The Northwestern Health Unit is celebrating 75 years of local public health and to commemorate the occasion they will be hosting a meet and greet event in each of their area offices and a monthly contest that encourages public health safety.
Over the past 75 years, the health unit has grown exponentially. Beginning with six staff in 1948, the NWHU only served the Kenora area, but by 1968, they expanded to many different areas across northwestern Ontario. In 2022 the NWHU employs 160 staff members. The agency serves about 82,000 people within a 171,288 square kilometre area.
Health unit CEO Marylin Herbacz expressed her enthusiasm for the celebration.
"We are super excited. What a milestone," she said. "We have some big plans for this year. We are still pulling something together. Each one of the months of the year, one of our offices in different areas of the region that will be showcased.”
The event will begin in Dryden on Jan. 27. Then each of NWHU’s 12 offices continues to celebrate each month throughout the year.
“It will be an open house where we’ll be inviting community partners and community members to come in for a coffee break and to help us celebrate,” said Herbacz.
During each event, the health will hold a monthly draw which the public can enter through their website. Prizes include a Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker and a MEATER Plus with Bluetooth repeater food thermometer.
“They will require a little bit of knowledge of what public health is and what we do in each of the communities. We’ve collected a lot of information and history about public health and the NWHU,” Herbacz said.
When ask about some notable milestones for the health unit, Herbacz reflects on the hard work the agency committed during the pandemic.
“I am really proud of is how our communities came together these last couple of years. How our staff in the heath unit came together. Doing things they have never done before. Nobody even blinked an eye but stepped forward to help everybody through this in all of our communities. It was pretty amazing.”
Herbacz explains that the health unit is in the process of completing its strategic plan for the next four years. Everything they have learned from the pandemic is guild how the Health Unit is moving forward post-pandemic.
“It’s important for our staff to feel integrated into cross-program work and how that makes them feel a part of the organization. Some of those things we are hoping to carry on into the future,” said Herbacz.
For more information on the 75th anniversary events and draws, visit the 75 Years of Local Public Health page.
