Managing funding challenges with increased demand for service is a top concern for CK Public Health, the organization’s director has said.
Presenting before the Chatham-Kent Board of Health, Teresa Bendo said the local public health unit has appreciated ongoing temporary funding from the province for addressing COVID-19, but there continues to be pressures to the base budget.
“Since 2016, this is a real event for this public health unit – annual decreases in our staff complement that we have made in a combination of attrition and layoffs,” she said.
“This year will be particularly difficult as we continue to look at decreasing or eliminating pieces of our programs.”
Bendo said there these challenges are now “coupled” with more demand for services, “whether it’s to catch up on things that had been put on hold for a couple of years or just increased needs.”
She said the health unit will need to look at ways to balance these needs with limited funding.
Bendo put together a report on the organization’s risk management plan for the board of health.
To address the funding challenges, the plan calls for the board to advocate for better funding to address annual increases in operating costs.
Another risk is the ability to recruit skilled staff. Bendo said this currently applies to public health inspector roles and the health data analyst position.
“These are really key positions for this organization in order for us to meet things like our inspection rates and program data for program review delivery and transparency to the public,” she said.
Bendo said the wellbeing of staff is also a concern because “the volume, pace and changing landscape of COVID presented workload and stress challenges.”
A positive direction for CK Public Health, Bendo said, is the work being done to implement a new electronic health record system. She said it will provide benefits in terms of efficiency of programs and service to clients.