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Wednesday, 18 March 2020 11:55

KFLA announces first cases of COVID-19

On Tuesday, Dr. Kieran Moore, Medical Officer of Health at KFL&A Public Health confirmed that there are three positive cases of COVID-19 in the KFL&A area.

Two females, 44 and 62 years of age, and one male 48 years of age, all with recent travel history to Spain, Barbados, and the United Kingdom have tested positive for COVID-19. Two of the individuals were seen and assessed at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Hotel Dieu Hospital, while the third affected individual was assessed at a local hospital. 

All individuals are recovering at home and have been put on self-isolation and are being monitored by KFL&A Public Health.

To protect the health of the public and prevent community spread, KFL&A Public Health is investigating and following up with close contacts.

“I would like to thank our front-line teams for their timely and effective response in taking immediate precautions to ensure these patients are being safely and appropriately cared for and that patients, staff and the community are well protected,” said Dr. Kieran Moore. “Given the spread of this virus globally, over the last few weeks, a case in KFL&A was anticipated and pre-emptive measures were in place for exactly this type of situation. In this case, the health care system worked as intended and through coordinated efforts with our partners, the risk to KFL&A residents remains low.” 

KFL&A Public Health is working with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Ministry of Health, Public Health Ontario and other local health care providers to monitor the situation and protect the community.

KFL&A Public Health did not disclose where the three patients reside. They could live in Kingston, Frontenac or Lennox and Addington Counties’.

Published in General Interest

Health Unit to pull out of septic inspection business

Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health (KFL&A PH) sent a letter to Central Frontenac Council on January 30th, informing the township that as of January 1st, 2021, they will need to find a new provider for sewage inspection services for new construction.

KFL&A PH provides sewage system inspection services, as outlined in part 8 of the Ontario Building Code Act, for the city of Kingston and the 8 municipalities in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties. The program, which cost $566,000 to operate in 2019, is entirely funded out of permit fees. Public health inspectors work with developers and building departments to make sure that septic systems that are put in during new construction and renovations conform to the building code. This involves site visits before, and after, excavation work is done.

However, it is not a program that most public health agencies in the province offer for their member municipalities.

In the letter to Central Frontenac Township, Linda Murray, director of corporate services for KFL&A Public Health, said that in preparation for the public health modernisation program which is being undertaken by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, her agency is seeking to align itself to the services that are offered by other public health units.

“We have determined that KFL&A Public Health is one of only four of the 34 health units in Ontario that are voluntarily involved in handling sewage system inspections, “Murray said in her letter to Central Frontenac.

“Given the Ministry of Health’s direction, we realise that we are in a difficult position and need to be proactive going forward.”

As Murray pointed out in her letter, the direction the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is taking, in regards to public health, is to align all of the services offered by public health with the “Ontario Public Health Programs (OPHP)” that they run.

“Sewage inspections do not fit that profile, as their legislative oversight comes from the “Ontario Building Core, not the OPHP” she wrote.

The letter leaves no room for doubt.

“We are providing you with notification of our intent to terminate our agreement to carry out the municipality’s responsibilities for sewage system … effective January 1, 2021.”

Murray wrote that Sarah Ryding, from KFL&A PH, will be available to talk with township staff “to discuss the details of a transition plan”.

When contacted on Tuesday (February 11), a spokesperson for KFL&A Public Health said that some municipalities in the province contract out the service to their local Conservation Authorities, while others run the service themselves, either by employing outside contractors or township employees.

The spokesperson also confirmed that every jurisdiction in the KFL&A catchment area, including the separated City of Kingston, has been sent a similar letter to the one that was sent to Central Frontenac on January 30th. Public Health will attempt to avoid any staff layoffs as the result of the change, if at all possible.

KFL&A PH has contemplated getting out of the septic inspection business before. In 2009, they informed the municipalities that they serve, of their intention to close the septic inspection office, noting that it was not a core business and that the person who had been over-seeing the program for them was retiring. Pressure from the municipalities who use the service led to a change of heart.

Not only was the program maintained but KFL&A PH offered to provide re-inspection services to townships, such as those in Frontenac County, who had become concerned about the impact that older systems may be having on water quality, particularly older systems on lakeside properties.

But it was the Mississippi-Rideau septic office, which is jointly operated by the Mississippi and Rideau Valley Conservation Authorities, who ended up being contracted to provide re-inspection services for older systems for both Central and North Frontenac.

Central Frontenac recently brought about a mandatory re-inspection system, which is being run by the.

