HomeHomehttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2009-09-11T16:37:45ZSquarespaceIt's Membership Time! Join HPO Now or Renew Your Membership!http://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2009/9/11/its-membership-time-join-hpo-now-or-renew-your-membership.htmlHPO Web Editor2009-09-11T16:08:52Z2009-09-11T16:08:52ZHealth Promotion Ontario Memberships are valid from September 1 to August 31 each year, therefore it is time to renew your membership for another year or join up as a new member.

Health Promotion Ontario (HPO) is a network of health promotion professionals working in the area of health promotion within Ontario.  The mission of HPO is to support the development of public health activities based on health promotion philosophy, practice and research.  

Active since 1987, HPO members have been working to support each other by sharing resources and professional development opportunities.  HPO, among many things, maintains a members’ only list serve, holds an annual conference and conducts ongoing advocacy for the development of health promotion capacity in Ontario.  Health Promotion Ontario serves for the advancement and development of health promotion.

A membership to HPO will allow you to join a network of health promoters, opening new lines of communication and partnership.

Within this Membership Package (Click here or "Join HPO" on the right hand sidebar to access the membership materials) you will find attached:

  • HPO Membership Application Form for 2009/2010
  • Benefits of HPO Membership
  • Update of HPO Activities 2009

Please submit by mail your completed Membership Application Form with payment to Marco Ghassemi, HPO Treasurer by September 5, 2009 (mailing information can be found on the application form).

Please contact me or any member of the Health Promotion Executive if you have any questions or require further information.  

Sincerely,

Marco Ghassemi, Health Promotion Ontario Executive

905-791-7800 Ext 2145 or marco.ghassemi@peelregion.ca

 

 

]]>New: Summary Report on the Development of Discipline Specific Competencies for Health Promotershttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2009/6/12/new-summary-report-on-the-development-of-discipline-specific.htmlHPO Web Editor2009-06-12T18:08:43Z2009-06-12T18:08:43ZThis summary report is based on work that was funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, and completed by Marco Ghassemi on behalf of HPO in March 2009. The report contains a summary of consultations to date,  a revised draft set of proposed pan-canadian discipline specific competencies for health promoters, and discusses potential applications and next steps.

Located in the Publications and Resources section>

]]>Diversity and Health Promotion: HPO Annual Conference May 27 2009http://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2009/3/1/diversity-and-health-promotion-hpo-annual-conference-may-27.htmlHPO Web Editor2009-03-01T15:38:01Z2009-03-01T15:38:01ZDiversity and Health Promotion - Making Everyone a Priority is the theme of the 2009 Health Promotion Ontario Conference. The location is Brampton Ontario.

Click here to download the Agenda and Registration package.

We hope to see you in Brampton in May!

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MAY 15

HPO Executive and Conference Planning Committee. 

]]>December 2008 Updatehttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2009/1/6/december-2008-update.htmlHPO Web Editor2009-01-06T01:55:48Z2009-01-06T01:55:48ZDecember 23, 2008

2008 has been an exciting year for of growth and transition for public health, community health and health promoters. From an HPO perspective, we continue to see growth in terms of our membership as well as our activities.

At last count, our membership had increased to over 160 members, with representation from public health units, community health centers, and provincial health promotion resource centres. Diversity in our membership is a strength and an opportunity, and we welcome the perspectives and ideas of all members.

Health Promotion Competencies

HPO continues to work with the Public Health Agency of Canada on developmental work regarding discipline-specific competencies for Health Promoters. At our conference in May, we welcomed fellow health promoters Don Gamache from Manitoba, and Michelle LeDrew of Nova Scotia. In June, HPO rep. Marco Ghassemi attended the CPHA conference in Halifax and presented on our work to date, and along with Alycia Fridkin of PHAC, began to further develop a network of contacts in other provinces. We are hoping to secure long-term funding to engage in a Pan-Canadian consultation regarding our discussion draft set of competencies, which may be found in the Resources section of this site.

On a related note, HPO was pleased to support the health promoters of Manitoba as they hosted a full-day provincial consultation on the "discussion draft" HP competencies on December 1. HPO member Gayle
Bursey (Peel) attended as a representative from HPO, and was able to share her perspective as one of the Ontario leaders of the developmental HP competency work. It is anticipated that a report from this
consultation session will be used to help guide further work in other provinces.

