In Ontario, a Public Health Unit (PHU; ) is a government organization under the supervision of a local board of health. A PHU is under the direction of a Medical Officer of Health (MOH), who is appointed by the supervising board of health. The principle legislation governing PHUs is the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
A Public Health Unit administers health programming such as communicable disease control, food premise inspection, and health education. Funding is provided by both the province and the municipality.
List of PHUs Algoma Public Health Unit, Sault Ste. Marie Brant County Health Unit, Brantford Chatham-Kent Health Unit, Chatham Durham Region Health Department, Whitby Eastern Ontario Health Unit, Cornwall Grey Bruce Health Unit, Owen Sound Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, Simcoe Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, Port Hope Halton Region Health Department, Oakville Hamilton Public Health Services, Hamilton Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, Belleville Huron Perth District Health Unit, Stratford Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health, Kingston Lambton Public Health, Point Edward Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, Brockville Middlesex-London Health Unit, London Niagara Region Public Health Department, Thorold North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, North Bay Northwestern Health Unit, Kenora Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa Peel Public Health, Mississauga Peterborough Public Health, Peterborough Porcupine Health Unit, Timmins Renfrew County and District Health Unit, Pembroke Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Barrie Southwestern Public Health, St. Thomas Sudbury & District Health Unit, Sudbury Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Thunder Bay Timiskaming Health Unit, New Liskeard Toronto Public Health, Toronto Region of Waterloo, Public Health, Waterloo Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Guelph Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Windsor York Region Public Health Services, Newmarket
History
Health units previously were at the municipal level, meaning that small villages or lowly-populated townships would have their own health programs. As of 1931, Ontario had 944 Medical Officers of Health, of which only 12 were full-time. Advocates for amalgamation included Dr. John Morrow Robb, the provincial Minister of Health from 1930 to 1934. He noted in 1931 that by banding together, municipalities could hire someone full-time.
This sort of call continued for decades, with the Lakeshore Board of Education in 1956 asking the councils of the Town of Mimico, Town of New Toronto, and Village of Long Branch to consider forming one central service. In 1960, the Toronto Board of Health chair called for a Metro-wide board, stating "epidemics don't recognize municipal boundaries. The present chaotic division of health responsibilities is ridiculous." Such moves were opposed as of 1967, with Metro's six mayors claiming that one body couldn't serve two million residents. One chair suggested that a merger would lead to a "lowest common denominator" approach.
References
External links Government of Ontario webpage Ministry of Health Public Health Unit locator