Dr. Piotr Oglaza – new medical officer of health for KFL&A

Jeff Green | Oct 27, 2021

Although he never really left, Dr. Piotr Iglaza has returned to Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health (KFLAPH) in a new role.

Dr. Oglaza was living in Kingston when he was working in family practice at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team and as a partner at the Verona Medical Centre.

In 2016, he left the Verona Medical Centre and pursued further studies in Public Health. As part of his studies, he took on a residency at Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, and was tapped to become the Medical Officer of Health, in that region, as soon as he completed the residency in May of 2018. His public profile, like that of all Medical Officers of Health, increased dramatically when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020.

The Public Health agencies in Hastings Prince Edward, Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington, and Lanark Leeds and Grenville, have worked closely together throughout the pandemic.

In a media briefing two days after taking on the leadership of KFLAPH, he said that “there are some differences [between the regions] in maybe population density, and some unique difference in terms of our approach, but the main priorities, and many of the health concerns, remain the same.”

He said that one of the major motivations for him to leave family practice in order to pursue a career in public health, “involves being able to look at the big picture. Only when we understand the big picture, can we devise the proper intervention. The essence is that we all benefit when we build a healthy community. It is like a forest. You need to understand the ecology of the forest to know the health of a tree in that forest.”

He said that he has been fortunate, not only to have been able to train and work in Prince Edward Hastings, but also to learn from his predecessors in KFLAPH, Ian Gemmill and Kieran Moore, and to benefit from the work they have done to build up the capacity and profile of the agency.

“Public Health needs to be hands on, and approachable. The Medical Officer of Health sets that tone. It is my role to build relationships with external partners, and to bring the community together,” he said.

Among the issues that he is committed to addressing at KFLAPH, in the next few years, are the “impact of climate change on health, ongoing mental health challenges in the community, addressing health inequities, and building relationships with Indigenous communities.”

As to his role in the next phase of the COVID pandemic, continuity with the policies pursued by Dr. Moore and interim Medical Officer of Health Dr. Guan can be expected.

The care rates, and vaccination rates, in Prince Edward Hastings and KFL&A have been very similar through the pandemic, as has been the advice and regulations pursued by public health, and following provincial guidelines.

Dr. Oglaza said that the vaccination rate, which is now less than 1% under the 90% target for first doses, and 5% below the 90% target for full vaccination, is promising, and that “case rates have remained stable. And it appears that the Thanksgiving weekend did not lead to a spike in cases, which is a good sign as well.”

He pointed out, in response to a media question about some of the claims that Lanark Frontenac Kingston MPP Randy Hillier has made about adverse reactions to COVID vaccines, that “robust studies that were done before the vaccines were approved, and have continued to be done using even more complete data from millions of doses, show that the vaccine is not only effective but safe. Cases of adverse reactions are reported and monitored.

He also said that “schools remain a safe place for learning. Even the cases that have been identified in the school setting have mostly come from outside the school. Spread from within the school setting is not something we have seen. Our school partners should be commended for their work, and parents and children can take confidence from what we have seen so far this school year.”

(Dr. Oglaza spoke to the media three days after the Queen's Homecoming weekend, before any cases resulting from that event would likely have been detectable. The case rate jumped by 17 on Monday, October 25, but it does not appear that those cases came from the homecoming events)