Attention News Editor:

News Release                   For Immediate Release

January 7, 2004

Public Health Inspectors – “Quiet Heroes”

Preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting our environment

One year ago, on January 10, 2003, Dave Patterson died.  Dave was once called “Walkerton’s quiet hero”.  The Globe and Mail titled his obituary “the unsung hero of Walkerton”.  Dave was the public health inspector who, with the help of his colleagues, sounded alarm bells about Walkerton’s tainted water in May 2000.  He and his fellow public health inspectors were instrumental in determining the source and containing the spread of the E.coli poison that led to the deaths of seven people.

Although the work of Dave Patterson became newsworthy as a result of enormous public scrutiny caused by the worst outbreak of E.coli illness in Canadian history, Dave focused his considerable talents on public health issues every day for 33 years.  Nineteen of Dave’s fellow public health inspectors in Grey and Bruce counties continue to dedicate themselves daily to this work.

The week of January 3-9 is Environmental Health Week in Canada.  This is the time of year we recognize and celebrate the hard work of Canada’s public health inspectors.  These professionals are committed to preventing disease, promoting health and protecting us from environmental threats to health.  The great value of their work is seen all around us.  The following is a list of just some of the invaluable services and education provided by our  public health inspectors:

Services:

• Investigate health hazards (biological, chemical or physical)
• Plan for public health emergencies (nuclear, bioterrorism, natural disasters, pandemic influenza and power failures)
• Control communicable and infectious diseases (long-term care facilities, daycares, tattoo parlours, health clubs, tanning salons and beauty salons)
• Enforce provincial legislation (health hazards, tobacco, food safety)
• Inspect food premises (restaurants, supermarkets, butcher shops, cafeterias, daycares, hospitals, nursing homes and special events)
• Inspect recreational water sites (pools, spas, beaches)
• Monitor public drinking water supplies
• Inspect sewage disposal systems
• Handle community complaints about sewage

Education:

• West Nile virus control measures
• Safe drinking water
• Food handler certification courses
• Rabies prevention and rabies vaccination
• Health hazard prevention and response
• Sewage disposal systems installation and maintenance
• Recreational water protection
• Foodborne illness prevention
• Infection control practices
• Groundwater protection

Please join us in congratulating Grey-Bruce public health inspectors, our “quiet heroes”, for their priceless work.

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For more information:

Jim Paton

Director of Health Protection

Grey Bruce Health Unit

(519) 376-9420