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Medical Officer of Health
Dr. Charles Gardner is the Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Health and is responsible for the overall programs and operations of the health unit.
Dr. Gardner joined the Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit in 2005, after having served as the Medical Officer of Health for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit for seven years. Prior to that, he worked in general practice for four years in communities in Newfoundland and New Brunswick and worked for a year as well in Zimbabwe.
He received his medical degree from Queen’s University in Kingston. He gained a fellowship with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in the specialty of Community Medicine in 1998.
Dr. Gardner is the past chair of the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health, is president for the Association for Local Public Health Agencies and is a past president of the Ontario Council for Community Health Accreditation.
Associate Medical Officer of Health
Dr. Jim Pfaff joined the health unit as a part-time Associate Medical Officer of Health (AMOH) in 2003, immediately
joining the Health Protection Service area under which programs such as West Nile virus, rabies and safe food and water are implemented.
Dr. Pfaff is a graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School with a Masters of Health Science degree in Community Health
and Epidemiology. Retired from the military in 1988 with the rank of Colonel, his extensive experience includes roles as
Medical Officer of Health in Muskoka-Parry Sound, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, and work with the provincial SARS team.
As well, he has dealt with environmental health issues as medical director of Ontario Hydro. He is an Associate Fellow of the Aerospace
Medical Association and an Academician of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine.
The support and expertise of Dr.
Pfaff is an important asset for the health unit, both in regard to immediate threats to health—like adverse water events—and
in order to maintain momentum on health issues that will have an impact on the longer term.
 Associate Medical Officer of Health
Meeting the increasing program and professional demands of the health unit became a little easier with the appointment of a new part time Associate Medical Officer of Health in July 2001. Dr. Susan Surry is a pediatric specialist with expertise in children's health including more than 10 years of field work and research experience in population health.
The demands of a rapidly growing population, the mounting pressures in all program areas and the need to ensure strong links with physicians all contributed to the demand for Dr. Surry's expertise. Her background makes her ideally suited to strengthen and enhance the programming and services offered to promote and protect the health of children.
Dr. Surry's interest in children and health began early. As a youth she worked with children in Costa Rica, an experience she repeated later as a medical student. The appreciation that chronic diseases often receive their start in childhood convinced the doctor that there was "a role in public health for a pediatric specialist.
"I recognized that I could make a difference in people's health if I reached them in their early years," said Dr. Surry.
With her support the health unit is now able to ensure a 24-hour fail safe on call system and focus on some of the escalating demands related to communicable disease and environmental health investigations as well as the expansion of sexual health and healthy babies healthy children programs.
In addition to assisting the Medical Officer of Health and chief executive officer for the health unit, Dr. Surry works in pediatrics at Soldiers' Memorial Hospital in Orillia part-time.
As a community physician, Dr. Surry also devotes some of her energies to helping the health unit develop stronger links with local physicians, important partners in the delivery of public health programs.
 Associate Medical Officer of Health
Dr. Colin Lee is a Royal College certified community medicine specialist who has been with the health unit since 2003. He is currently an Associate Medical Officer of Health helping to meet the growing demands of providing public health services and programs to the residents of Simcoe and Muskoka.
Dr. Lee’s primary responsibilities are in the Clinical Service Programs, including communicable disease control, vaccine-preventable diseases and sexual health. He is also a certified emergency medicine physician. This dual-career in public health and emergency medicine provides invaluable opportunities to strengthen links between local doctors and the health unit, and to enhance clinical protocols that impact on public health.
He has a long-standing interest in infectious diseases and is currently appointed to the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and is the Chair of the Communicable Disease Subcommittee which advises the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario on infectious disease issues. His interest in public health extends beyond the borders of Simcoe and Muskoka, as he provides public health consultancies in malaria, HIV/AIDS and public health policy to developing countries. He has worked and continues to work in a number of countries in Africa and Asia, including India, South Africa, Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Bénin.
Dr. Lee is a graduate of the University of Toronto, McGill University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in England. As well as community and emergency medicine, he is also trained in family medicine and provides locum coverage periodically in central Ontario.
Public Health Inspectors
Public Health Inspectors have a university degree in Applied
Science and a national professional certificate in Public
Health Inspection - C.P.H.I.(C). They bring to the position
an understanding of microbiology, risk assessment, environmental
science and technology, food science, as well as skills and
knowledge related to the tracking and control of communicable
disease and the investigation and enforcement of legislation
related to public health and the environment. Working in partnership
with the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and the Environment,
local municipalities, businesses, community groups and agencies
as well as individual members of the community the Public
Health Inspector plays a major role as the field representative
for the Medical Officer of Health.
