After what's being described as a year of uncertainty, the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is looking ahead to 2020.
The local health unit has submitted its 2019 objectives and 2020 plan to the board of health. The report stated that because of the provincial government tabling its first budget, 2019 brought on lots of unpredictability.
Despite that, Public Health Director Teresa Bendo said they were still able to complete a majority of their planned initiatives. For her, one of the biggest milestones of 2019 was being able to bring more affordable dental care to seniors in Chatham-Kent.
"It was certainly a real year of change," she said. "We were excited about the implementation of the low-income seniors' dental program for our public health unit and across the province."
The program was announced in September and enrollment started in the fall while dental suites will begin early in 2020. The continuation of the program is one of the things Bendo said she's most optimistic about for the upcoming year.
Another highlight for 2019 for Bendo was the expansion of the needle syringe program for rural Chatham-Kent as well as improving the Chatham-Kent Public Health website, which will be a continuing initiative in 2020.
"With the hiring of a community outreach and communications officer in 2019, the revamp of the organization's external communications, including website, social media and print materials, to the general public became the priority," read the report. "Improving CK Public Health's communication to health care providers will be the priority for 2020."
With 2020 will come some big changes in the world of public health including a more modernized structure and the implementation of Ontario Health Teams, one of which was introduced for Chatham-Kent in early December. Bendo said there may be some challenges to overcome, but she's looking forward to what the new year will bring.
"We're excited about some of the changes that are happening in public health and the consultations that are happening across the province," said Bendo. "[We're] eagerly anticipating the provincial consultation with respect to public health modernization across the province. So we look forward to the possibilities that come from that for this health unit and the community as a whole."
