Southeast Public Health Board Update for October 2026

Kingston – The Southeast Public Health (SEPH) Board of Health met today in Kingston for their regular monthly meeting. The agenda package is available online.

Finance Committee update

Finance Committee Chair Anne-Marie Koiner provided an update, noting that while third quarter financials are not yet finalized, merger work is progressing in line with the 2026 budget.

Cryptosporidiosis outbreak update

Dr. Ethan Toumishey, Deputy Medical Officer of Health, provided a presentation to the Board about the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Kingston, which started in April and was declared over in early August.

To learn more about cryptosporidiosis, visit the Southeast Public Health website.

Merger benefits

The Board received a memo highlighting work completed by Southeast Public Health over the past 22 months that demonstrates the tangible benefits of the merger for communities across the region in five key areas: improved access, enhanced prevention and protection, greater capacity, expanded expertise, and modernized infrastructure.

The progress achieved to date reflects the commitment and expertise of the staff who have driven this work, while continuing to deliver essential public health services. Although additional efforts lie ahead to achieve full integration, a strong foundation and clear direction for the future have been established.

Examples of this work include, but are not limited to:

• -Broadening the delivery of the Steps to Wellness program to offer components of cognitive behavioural therapy to more pregnant and new mothers with babies up to 12 months of age, helping them better manage their symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• -Improving the consistency of, and access to, environmental health inspection results across urban and rural communities to make information reliably available to the public, supporting informed decisions about health and safety.
• -Addressing geographic disparities in immunization rates to improve local protection from preventable diseases.
• -Expansion of the influenza vaccine dashboard across the entire region to improve vaccine ordering and inventory management, reduce vaccine waste, and support a reliable regional vaccine supply, ensuring timely access to immunization for local communities and residents.
• -Consolidating communications with health system partners to create more consistent and co-ordinated information sharing across the region.

Southeast Public Health has achieved many financial efficiencies through management attrition, procurement efficiencies, and mortgage savings. Those dollars have been redirected to tackling the structural deficit, protecting core capacity to deliver high-quality public health programs and services, and to successfully blend Southeast Public Health’s operational and workplace culture.

2026 Board and Committee meeting schedule

The Board passed a motion to cancel the November 25 and December 16 Board of Health meetings, as well as the November 18 Finance Committee meeting.

Municipal Post-Election Primers

The Board passed a motion to add housing and homelessness as a priority in the Post-Election Primers.

The Community Health Promotion team developed three evidence-based post-election primers to support newly elected municipal officials in advancing key municipal and public health priorities, which are based on the best available evidence, local context, and health equity. Currently these three priorities are climate change, food insecurity, and gender-based violence and intimate partner violence.

The next meeting of the Board is January 27, 2027.