You could think about public health inspectors as your guardians
for safe food, clean water, disease protection and more. They
are the people you talk to if you are testing your well water,
concerned about food safety or if you have questions about
rabies. If there is a food poisoning outbreak, it's the public
health inspectors who will be called in to track down the
cause. Keeping the community healthy means that a great deal
of their work is preventive. They promote safe ways of handling
food in community settings and at home, ensuring restaurants,
cafeterias, hospitals, institutions and other food services
prepare and serve food safely. They inspect a variety of non-food
premises including swimming pools, recreational camps, arenas
and residential facilities for conformance to safety and health
requirements. They share information on how to prevent the
spread of communicable diseases such as rabies and food poisoning;
and test drinking and recreational water supplies and promote
ways to protect them from contamination by harmful chemicals
and sewage. They act as a consultant to the community with
relation to potential health hazards and ensure that action
is taken to protect public health if necessary. Your public
health inspectors are also the people who are responsible
for enforcing the Tobacco Control Act - in other words, they
are the people who make sure shops aren't selling cigarettes
to underage consumers.
Nurses
The health unit employs nurses who are registered with the
College of Nurses of Ontario (www.cno.org) and maintain that
registration on a yearly basis. Nurses work in one of three
categories:
Public Health Nurses
Public health nurses are registered nurses with a university
degree in nursing. Public health nurses can work with you
in many ways. They can answer questions you might have about
your own health or the health of your family. You can turn
to your public health nurse for practical advice on breastfeeding
and ways to cope through those first days at home with a new
baby or for suggestions on how to prevent injuries in the
home and in your community. If you are thinking about making
changes for health, public health nurses can walk you through
the steps to healthier eating, active living or becoming smoke
free. They can also help you find healthy ways to deal with
the stresses in your life or link you to other resources in
your community such as community agencies, crisis lines or
counseling to overcome misuse of drugs or alcohol. Public
health nurses working in the sexual health clinic can answer
your questions and counsel you in making decisions related
to sexually transmitted diseases, anonymous testing for AIDS/HIV
and birth control.
Public health nurses work with people in their homes, at
work, in schools and other community settings to address health
issues for individuals, families and communities. They are
your partners in health - working together with you and others
in your community including police officers, town councilors,
social workers, teachers, recreation department staff, child
care workers, librarians and family resource centre staff
to develop community resources and ensure that your community
is a safe and healthy place to live, work and play.
Registered Nurses
Registered nurses (RN's) have at least a diploma in nursing
from a community college. Their nursing skills and experience
are applied in vaccine preventable and communicable disease
programming. Within the vaccine preventable disease program
they coordinate and oversee immunization clinics at the health
unit and community settings and they for health care professionals
and the general public. As a part of the communicable disease
team, they work with other health care providers in hospitals,
long term care facilities and more to enhance infection control
practices in order to prevent disease outbreaks and to limit
the spread of disease in the event of an outbreak. They also
work with the general public and leaders in other community
settings such as day cares to answer questions about how disease
spreads and to provide consultation and advice on ways to
prevent the spread of disease.
Registered Practical Nurses
Registered Practical Nurses (RPN) have a diploma in practical nursing from a community college. As part of the vaccine preventable disease team they provide immunization clinics for young and old. They work with health care providers in the community to ensure that the vaccines they receive are stored and handled in a safe manner. They are also available by phone to respond to your questions about the vaccinations your child needs at school entry and throughout their school years.
Public Health Nutritionists and Dietitians
The health unit employs Registered Dietitians (RDs) who must belong to the College of Dietitians of Ontario (www.cdo.on.ca). They may be employed as either Public Health Dietitians or Public Health Nutritionists, depending on their other qualifications and their job responsibilities. A Registered Dietitian must have a four-year university degree in foods and nutrition plus a dietetic internship of 35 or more weeks in length. A Public Health Nutritionist is a Registered Dietitian who also holds a Masters Degree.
Public health nutritionists and dietitians work with other health unit staff and a wide range of community partners and decision-makers to promote and support nutrition actions that optimize healthy growth and development and help to reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Some examples of public health nutrition-related activities include:
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providing up-to-date scientifically sound nutrition information to health professionals, educators, policy makers, the media and others in the community
- promoting and supporting community services that help to develop practical nutrition-related knowledge and skills such as planning healthy meals and snacks for children, understanding food labels, making healthy choices when grocery shopping or dining out, etc.
