Resources

A Review of Ontario’s Food Safety Program
This paper is a review of the food safety program administered by health units in Ontario. The review was completed to contribute to future decision making in Ontario’s health programs.

BSE Brochure Available
Public Health worked with local agricultural agencies and community partners to develop a resource listing for families.  The resource list identifies contact number for families who may need financial assistance, day care assistance or mental health counseling.
For a copy of the brochure please call 376-9420 ext. 236.

Dental Resources on Loan

The dental division has resources that can be loaned out to individuals and groups in Grey-Bruce counties.  These packages contain information on pop consumption/sugar and the benefit that fluoride can have on teeth. A number of resource packages were sent to area groups in February. 

Contact Kylie Middleton at 1-800-263-3456 or 376-9420 ext. 299.

Free Youth Drug Information Kit

The Public Health Unit and Focus Project celebrated Drug Awareness Week November 15 to19, by offering a free parent information kit on alcohol & other drugs.  This kit was created in response to specific information needs of Grey-Bruce parents.  It is a parent’s guide to help young people who may face challenging situations and tough decisions about alcohol and other drug use.

To obtain your free copy call Public Health at 881-1920 376-9420.

Groundwater Simulator – A New Visual Aid

The Health Unit’s new Bedrock Envision Groundwater Simulator has arrived.  This new groundwater simulator has an additional feature that includes a confined (artesian) bedrock aquifer in addition to the sand aquifers. This feature can be used to illustrate groundwater flow and contaminant movement in fractured or karst (cavernous limestone) aquifers. Karst topography can be found throughout the Bruce Peninsula. This new unit should prove to be a powerful resource in visually demonstrating how groundwater moves under the surface of the earth.

Guide for Building a Workplace Wellness Program

This revised edition is downloadable for all workplaces to use. This is the second edition of this useful resource to help committees start up their healthy workplace program.

Health Hazard Fact Sheets

As the first quarter is fast approaching, the health hazard committee has updated all of the fact sheets as well as having created three new ones.  These fact sheets are useful in meeting our educational and promotional goals. 

These fact sheets are:

• Arsenic in playgrounds

• Asbestos in homes

• Composting

Healthy Housing
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation is the Government of Canada’s national housing agency.  The health unit has recently acquired the following brochures from this agency for distribution to the public:

• Moisture and Air: Householder’s Guide

• Measuring Humidity in Your Home

• Fighting Mold: The Homeowner’s Guide
  

Helping Smokers Quit: Skills for Future Facilitators
The complete guide for those wanting to provide smoking cessation for co-workers, clients, or customers.

HIV Happenings
Grey Bruce Health Unit Fall/Winter 1997

iDrive video. It only takes a split second to change things forever…

iDrive is a video produced by the Ministry of Transportation to help young drivers to recognize factors that contribute to aggressive and unsafe driving and develop strategies to avoid them.  Grey-Bruce is one of the launch sites for this video and this will happen on May 31^st at West Hill Secondary School.  This video is free and will be used in all the in-class driver’s education series.  Call the Health Unit for more information.

List of GBHU Projects

List of GBHU Services

Marijuana: A Public Health Perspective

A paper has been written by the Ontario Public Health Marijuana Working Group which addresses marijuana and its health effects, best practices and legislative history.  This document was submitted to the Ontario Public Health Association as a position paper.

Moving Through the Years

Posters on the Canadian Declaration on Active Living and Older Adults

Booklet: “Moving Through the Years” A Blueprint for Action for Active Living and Older Adults. If you wish more information or to obtained a copy please contact our Walkerton office at 881-1920 ext. 246.

New Hand Washing Resources

The Communicable Diseases team has developed some new hand washing resources for the public, which include a brochure and a poster. The brochure discusses proper hand washing technique, when to wash your hands and information on hand sanitizers and antibacterial soaps. The poster is waterproof and tear proof and visually describes the proper method of hand washing. These posters will be placed in public washrooms throughout Grey-Bruce. The brochures will be distributed to various public locations in Grey-Bruce, such as libraries, hospitals and nursing homes.

New practical guides available on policy development

• Let’s Take Action on Alcohol Problems in the Workplace
• Let’s Take Action on Alcohol Problems in Community Halls and Rental Facilities
• Let’s Action on Alcohol Problems in Schools and on Campus

Please contact the Focus Coordinator at 376-9420, ext. 405 for more information.

New Tobacco Control Act Bookmarks

Bookmarks have been created for use in the Focus and injury Prevention mailout for Grade 7 parents.  1,000 bookmarks will be distributed.  An extra 1,500 were produced for use at events by both the Tobacco team and the Injury Prevention team.

Not My Kid: Crystal Meth in Your Community is a 12-part series by Lori Gillespie, Managing Editor of The Post in Hanover. Examining the effects of crystal meth in local communities, the series was initiated in response to a local parent who asked The Post to help educate the community about the dangers of the drug.

Parent Kit Bookmarks Printed

We have just recently adapted and printed a bookmark to be used in a parent kit that the Focus group is developing. It has information on supplying tobacco to minors on one side, while the other side has information on how kids use fake ID to access tobacco and alcohol.

Pause to Play!

The McGuinty Government promotes kids getting fit with the Active 2010 “Pause to Play” campaign. The campaign appeals to 10-14 year olds using a mix of advertising to showcase popular sports (hockey, volleyball, snowboarding, biking), encouraging youth to “pause”  their video games and computers, give the TV the afternoon off, and instead go outside to play and get active. The campaign includes a Website www.pausetoplay.ca.

Physical inactivity costs Ontario $1.8 billion in direct and indirect health care costs.  Obesity costs $1.6 billion.

Promoting Health Hazard Awareness

The Health Hazard Committee has produced a new fact sheet on methamphetamine.  The information covered includes a description of the drug and its health effects, signs of an illegal lab, health and safety issues and emergency response. 

P.R.O.P.S.

Peers Running Organized Play Stations is a program that encourages children to use their time productively in the school yard by helping them to learn new and traditional games. The PROPS squad consists of older students who teach these games to younger students.

PROPS Manual (Downloadable PDF’s)

• Introduction
• Section 1
• Section 2
• Section 3
• Section 4
• Section 5
• Section 6
• Section 7
• Section 8

Public Health Programs & Services

Substance Use/Abuse Curriculum

Sun Sense Display

The Cancer Society generously supplied an interactive display, related to “SunSense” for health unit use.  The display consists of 3 brightly coloured panels, 2 of which have question flaps that participants flip up to read the correct answer.  The questions can be individualized to particular groups.

Tritium Study
The public health unit conducted a study of the effect tritium releases from the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (BNPD) have on the local water supplies along the Lake Huron Shoreline. Municipal water supplies at Kincardine, Southampton and Port Elgin were monitored as well as private supplies including drilled and shallow wells. Recreational water use (bathing beaches) was also monitored. An Executive summary is provided.

Youth Development Assets

FOCUS has purchased 31 asset-building resources from the Search Institute to provide background on the youth developmental assets; supporting the development of positive assets for youth.  These resources will be available to our partners on loan.

Contact Marie Barclay at 1-800-263-3456 or 376-9420 ext. 405.

Walk Grey-Bruce Brochure

Water Safety for Cottage and Rural People - Grey & Bruce Counties
The four common water concerns of Cottage and Rural people in Grey and Bruce Counties.