The Perth District Health Unit and the Huron County Health Unit will be merging into a single entity effective January 1, 2020, called Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH). The goal of the merger is to improve the delivery of public health programs and services across Huron and Perth counties.
“Our staff will continue working with our communities, partners and stakeholders with the goal of protecting and promoting health and preventing disease in Huron and Perth,” says Dr. Miriam Klassen, who will become the Medical Officer of Health for HPPH.
The new HPPH Board of Health will meet for the first time on January 2, 2020. Representation on the board is based on population and is comprised of nine municipal representatives (four from the County of Huron, two from Perth County, two from Stratford, one from St. Marys) and four provincial appointees.
“Over the past year, we have been examining our organizational structure and our programs and services to see how we can best merge and enhance them to improve what we provide to our communities,” says Dr. Klassen. “Our combined staff of more than 150 public health professionals will continue delivering the same great local services and programs and working closely with our partners and stakeholders to keep our residents healthy.”
A new organizational structure has been created and public health staff are in the process of program planning with their new teams for 2020. However, most public health programs and services will continue as they are for the time being, so residents can access their local public health programs as before.
One change residents of Huron will see is that their local municipality is now responsible for plumbing and sewage inspections. This program was previously delivered for the County of Huron by the Huron County Health Unit.
Contact details for the new Huron Perth Public Health, which take effect January 1, 2020:
- Office Locations: The main office locations will remain the same (Stratford and Clinton) with satellite offices in Wingham, Listowel and downtown Stratford as before. Clinics and services will continue to operate from these locations.
- Phone: HPPH will have one intake number: 1-888-221-2133.
- Website and Social Media: The new HPPH website will be at www.hpph.ca and will be accessible to all and contain important public health information, details about programs, services and clinics, and sections for partners and stakeholders. The health units will be merging their social media accounts over the next few months.
- New Logo: The new logo and identity for HPPH will be:
Public health units across Ontario are currently in consultations with the Ministry of Health regarding the government’s announcement in spring 2019 to reduce the number of health units in the province. Explains Dr. Klassen: “Regardless of the future structure of public health in Ontario, the Huron and Perth merger is an exciting opportunity for us to enhance how we serve and provide for our communities.”