KENORA - The Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) has released its 2024 Annual Report, titled A Sustainable Future for Local Public Health, highlighting a year of progress, partnerships, and continued investment in the health and well-being of communities across Northwestern Ontario.
The report outlines achievements tied to the organization's 2023–2026 sustainability plan, as well as key developments in workforce planning and monitoring.
According to CEO Marilyn Herbacz and medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon, the structural changes reflect the agency’s commitment to long-term sustainability and service excellence.
The report highlights progress across several priority areas, including mental health and wellness, harm reduction, Indigenous partnerships, population health data, and organizational development.
Among these, mental health and substance use are emphasized as regional priorities.
In May 2024, the NWHU approved and shared a new mental health and wellness promotion strategy with staff.
Over the years, teams implemented initiatives aligned with this strategy, including support for the PreVenture® program, a school-based mental wellness initiative that uses personality-targeted workshops to promote healthy decision-making and prevent substance use. This year, the program reached 267 Grade 7 and 8 students across 11 schools in nine communities.
The agency also released several population health reports, including adult and child mental health surveys, and noted that two more reports, focusing on adult mental health outcomes and protective factors, are currently in progress for release in 2025.
Substance use prevention efforts included the development of a harm reduction communication plan and the piloting of drug-checking strips, alongside ongoing work to improve naloxone access.
An adverse drug event communication system was also launched, enabling real-time drug alerts and an online reporting tool to help warn the public about potentially toxic drugs linked to overdose and poisoning.
The NWHU also partnered with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit on an education campaign linking alcohol use to cancer risk, available at Get the Straight Up Facts.
To improve transparency and access to regional data, the NWHU launched an Alcohol Trends Dashboard and continued to monitor the wide-ranging impacts of alcohol availability on local health, social services, and emergency systems.
The report draws attention to the significant impact of alcohol in the region. In 2023, the alcohol-attributed morbidity and mortality rate in the NWHU area was 7,464 per 100,000—13 times the provincial rate of 543.7. Rates were highest in Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, and Kenora.
In addition to local interventions, the NWHU raised this concern with provincial leaders during ministerial delegations at the 2024 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference. In a meeting with Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, the agency discussed reducing youth access to alcohol.
Their Sexual Health and Outreach Services program expanded significantly in 2024, more than doubling its reach. The program provided free, confidential services including education, clinical testing, harm reduction, treatment, and referrals.
The Food Box Daycare Program, developed in partnership with the Coming Together for Kids Coalition, supported an average of 150 families per month between August and December 2024.
The Nutrition on Weekends (NOW) Program published survey results showing that 90 per cent of participating parents or guardians said the program helped them meet food needs at home.
Additional milestones in 2024 included the launch of the Hospital General Anesthesia Dentistry Program, created in partnership with Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora, which improved access to dental care for children and individuals with complex needs.
Speech, hearing, and vision services also saw significant progress. Through the North Words Preschool Speech and Language Program, wait times were reduced and virtual services expanded. The team participated in 46 community events and served 496 individuals.
The NWHU also partnered with FIREFLY through the Blind Low Vision Early Intervention Program and hired a new Early Childhood Vision Consultant.
In October, a new oversight agency was established for the Infant Hearing Program, through which 586 babies were screened in 2024.
Infectious disease prevention and vaccine efforts continued at scale. The agency administered 21,259 vaccines during the year, ran school-based immunization clinics, and conducted inspections of vaccine storage fridges.
Vaccine program funding and a potential voluntary merger with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit were brought up in a separate delegation with Health Minister Sylvia Jones at the 2024 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference.
Efforts to support Indigenous health and wellness were reflected in continued formal agreements and collaborative projects with Indigenous health authorities and access centres.
Public health nurses also delivered prenatal education through group and one-on-one sessions, hosted Feeding Your Baby workshops, and offered drop-in sessions for new families. A 20-hour breastfeeding course was delivered in partnership with Lake of the Woods District Hospital, helping participants build confidence and skills for successful breastfeeding.
Environmental health teams completed over 1,200 inspections of food premises, responded to 403 special occasion food permit requests, managed animal bite investigations and septic submissions, and certified 362 individuals in safe food handling through 14 in-person training classes.
The 2024 report includes a financial summary outlining revenue of $22,022,093. Interactive charts show the agency’s total expenditures, municipal levy budgets for cost-shared programs from 2020 to 2025, actual levy contributions, and applicable rebates.