The Mississippi-Rideau septic office also provides the part 8 building code inspections, for new systems, to Tay Valley Township and may be in a position to do the same for the other townships within the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds, which includes North, Central, and even South Frontenac.

However, Conservation Authorities are facing a similar restructuring initiative from the province of Ontario as the public health system is, so their ability to provide this kind of service is not guaranteed.

When the matter was discussed at Central Frontenac Council, the township Chief Building Official, Andy Dillon, briefly outlined four options: provide the service in-house (which would require more staffing), enter into an agreement with another municipality or municipalities, or enter into an agreement with a conservation authority.

Mayor Frances Smith was concerned about the net effect on ratepayers.

“We don’t know how much this is going to cost, and what sort of revenue will pay for it,” she said.

Andy Dillon pointed out that the costs are all currently taken from building permit fees and he envisions that will remain the case under a new service model.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 27 April 2016 19:22

S.A.L.T. committee reaches out to seniors

The Frontenac OPP have partnered with the local community agencies, including the Township of South Frontenac, Southern Frontenac Community Services, the KFL&A's Health Unit, Kingston Community Legal Clinic and Rural Kingston Family Health Organization to create the committee known as Seniors and Law Enforcement Together, or S.A.L.T.

The committee's focus is aimed at seniors living in the Township of South Frontenac, and their goal is to increase seniors' communication with the local police and other service agencies. The committee will provide support and information to seniors in South Frontenac, with the aim of improving their safety and overall well-being.

The committee launched their first safety information session on April 19. Presentations were held in Sunbury, Verona and Sydenham and attracted seniors from across the township.

The free sessions were comprised of three presentations: Keeping Healthy, Falls Prevention and Scams and Frauds.

The first was delivered by two registered nurses: Meredith Prikker from the Sydenham Medical Clinic, and Annie Campbell from the Verona Medical Clinic, both of whom specialize in the management of chronic diseases with the goal of keeping seniors living at home longer.

They covered numerous health-related issues, like medication reconciliation, tips to avoid medication mistakes, advanced care planning, and creating a coordinated care plan. They informed guests about two free self-management workshops on the topics of Living Well with Chronic Disease, which runs from April 20 to May 25, and a second workshop in the fall on Living Well with Chronic Pain, with dates to be announced.

Rhonda Lovell, a registered nurse with KFL&A Public Health, gave the second presentation on Falls Prevention. She spoke about the leading fall risks to seniors, how to prevent them, and how seniors who fall represent 58% of the leading causes of unintentional injury-related emergency department visits. Lovell highlighted the personal costs associated with a fall, which can include bone fractures, chronic pain, loss of independence and a decreased quality of life.

Lovell also spoke of the fears related to falling and how a “Cycle of Fear” can increase the potential for a fall. She ended her presentation on a positive note, stressing that most falls are preventable and can be avoided by making smart choices, remaining active, and planning ahead.

Community services officer with the Frontenac OPP, Roop Sandhu, made the final presentation on the topic of Scams and Frauds. He spoke of the myriad of cons that exist, including door-to-door scams involving water purification, driveway sealants, and energy and hot water tank services. He spoke at length about telephone frauds, where con artists pose as grandchildren in a fix, needing immediate cash; various prize and money scams, like free travel awards, fake charities, credit card fees; and online frauds, like fake letters from Nigeria and West Africa.

He spoke about fraudsters imitating officials from the Canada Revenue Agency and demanding payments. He also gave tips on how to avoid identity theft. In summary, Sandhu quoted the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”

The S.A.L.T. Committee will be holding future workshops and members are hoping to hear from seniors about the topics they would like to see covered at the sessions. Active seniors in the community who want to become involved with the committee are invited to commit to just one hour a month of meetings. For more information about how to get involved can contact Roop Sandhu at 613-372-1932 or David Townsend at the Southern Frontenac Community Services at 613-376-6376.

 

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Bicycle enthusiasts from across the Township of South Frontenac put their heads together to brainstorm what changes might be made in the township to create a more bicycle-friendly environment. The efforts began at two meetings, both of which took place on March 30 and included representatives from KLF&A Public Health, the Township of South Frontenac and South Frontenac Rides. The latter is a committee of South Frontenac Council made up almost entirely of community members interested in improving active transportation in South Frontenac.

At their first meeting on Wednesday, the three groups met privately to discuss the possibilities of coming up with a work plan to improve cycling infrastructure in the township. Guests spoke about what is currently in place in the community to support cycling and also the gaps that exist and how to best address them.

