Minutes City Council Monday, February 24, 2020

Whereas the rate of oral health day surgeries for children in Windsor and Essex County (300.6/100K) far exceeds that of Ontario (100.4/100K), and

Whereas there is an increased difficulty in obtaining operating room time for dental procedures in Windsor-Essex with wait times exceeding 1 year for children in need of treatment, and

Whereas there is a chronic underfunding of the Healthy Smiles Ontario program creating barriers to accessing services among local dentists, and

Now, therefore, be It resolved that the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health recognizes the critical importance of oral health for vulnerable children and youth, and

FURTHER, THAT urges the Ministry of Health to reconsider its decision to download 30% of the funding of the Healthy Smiles Ontario Program to local municipalities, and

FURTHER WAT this resolution be shared with the Ontario Minister of Health, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, local MPP’s, the Association of Public Health Agencies, Ontario Boards of Health, the Essex County Dental Society, the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry, the Ontario Dental Association and local municipalities and stakeholders.

References:

Windsor—Essex County Health Unit. (2019). Community Needs Assessment 2019 Update. Windsor, Ontario Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. (2018). Oral Health Report, 2018 Update. Windsor, Ontario

We would be pleased to discuss this resolution with you and thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely

c:

Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario

Hon. Potty Hadju, Minister of Health

Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. Ministry of Health & Long Term Care

Pegeen Walsh, Executive Director, OntaraPublic Health Association

Association of Local Public Health Agencies - Loretta Ryan

Association of Municipalities of Ontario

Essex County Dental society

Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry

Ontario Dental Association

Ontario Boards Of Health

WECHU Board of Health

Corporation of the City of Windsor -Clerk's office

Corporation of the County of Essex -Clerk's office

Local MPP's -Percy Hothead, Lisa &rooky, Tar as Natyshak, Rick Nicholls

Local MP's -Brion Masse, het Kusmeitcryla Chris Lewis. Dave (PP