Public Health in Focus
Public Health in Focus is a newsletter by Public Health Sudbury & Districts to inform our community on the public health issues of the day and is issued following our regular Board of Health meetings.
Words for Thought
May 2025
Public health spending saves lives, but it takes time
A fascinating research study led by the University of Toronto reveals something profound—increases in public health funding reduce premature but preventable deaths. By contrast, the study didn’t find the same life-saving effect for increased health care spending, though health care investments brought other benefits like faster care and better patient experiences. This research once again demonstrates the importance of funding public health, and cautions that while cuts in public health have little short-term impact, the long-term impact is significant.
Funding for hospitals and treatments are critical, but at the same time, we also need strong public health systems to prevent illness and protect communities before people need care.
The findings from the study Do expenditures on public health reduce preventable mortality in the long run? Evidence from the Canadian provinces (ScienceDirect) would seem to imply that we have “saturated” the ability of the health care system to prevent further deaths. That is to say that the money invested in health care has maximized the lives that we can save through treatment (curative spending), but we have not yet maximized that impact within public health (public health spending).
The historical preference for investing in health care over public health means that a 1% increase in public health funding is now about 12 times smaller than a 1% increase in health care funding—an enormous return on investment.
Our commitment to measuring impact
A medium-term priority of Public Health Sudbury & Districts is to better articulate our impacts. In part, so we can make stronger cases to government for funding and demonstrate accountability to the public that we serve. This can be difficult given our long timelines for impact and the challenge of teasing out all the many factors that impact health. However, research like this shows that it is possible to demonstrate these outcomes.
While we are not an academic institution capable of this sophistication and complexity of analysis, the findings give us confidence that our own simpler ways of showing impact align with rigorous research. And it also highlights opportunities for us to partner with academics to employ greater rigour in targeted cases.
Over the next couple of years, we look forward to sharing with the Board of Health and with you, the communities we serve, our progress toward demonstrating measurable outcomes of Public Health’s work, and the return on investment that public dollars provide
M. Mustafa Hirji MD, MPH, FRCPC
Acting Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer
Need to do
Are your immunizations up to date?
Vaccines are one of the best ways to protect yourself, your family, and your community from serious, preventable diseases. Public Health is encouraging everyone to review their immunization records and make sure they’re up to date to keep you and those around you safer and healthier.
Let’s work together to prevent the spread of disease and protect our community!
Stay up to date with Public Health!
Follow our social media channels devoted to providing engaging Public Health content. We also have dedicated French accounts!
Subscribe to our channels to regularly view news and updates about our programs, services, and clinics.
For the latest advice and updates, follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram @PublicHealthSD or @SantePubliqueSD and visit our website. Don’t forget to share this information with friends and family.
Need to know
We establish relationships that lead to impactful partnerships, collaborations, and engagement.
Board of Health welcomes Indigenous appointee for Greater Sudbury City Council
At its meeting on Thursday, May 15, 2025, the Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts was pleased to welcome Angela Recollet as Greater Sudbury City Council’s newest appointee. Recollet’s appointment follows a motion passed by the Board of Health in June 2024 encouraging municipalities to advocate for and appoint Indigenous persons who are grounded in community, have lived experience, are from this territory, and who reside within Sudbury and Manitoulin districts.
This appointment reflects the agency’s commitment to ensure Indigenous voices are present at all levels—from staff and management to executive leadership and the Board. Having Indigenous representation strengthens decision-making and moves the agency closer to reconciliation.
In addition, the agency’s Indigenous Engagement team was renamed Indigenous Public Health to signal a shift from building bridges to actively addressing the root causes of Indigenous health through decolonization and program integration. This shift moves us along from viewing Indigenous Peoples as solely equity-seeking groups to recognizing their inherent rights-based status.
This work is grounded by our strategic priority of impactful relationships. Through this work, we are collaborating in a way that is meaningful to identify, plan, implement, and evaluate initiatives and services to work toward improving the health of the population.
We strive for health equity by championing equal opportunities for health.
Preparing the parents
In April, staff delivered an in-person Prep4Parenting class. The session covered a range of topics including preparing for the transition to parenthood, attachment and bonding, communication, roles and responsibilities, newborn care, postpartum mood disorders, infant mental health, and general newborn care.
Additionally, a representative from Our Children, Our Future attended the session to observe and receive an orientation on delivery methods to be able to offer this class to their own clients in the future.
Looking ahead
Public Health is working to ensure that its service delivery, relationships, and classes contribute to a healthier, more equitable future for all.
Initiatives such as this one showcase our commitment to our strategic priority of equal opportunities for health by supporting awareness, education, advocacy, and policy development to address the root causes of health inequities.
We strive for ongoing excellence in local public health practice, including demonstrating accountability and monitoring the effectiveness, impact, and quality of our programs and services.
Rabies prevention and control
Last month, Public Health staff conducted 31 rabies-related investigations. These investigations help assess the risk of rabies following contact between people and animals. As a result of these investigations, 3 people received rabies post-exposure prophylaxis following an exposure to wild or stray animals.
You can help protect yourself, your family, and your pets from rabies. Provincial law requires that all domestic dogs, cats, and ferrets 3 months of age or over be immunized against rabies. For more tips on animal bite prevention and reporting potential exposures, visit phsd.ca.
Student immunization checks underway
Each year, Public Health reviews immunization records for all elementary and secondary students. Families of students with incomplete records receive notices explaining what vaccines are missing and how to update their child’s record. Our staff continue their annual review of immunization records for elementary and secondary students in accordance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).
- This school year, a total of 5740 students received an initial notice about their immunization status and missing vaccinations.
- Approximately 20% of students who received a first notice of incomplete records were suspended.
We are grateful to local schools that support the ISPA process and proactively contact parents upon receiving the initial list of students at risk of suspension. This proactive approach prompts parents and guardians to act quickly by either submitting their child’s records to Public Health or obtaining the required vaccinations to avoid suspension.
To support families in updating immunizations, daily drop-in clinics and weekly evening appointments were offered in Greater Sudbury. Additional opportunities for immunization were also made available in Mindemoya, Espanola, and Chapleau. Vaccines protect your child and others from serious, preventable diseases.
Keeping records up to date helps keep our schools and communities healthy and safe.
Improving our website: Thank you for your input
We are grateful for community input, which was gathered through an online survey that will help guide the development of our new website. The input will help identify priorities, areas for improvement, and suggestions to make sure the site meets the needs of users.
Through a variety of Public Health services, we see our strategic priority of excellence in public health practice in action for clients, communities, and stakeholders.
Subscribe to Public Health in Focus
This item was last modified on May 21, 2025