2016 Annual Report Highlights Impact of Local Public Health Strategies
Written by admin, September 14, 2017
September 14, 2017 – Report Showcases New Community Kitchen; Compares Student Vaccination Coverage Rates to Provincial Average
At today’s Board of Health meeting, Peterborough Public Health released its 2016 Annual Report to highlight the many ways public health strategies protect and promote healthy living in Curve Lake and Hiawa
tha First Nations, and the County and City of Peterborough.
“We’re pleased to share this overview of the progress made on the agency’s strategic priorities in 2016,” explained Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. “Last year was a big year for us as we officially changed our agency name to Peterborough Public Health and opened Myrtle’s Kitchen, a wonderful new local asset that helps us tackle the growing challenge of food insecurity in our community.”
Using statistics and brief stories, the report summarizes the wide scope of public health programs and services delivered in the areas of family health, environmental health, chronic disease and injury prevention, emergency preparedness and infectious disease prevention and control. Dr. Salvaterra noted the indicators help show how extensively the work of public health staff positively affects the lives of residents, especially vulnerable populations.
In the case of student vaccination coverage rates for the 2015-2016 academic year*, local rates were above or on par with the provincial average, with the exception of the rates for pneumococcal, HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines which were lower. “Immunization works when the community joins together to ensure enough children are vaccinated to protect the whole population,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “Overall I’m pleased with our local coverage rates, but this report shows that as we head into a new school year, there is still work to be done to improve some vaccination rates.”
The 2016 Annual Report is available at www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca. Public health staff welcome the opportunity to present the report to local municipal councils, service clubs and other groups. Please call 705-743-1000, ext. 391 to coordinate a presentation.
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For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence
Communications Manager
705-743-1000, ext. 391