The groups developed five and two-year plans and also an immediate one-year action plan. A report is currently being created and will be presented to council in the near future. The plan will map out the suggestions identified by the stakeholders and gleaned through the lens of the Bicycle-Friendly Ontario program and will include some of the high-impact actions that the group and township can take, especially those that will have an immediate, visible impact.

The second part of the day included a public meeting where representatives from the three groups along with interested members of the community met for a presentation by Justin Jones, who is the manager of Bicycle-Friendly Ontario and is also with Share The Road Cycling Coalition.

Jones began by outlining his personal background, first as a car-dependent teenager in his hometown of Carstairs, Alberta and later, after moving to Toronto, as a cycling enthusiast. Jones cited numerous statistics in the presentation, like the fact that 54% of 18 to 34-year-olds would consider moving to another community that had better transportation options and further, that 66% of this age group said that “access to high quality transportation options” is one of their top three priorities when considering a new community to settle in.

Jones also noted that children these days are far less likely to walk or bike to school. Today only 24% (and dropping) of children do, whereas 58% of people over 30 years old used to walk or bike to school when they were children. He said, “It is very important to start reversing these trends.”

Jones went on to point to a pilot project done in the US where $25 million was invested in active transportation infrastructure (i.e. bicycle paths, trails etc.) in each of four various-sized communities. Results showed that the number of people walking went up by 22%; cyclists increased by 46-115%; and the number of collisions decreased by 18-55%.

Jones also spoke of the City of Thunder Bay, which has been increasing its active transportation infrastructure since 2010. Statistics have shown that cycling increased by 147%, and that the number of collisions involving cyclists decreased by 88%.

Jones stressed that bicycle-friendly communities involve much more than just lines on the road, but also the engineering of bike lanes, trails and bicycle parking, education, encouragements and incentives, and by-law enforcement. He spoke of the small town of Bemidji, Minnesota, which in 2012 earned bronze medal status as a bike-friendly community. The town engaged cyclists through a number of incentives and activities, which in time encouraged residents to support new cycling infrastructure policies.

In Ontario, Jones cited the town of Mississippi Mills, with a population of 12,000, which has instituted numerous cycling incentives including a small bike share program; a “Tweed Ride” where cyclists dress up in their finest for an afternoon ride; a women’s-only mountain biking event and more. Council there has passed an active transportation plan for 2016 that should see more incentives undertaken to promote cycling.

Jones also used Verona as an example. Most residents live within a 3 km radius of the town services and improved infrastructure there could see more cyclists taking to the roads to commute to their work places, schools and local services.

Following Jones’ presentation, guests were split into groups to determine what plans can be taken and put into place to increase cycling. Topics included short-term projects leading to longer-term investments; what the ideal infrastructure in South Frontenac might look like; what activities can encourage residents and children to ride; and what barriers are preventing them from doing so.

Mayor Ron Vandewal, who attended both meetings, said that he looks forward to seeing what happens with all the information gleaned from the two meetings. “There was lot of good information that came forward at both meetings and it will be interesting to see what we can do moving forward. I think that if we want taxpayers to buy into this, we also need to include other modes of active transportation like walking trails, sidewalks and more.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

A number of Central Frontenac area families have been suffering this summer with flu-like symptoms, followed by mouth sores and a rash. The disease they are likely suffering from is Hand Foot and Mouth disease (not to be confused with Hoof and Mouth disease, which only occurs in animals). In a Kingston Frontenac Public Health fact sheet, Hand Foot and Mouth disease is characterized as a “common contagious viral illness that affects mostly children, but adults can get it too.” It is usually contracted in the summer months and nearly all people recover within 7 to 10 days without treatment. It is considered “moderately contagious through direct contact with an infected person”.

Residents have raised concerns that the disease was contracted through the water at some of the local beaches, in particular the Sharbot Lake Beach, but Public Health Unit Officials say that cannot be the case.

“Hand Foot and Mouth Disease is a virus that is only spread through direct human contact, not the water at public beaches,” said Karla Gimby, communications officer with KFL&A Public Health.

Gimby added that the Public Health does not get notified by local primary care physicians or schools about outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease, unlike diseases such as influenza, which pose a more serious risk to public health.

The Health Unit does test the water at a number of locations in Frontenac County each summer for bacterial content, including: Arden, Long Lake, Big Clear Lake, Eagle Lake, Crow Lake, Kennebec Lake, and Sharbot Lake in Central Frontenac; Palmerston and Ompah in North Frontenac; Davidsons, Desert Lake and Sydenham Lake.

At this time all of those locations are listed as safe and the beaches are open to the public.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
With the participation of the Government of Canada