KFL&A Public Health News Wire

KFL&A Board of Health elects its Chair and Vice-Chair for 2012

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

On January 25, 2012, the KFL&A Board of Health re-elected Mrs. Beth Pater and Mr. Charles Simonds as its Chair and Vice-Chair for 2012. Mrs. Pater has been a member of the Board of Health since 2001, and has been its Chair since 2004. Under Mrs. Pater’s leadership, KFL&A Public Health has expanded its programs in the area of tobacco use reduction, dental health, communicable disease control and many other programs.

“I am delighted to serve as Board of Health Chair again for 2012. It is a pleasure for me to serve on the Board and as its Chair, since the services and programs that are offered by this agency mak...

Symposium will look at combining GIS resources to help community agencies

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A symposium hosted by KFL&A Public Health will bring together local agencies who currently use geographic information systems (GIS) to help their organizations in developing programs and services in the KFL&A area. Representatives from a number of agencies will demonstrate how they use GIS to analyze information and to explore how they can use their data and systems to serve the needs of communities and smaller agencies throughout the KFL&A area better. Presenters include KFL&A Pubic Health, Queen’s University, the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, the City of Kingston, Frontenac County, Lennox & Addington Cou...

Notice of Board of Health meeting

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Board of Health’s January 2012 meeting is taking place as follows:

Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Boardroom
(please enter the main entrance of the building)
KFL&A Public Health
221 Portsmouth Ave.,
Kingston, Ontario

A copy of the Board Agenda is attached. Copies of the complete Board Agenda, including all Information Items, are available upon request.

Agency launches online system to book immunization clinic appointments

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Each year, KFL&A Public Health reviews and updates the immunization records of thousands of children attending licensed childcare and elementary and secondary students in the KFL&A area to ensure the records of all of area children are up to date. The Day Nurseries Act and Immunization of School Pupils Act require certain immunizations in daycare attendees and school aged children and when the records of children in the KFL&A area are incomplete, the agency sets about contacting parents to either update the records or immunizations. To help parents schedule appointments in the immunization clinic, KFL&A Public Health has launc...

Agency celebrates National Non-Smoking Week by showing students that breaking up is hard to do

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

National Non-Smoking Week has been celebrated numerous ways since it was established in 1977 by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control, and this year’s twist on the theme will undoubtedly resonate with teens. The idea is to highlight the complex relationship that people who smoke have with their cigarettes, a message that KFL&A Public Health uses as part of its educational sessions with students, called Teens Trashing Tobacco. The interactive workshop is designed for grade 7 and 8 students in the KFL&A area, focuses on tobacco use prevention, and is matched to the Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum (Substance Use...

Sexual Health Clinic Cancelled

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Due to inclement weather, KFL&A Public Health’s Sexual Health Clinic scheduled for tonight is cancelled. The clinic will resume regular clinic times with the next clinic on Monday, January 16, 2012. KFL&A Public Health’s Sexual Health Clinic runs Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Kingston Office.

Holiday hours for KFL&A Public Health programs and services

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The schedule for some KFL&A Public Health programs and services will be modified over the next couple of weeks owing to holiday hours. KFL&A Public Health offices in Cloyne and Sharbot Lake will be closed from Friday, December 23, 2011 through Monday, January 2, 2012 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. KFL&A Public Health’s Kingston Office at 221 Portsmouth Avenue and Napanee Office at 41 Dundas Street West will be open and closed as follows during the holidays:

Friday, December 23, 2011 Closed
Monday, December 26, 2011 Closed
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Closed
W...

Surveillance system shows norovirus across KFL&A area

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

It’s the gift you don’t want to give or receive for Christmas—norovirus. KFL&A Public Health’s surveillance program that monitors symptoms presented at emergency department visits and admissions at area hospitals is showing a surge in gastrointestinal illness activity in KFL&A residents. Norovirus, a gastrointestinal virus with symptoms that include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, chills, sore muscles, and a low-grade fever, often circulates during the holiday season. Reports from the Syndromic Surveillance Program at KFL&A Public Health are showing a sharp rise in the number of noro...

Photo project that engaged youth to be the voice of their community set to wrap

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A new photography project and contest run by six local public health agencies across eastern Ontario this fall is set to wrap at a special gala tonight in Kingston for photographers who entered photos. Photovoice, a program for youth between the ages of 10 and 24, was organized by the Eastern Ontario Tobacco Control Area Network. Organizers—including KFL&A Public Health—sought to give local youth a voice on health issues important to them by submitting photographs related to the project and a description of what the photo meant to them. The gala, being held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Kingston Frontenac...

Notice of Board of Health meeting

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Board of Health’s November 2011 meeting is taking place as follows:

Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location: Boardroom
(please enter the main entrance of the building)

KFL&A Public Health
221 Portsmouth Ave.,
Kingston, Ontario

A copy of the Board Agenda is attached. Copies of the complete Board Agenda, including all Information Items, are available upon request.

Local initiative challenges area residents to “maintain, don’t gain” over the holiday season

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

With all of the treats, events, and stress, the holidays are a time when people tend to gain weight. To help people stay on track this season, KFL&A Public Health is promoting the Motiv8 2011 Holiday Challenge “Maintain, don’t gain.” The challenge—a web-based program that can be done from home or anywhere with access to the internet—is open to all KFL&A residents from November 21, 2011 through January 2, 2012.

“The challenge is designed to help people manage the triggers that cause weight gain over the holidays,” said Heather McMillan, public health dietitian with KFL&A Publi...

Program looking for workplaces and recreation centres to apply to be Eat Smart!

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

KFL&A Public Health is encouraging workplaces and recreation centres to apply to become an Eat Smart! facility. The Eat Smart! Program is a provincial program that distinguishes workplaces and recreation centres that are committed to the health and well-being of their employees and the community.

“Making healthy food choices can be a challenge,” said Rachael Goodmurphy, public health dietitian with KFL&A Public Health and representative of the Eat Smart! Workplace Program in the KFL&A area. “By offering healthier food choices in cafeterias, cafés, snack bars, and vending machines, workplaces ...

Media invited to see local secondary students taking charge of their future

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

An event by KFL&A Public Health later this week hopes to encourage local secondary school students to take charge of the world around them. At the Take Charge Leadership Day, 90 invited KFL&A area secondary school students will join motivational speaker Matt Evans on Thursday, November 10, 2011 to look at healthy lifestyles and to help them learn how to plan and to implement initiatives in their schools, to prevent substance abuse and to promote healthy lifestyles.

“Matt Evans is a very engaging speaker for secondary school audiences,” said Linda Malcolm, public health nurse with KFL&A Public Health. &ldq...

Photo project looks to give youth a voice on the health of their community

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes you need to go to the source to find the best message. That’s the idea behind a new photography project and contest being run by six local public health agencies across eastern Ontario this fall. Photovoice, a program for youth between the ages of 10 and 24, is being organized by the Eastern Ontario Tobacco Control Area Network. Organizers—including KFL&A Public Health—are helping to give local youth a voice on health issues important to them by submitting photographs related to the project and a description of what the photo means to them. One lucky winner will be rewarded for their effort with a new Xbox syst...

Ontarians Warned Not To Eat Food Product Contaminated With Listeria

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Arlene King, and Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David McKeown, are warning Ontarians not to consume the following brand of smoked salmon because it may be contaminated with Listeria.

Brand: Strubs

Product: Smoked Salmon – ready to eat

Lot Identifier: 09192011

Distributed in 250 gram vacuum packs

Although the originating processing plant for the product is in Toronto, the extent of the distribution of the product across Ontario is unknown...