NLIS 14
March 21, 2005
(Health and Community Services)
Government makes record $6 million investment to strengthen public health
The Williams government will foster a culture of healthy living through record
investments in public health initiatives, focused on the well-being of all
citizens from the very young to the very old, Health and Community Services
Minister John Ottenheimer announced today.
"Prevention, promotion and public health are critical to better health outcomes
and keeping people healthy," said Minister Ottenheimer. "We�re increasing our
commitment to public health so that we can strengthen the vital programs that
protect and promote the health of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians every day."
Building upon government�s Throne Speech commitment to keep people healthier,
Budget 2005 dedicates $2.4 million to support a wellness strategy � the largest
single cash infusion in health promotion in the history of the province. Unlike
acute health care which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of individual
patients, public health focuses on communities and populations for the
prevention of disease, promotion of health and protection of the public.
Government�s wellness strategy will complement the on-going work of community
organizations and six regional wellness coalitions and concentrate on improving
healthy eating, reducing obesity, reducing smoking rates, reducing injury rates
and increasing physical activity.
Acting on the recommendations of the provincial Wellness Advisory Council,
government will proceed with the following initiatives as part of its plan:
-
Implement a �Healthy Foods in Schools� program including new nutrition
guidelines for schools and a Healthy Schools Youth Summit in the fall;
-
Establish a community grants program to build on existing community wellness
projects;
-
Enhance school food programs to improve healthy eating;
-
Develop a social marketing campaign to promote healthy living;
-
Create a Teen Wellness team to engage the participation of youth; and
-
Strengthen the presence of wellness-dedicated staff in the new health
authorities.
Other Public Health Initiatives Government will target $750,000 for disease surveillance and chronic disease
management, to improve response to infectious diseases and develop clinical
information systems in support of clinical decision-making for primary health
care teams.
These initiatives will help reduce the incidence of infectious diseases through
better monitoring and reporting of infectious diseases; accessing the most
current information and developing improved surveillance and control policies.
The province will continue to work with Health Canada and Canada Health Infoway
to strengthen information systems across the country to identify emerging health
issues and outbreaks and respond more effectively to infectious diseases.
Public Immunization Strategy Government will invest $2.8 million this year, as recently announced, in its
immunization program to further enhance children�s ability to stay healthy and
fight illness and death from pneumococcal (pneumonia and ear infections)
disease, varicella (chicken pox) and meningococcal (meningitis) disease by
adding the vaccines to the public immunization schedule for 2005. With these new
vaccines, children will now be armed with vaccines to protect against 12
diseases such as polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella.
"These new vaccines will ensure our children and adolescents are safer," said
Minister Ottenheimer. "This investment not only benefits our children, but also
helps reduce wait lists in doctors� offices and emergency rooms and reduces the
rate of hospitalization of children and adolescents who may need for treatment
for these diseases."
It is part of a $6.5 million investment over three years to administer the new
vaccines from funding provided through the federal government�s Public Health
and Immunization Trust, established to support a national immunization strategy.
This is in addition to the $2 million the province spends annually on its
immunization program.
Fighting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Government recently announced a $100,000 investment to support a FASD prevention
initiative in partnership with the Labrador FASD Advisory Committee and
Labrador-Grenfell RIHA. The initiative will target women of childbearing years
and their support systems. It will focus on increasing public awareness,
prevention and health promotion at the community level. This represents the
first investment specifically targeting prevention of FASD in the province.
FASD is caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and has lifelong implications for
babies. Other factors, such as maternal health and nutrition, use of drugs or
other addictions, violence and other lack of supports may also influence the
effect of alcohol in a pregnancy.
Media contact: Carolyn Chaplin, Communications, (709) 729-1377, 682-5093
2005 03 21 2:55 p.m.
|