provided a presentation that outlines emergency planning at the federal level and the way this functions in conjunction with provincial and municipal level agencies. Allison Stuart walked through this presentation, expanding on the very broad scope of functions and obligations from the international right down to the local level.
Presentation
Biography
Joann Ford, Emergency Response Coordinator, Indian and Northern Affairs, outlined jurisdiction and emergency planning as it relates to First Nations communities, referring specifically to a number of evacuations of First Nations communities. The INAC Emergency Support team must coordinate with a number of provincial and federal agencies, taking the lead where First Nations communities are specifically threatened. She expanded on the Ontario-INAC Emergency Assistance Agreement, which allows EMO to provide services, and outlined INAC roles and responsibilities, as well as those of the communities themselves. She then described the stages of an evacuation once an emergency that warrants one has been declared. She also referred to the specific implementation of pandemic plans in the communities themselves.
Presentation
Biography
Phil Graham, Interim Director, Emergency Management Unit, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care outlined provincial responsibilities in a health-related emergency and how that role differs from and complements other entities at the provincial level. Since renamed the Emergency Management Branch, this division of the MOHLTC is specifically assigned responsibilities for emergencies related to health (as if there is any other kind!). He then outlined the organizational structures of the Emergency Operations Centre and the features of the Incident Management System and how they are used to coordinate the disparate roles and responsibilities that are triggered by a health emergency, highlighting the importance of reliable information and consistent communication throughout.
Presentation
Biography
Dr. Brian Schwartz, Director of Emergency Management Support, the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion elaborated on the role played by the province’s public health agency during an emergency.
He gave further details on the role of the Scientific Response Team, and the simplified model of the Incident Management System that it follows, with five functions – operations, planning, logistics and finance and administration, reporting to a commander. This model, he said, can be applied to not only any kind of Emergency, but also more mundane executions such as weddings.
He also made an important distinction between a plan and the process of planning, pointing out that the planning process is where assumptions can be properly examined. He illustrated this by showing that many of the assumptions that formed the basis of the Ontario Health Plan for Influenza Pandemic were incorrect for the current H1N1 situation.
Presentation
Biography
Dr. Bryna Warshawsky, Associate Medical Officer of Health and Director, Communicable Disease and Sexual Health Services, Middlesex-London Health Unit concluded the panel by providing insight into emergency management at the local level, using the H1N1 outbreak to itemize strong roles in surveillance and case management, translating available information into meaningful instructions to disparate audiences (citizens, family doctors, local school boards, businesses, etc.) about what they should be doing, and preparing direct services such as immunization clinics and assessment centres.
Presentation
Biography
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Panel Discussion: Earth, Wind and Fire. Emergency Planning in Action - 3:15 - 4:45
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Using well-know events as examples, panellists discussed public health’s role in both preparing for and responding to large scale emergencies. |
Norma Wood, Senior Lead, Employee Wellness, Alberta Health Services, outlined the planning process for the 2002 G8 Summit by the province’s Health Services department, as well as its relationship with other agencies in special accommodation for “Internationally Protected Persons”, which included a dedicated hospital, food and water inspection, syndromic surveillance, environmental / air quality, etc.
She referred to the different perspectives on planning, using the differences of opinion on the degree to which protesters should be included in the plan for clean water, toileting etc. as an example.
Cooperation was the unifying theme in a situation where diverse public agencies were required to pool their expertise and use it collectively to ensure that any extraordinary circumstances that might arise during the G8 Summit (both predictable and unpredictable).
Presentation
Biography
Dr. Howard Shapiro, Associate Medical Officer of Health, Toronto Public Health, discussed the Toronto Sunrise Propane Explosion in August of 2008. He began by describing the event and then provided his own observations on it, showing several slides that displayed the impacts of the explosion on the surrounding neighborhood, which is the most obvious result of such an event. It was later discovered that asbestos had been scattered along with other debris, which triggered the public health response to assess the health hazards and make decisions about how to minimize them. Communications were again an important consideration, especially where available information had to be translated into instructions on what the residents should be doing. Coordination was also important, especially with agencies responsible for asbestos cleanup, whose plans did not include instructions for cleanup after an explosion. Extensive testing also had to be done, the results of which had to be communicated to residents as well. He concluded by observing that media were always present, and the messages that went through those channels were very difficult to control.
Presentation
Biography
Jennifer McLeod, Zone Nursing Officer, First Nations and Inuit Health, provided insights into how the annual break-up of ice and resulting flooding is dealt with on the James and Hudson's Bay coasts. She outlined the obligations of Community Health Nurses and the mandatory programs that they are required to deliver in communities in these areas, and described their role in planning for these floods. She indicated that these communities were established as part of trade routes and traditional subsistence (hunting, fishing), but are on floodplains, putting them at risk each spring, requiring annual planning for evacuation. He public health nurses’ main role is to provide support to the evacuation centres once established and then to assist in evaluating the affected communities in orde to plan for the return. She also pointed out the importance of dealing with the stress, exhaustion and other consequences of displacement on such a scale. She also emphasized the critical importance of collaboration, and itemized other important lessons that were learned in the process of executing the evacuation plan, and about post-evacuation impacts on the community, and the general challenges of temporary communal living.
Presentation
Biography
Dr. Patricia Daly, Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health was to participate from Vancouver via videoconference, but a communications bridging failure at a relay station in Alberta prevented her from participating in the panel. She provided her presentation in advance of the meeting, which outlines the public health planning for and expected public health legacies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic games that are being held in and around Vancouver.
Presentation
Biography
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| CMOH RECEPTION AND ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER |
CMOH Reception - 6:30 - 7:30 PM; Annual Awards Dinner - 7:30 - 9:30 PM
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Outgoing COMOH Chair Dr. Lynn Noseworthy welcomes incoming CMOH Dr. Arlene King
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After a full day of business, delegates and their guests will be welcomed to enjoy refreshments and conversation at the Chief Medical Officer of Health Reception, followed by dinner and the presentation of the 2009 Distiguished Service Awards, among other recognitions.
Dr. Arlene King - Biography
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2009 alPHa Distinguished Service Award Recipients
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John Albanese (BOH-Northwestern) presents a posthumous DSA to Charlie Viddal (BOH-Norhtwestern)
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Pam Scharfe (ASPHIO-Huron) accepts 2009 DSA from Ken Gorman (ASPHIO-Durham)
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Dr. David Williams (ACMOH) accepts 2009 DSA from Dr. Charles Gardner (MOH - Simcoe-Muskoka)
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Peter Delanty (BOH - HKPR) accepts 2009 DSA via recorded video.
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Meals and Breaks
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7:30 - 8:30 AM - Breakfast
12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
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Business Meetings
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8:30 AM - Noon: Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health
Meeting Materials (Requires Password)
8:30 AM - Noon: Board of Health Section
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Inaugural Meeting, 2009-2010 alPHa Board of Directors
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Summary of Evaluations
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