- providing advice and guidance on food policies/nutrition guidelines to schools, workplaces, Ontario Early Years Centres, emergency feeding programs, municipal recreation facilities and other community settings
- taking part in community-based research such as the Simcoe County Child Health Survey
- contributing nutrition expertise to advocacy efforts at local, provincial and other levels to address areas of concern such as food security for low income families; increasing the availability of healthy food choices in schools, community rec centres and other public settings; placing restrictions on the marketing of low-nutrient foods and drinks to children.
- working with community groups and organizations to help promote and support well-recognized nutrition programs and resources such as Eat Well to Excel and Food For Thought student nutrition programs, the Eat Smart! School Cafeteria Program, Good Food Box, Northern Healthy Eating Project and type 2 diabetes prevention initiatives like Unplug and PLAY.
- helping to train the “next generation” of public health dietitians by providing learning opportunities to dietetic interns in the Simcoe County Dietetic Internship program and internships from other parts of Ontario
It is important to note that the titles “Dietitian” and “Registered Dietitian” are both protected by law and indicate an extensive and carefully regulated level of education and training, as described previously. Unlike Registered Dietitians, individuals who use similar sounding titles such as “Nutritionist”, “Registered Nutritionist”, “Registered Nutritional Consultant” and “Nutrition Consultant” are not regulated by law and are not required to have the same extensive level of education and training. Thus there are no legally-established safeguards in place to ensure that a person who uses any of these titles practices safely and ethically.
Oral Health Team
The Oral Health Team is made up of registered dental hygienists, certified dental assistants and a public health dental consultant. They deliver community and school based programs providing dental screenings, preventive programming and oral health presentations.
Public Health Dental Consultant
The Public Health Dental Consultant is a qualified dentist with a master’s degree in dental public health. He is responsible for planning, directing, and monitoring oral health programs offered by the health unit and acts a resource for Simcoe and Muskoka dentists in relation to dental public health. He also participates in administering the Children in Need of Treatment Program, as well as the dental programs for children and adults through Ontario Works.
Registered Dental Hygienists
Registered Dental Hygienists hold a diploma from a community college and are registered to perform dental hygiene in Ontario. If your child has had his or her teeth examined in school, the examination has been carried out by one of the health unit’s registered dental hygienists. Registered dental hygienists screen children for decay, and refer students needing urgent care to local dentists. They set up a “portable shop” complete with equipment and chair, to provide pit and fissure sealants, scaling and fluoride treatments.
Certified Dental Assistants
Certified Dental Assistants have post secondary school training in dental assisting. They work in a team with Registered Dental Hygienists providing dental screening and preventive programming in schools.
Family Visitors
Family visitors are just what they sound like - peer-to-peer
support workers - a buddy to help families in the areas where
they need a little extra support. Family visitors can help
moms and dads who qualify for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children
Program to access community resources, provide information
about basic parenting, and give emotional support to women
who are pregnant and to families with children up to three
years of age. If you would like more information about family
visitors or other components of the Healthy Babies Healthy
Children Program contact Health Connection at 721-7520 or
toll free at 1-877-721-7520 or email your questions to Health
Connection.
Epidemiologist
The epidemiologist assists the health unit in its mission
to promote and protect health and prevent disease and injury
by searching for the causes of health and disease. Knowing
why and how often diseases occur in different groups of people
is a key to preventing illness and early deaths. Collecting
the health data, analyzing and interpreting it so that disease
and early deaths can be prevented is the role of the epidemiologist.
The epidemiologist accesses and maintains health data from
a variety of federal, provincial and local sources including
census data, national and provincial surveys related to health
attitudes and behaviours, hospitalization data, mortality,
morbidity and birth data statistics. She analyses, interprets,
summarizes and shares this data with health unit staff and
community partners in order to support and enhance program
planning. She also works with staff to establish standards
for data collection, analysis and interpretation. The Health
Status Report, produced by the epidemiologist to help
identify the major health issues affecting residents is an example of how data can be packaged to
provide a snap shot of the community's health.
Where health data does not exist, the epidemiologist explores
avenues to fill those gaps. The Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance
System (RRFSS) is a project currently underway to help the health unit
understand the health attitudes and behaviours of people living
in Simcoe and Muskoka. RRFSS is a telephone survey of 100 people
each month for 12 months that asks adults questions about
smoking status, drinking and driving, women's health issues
(pap tests and mammograms), seat belt use, child car seat
safety and the use of bike helmets.
The epidemiologist has a master's degree in health science
with a specialization in pidemiology and experience in the
field of public health.
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