Health News For South West
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Perth District Health Unit
Perth District Health Unit and Huron County Health Unit Agree to Talk about Potential Merger
The Perth District Health Unit and Huron County Health Unit have both agreed to discuss the potential of a merger between the two Health Units.
A working group, which will include representatives from the Boards and senior staff from each Health Unit, is being created to begin the discussions and decide whether to proceed with a firm proposal. “The talks are in the very early stages,” says Dr. Miriam Klassen, Medical Officer of Health for Perth County.
While financial implications will be considered, the initial discussions will focus foremost on whether there is a shared vision between the two Health Units that could be strengthened by an amalgamation and if the public health services to our communities would be improved by a merger.
The idea of amalgamating the Huron and Perth health units has been raised in the past, notably in the Revitalizing Ontario’s Public Health Capacity report in 2005 and as recently as last year. At this time, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has expressed interest in reviewing public health organization in the province, which indicates the provincial context may now be favourable to an amalgamation.
“One of our current strategic directions has been to strengthen collaboration with the Huron County Public Health Unit,” says Klassen. “This has been happening at many levels successfully and producing positive results for our community.”
The working group will provide regular updates to Health Unit staff and the public as their discussions proceed.
For more information:
Media Contact:
Rebecca Hill
Communications Manager
519-271-7600 ext 279
rhill@pdhu.on.ca
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