Article content
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit plans to cut staff by 10 per cent due to a funding shortfall.
The health unit on Friday announced it was slashing 24 unionized and non-unionized positions in light of a fixed three-year provincial funding increase of one per cent per year.
Article content
In a written statement, health unit CEO Ken Blanchette said the increase “does not keep up with current inflation.” To make matters worse, provincial funding will “no longer be available” for ongoing work associated with COVID-19 response, including outbreaks, case and contact management, and vaccinations.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“These factors, in combination with an internal program review, created the basis for difficult but essential decisions related to reductions for the coming year,” Blanchette said.
The health unit will “endeavour to reduce” the number of staff reductions “to the extent possible” through attrition and voluntary retirements, he said.
Eight health unit programs will be impacted by the cuts but will continue to operate. They are: nutrition and healthy eating services; infection disease prevention; healthy growth and development; tobacco and vaping prevention; substance use prevention and harm reduction; injury prevention; school health promotion; immunization; oral health promotion; and environmental health promotion.
Related Stories
“We are committed to ensuring reductions in services and programs are communicated quickly to our clients and partners,” Blanchette said. “Our team has been through numerous challenges and changes over the past several years. I am proud of the work of the (health unit) and the resilience our staff continue to demonstrate.”
Advertisement 3
Article content
The health unit currently has approximately 240 employees.
Last month, the local board of health approved a budget for 2024 of nearly $25 million, including roughly $17.74 million in base funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and nearly $7.22 million from the City of Windsor, County of Essex, and Township of Pelee. The municipally funded portion of the budget rose by 1.29 per cent — approximately $95,000 — with the city required to pay $50,000 and the county and Pelee required to pay a combined $45,000.
Budget documents now publicly available from the health unit show that total salaries and employee benefits will decrease by 14.5 per cent in 2024 from roughly $24.1 million to nearly $20.6 million.
Other operating expenditures decrease by about 8.4 per cent from nearly $5.37 million to about $4.9 million
Article content
Windsor-Essex health unit to cut 10 per cent of staff amid budget constraints - Windsor Star
Read More
Comments