Provincial funding cuts forced the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit to reorganize its organization and cut programs, while asking taxpayers to pay more, Dr. Charles Gardner told Simcoe County council Tuesday.
“There’s a (provincial) focus change to provide more support to the health care sector and local health integration networks (LHINs),” said Gardner, noting that the average per-resident levy is $17.56, up from $17.29 last year and $16.78 in 2015.
That municipal funding supports proactive health education and programming, which complements the planning for healthy communities municipalities do, he said.
“Municipalities have a profound impact on health. You have the levers of control over many of the conditions of people’s lives,” he said, including assisting with affordable housing, planning communities that are pedestrian and bicycle-friendly and supporting programs that help people eat well.
He lauded the county for its smoke-free housing projects and for passing regulations even before the Smoke-free Ontario Act banned lighting up in restaurants, which are strategies that encourage smokers to quit.
“Over a 10-year period, there was a two per cent reduction in health care costs attributable to prevention - $4.9 billion in savings,” he said.
“This one is rooted in municipal bylaws put in place over a decade ago.”
Responding to the grant cut, the health unit cut spending on staff by $1 million, which resulted in restructuring, the elimination of a department and a slimmed-down strategic plan, he said, as well as the closure of a sexual health clinic in Alliston.
That closure, however, comes at a time when sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) are on the rise.
In the Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit’s annual report, he noted that gonorrhea and chlamydia are on the rise.
“From 2010 to 2015, there has been a sharp increase in the incidence of gonorrhea, particularly among men. In 2015, the gonorrhea incidence rate among Simcoe Muskoka males was 28.6 cases per 100,000 population compare to 17.4 per cent per 100,0000 population for males.”
Chlamydia is affecting more women in Simcoe Muskoka.
“The number of confirmed cases has risen from 364 in 2000 to more than 1,2000 in 2015. The incidence is highest among women in their teen and young adult years.
“STI prevention and control is an area of focus for the health unit’s sexual health program. In 2015, the health unit recorded 4,593 client visits to its eight clinic sites where services including counseling on pregnancy, birth control and STIs, emergency contraception and STI testing are provided.”
Clinics are located in Barrie, Midland, Orillia, Collingwood, Gravenhurst and Huntsville.