Currently we have secured short-term funds from PHAC to help us to develop a strategic plan and database of national and provincial contacts to continue the health promotion competency work at the
national level. Marco Ghassemi has been seconded to lead this work, which will begin early in the new year.

2008 - 2009 Executive

There have been some changes and transition in the executive membership recently:

Kevin Churchill (Lambton) Chair
Katherine Pigott (Waterloo Region) Vice-Chair (replacing Aarti Soni,
currently on leave)
Jill Faulkner (North Bay Parry Sound) Past-Chair
Marco Ghassemi (Peel) Treasurer
Ida Hersi (Toronto) Secretary
Ellen Wodchis (Niagara Region) ALPHA Rep.
Inge Roosendaal (Peel) OPHA Rep.
Ellen Wodchis (Niagara Rep) OCCHA Rep. (Ellen will complete her term in
June 2009)
Heather Barrington (Windsor Essex) Member at Large
Liliana Roberts (Peel) Member at Large
Heather Doncaster (Peel) Member at Large (on leave)

Our executive have been actively representing HPO at various provincial tables, working groups, and subcommittees and planning is currently underway for our 2009 Conference, and I thank each of them for their contributions to HPO throughout the year.

Thanks very much to Theresa Schumilas (Waterloo), who recently resigned as our representative to ALPHA. Her leadership and experience will be missed. Also thanks to Marty Mako, of Niagara who served as our OPHA rep during Inge's leave.

Strategic Plan Working Group

This working group was formed following a motion at our May 2008 Annual General meeting. Members include Tanya Rumble (Halton Region), Gayle Bursey, and Eugene Williams (Ottawa CHC). As well, Mark Pajot of Peel was an active member of the group until his recent resignation. The HPO executive committee recently approved a budget of up to $2,000 for this group to engage the services of a writer to continue to develop a brief "position" or discussion paper. This initiative is still in its formative stages, but we hope to be able to publish a paper similar in format and substance to our "Fulfilling the Promise" paper of 2005. Potential audiences for this submission include the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, The Ministry of Health Promotion, the Ontario Agency for Health Promotion and Protection and other provincial organizations. Stay tuned for future updates and an opportunity to participate in this
effort.

Lori Chow Award:

2008 marked the first year of the creation of the HPO Lori Chow Memorial Award for Excellence in Health Promotion. This award was presented in May to recipient Gayle Bursey. Lori's husband David and her daughters Stephanie and Sarah participated in the inaugural presentation of the award, which was very touching. The Lori Chow Award will presented annually, and a call for nominations will be posted on our web site and distributed to members early in 2009.

This update represents just some highlights of our activities through 2008. In closing, on behalf of the executive committee, I'd like to wish all of you and your loved ones a safe, happy and healthy holiday
season, and all the best in 2009. We look forward to serving HPO and its membership in 2009.

Kevin

Kevin Churchill,
Chair, Health Promotion Ontario

]]>It’s Membership Time!http://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2008/8/6/its-membership-time.htmlHPO Web Editor2008-08-06T13:10:40Z2008-08-06T13:10:40ZJoin Now or Renew Your Membership

Health Promotion Ontario Memberships are valid from September 1 to August 31 each year, therefore it is time to renew your membership for another year or join up as a new member.

Health Promotion Ontario (HPO) is a network of health promotion professionals working in the area of health promotion within Ontario. The mission of HPO is to support the development of public health activities based on health promotion philosophy, practice and research.

Click on the "Join HPO" section at right for application forms and more info about becoming a member.

]]>HPO Conference a Success!http://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2008/5/26/hpo-conference-a-success.htmlHPO Web Editor2008-05-26T16:19:20Z2008-05-26T16:19:20ZHello, this is just a quick update to HPO members regarding our successful conference that was held earlier this week in Toronto. It was great to meet so many members, both new and familiar faces!

About 50 HPO members and other guests including representatives from public health departments from Nova Scotia and Manitoba (sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada) gathered for the event, which was titled Poverty, Politics and Public Health.

The agenda was packed with sessions and speakers based around health promotion and the role of health promoters in developing health public policy.

Please see the 2008 conference section for details.

Click Here for presentations.


]]>Consultation for Ontario Public Health Program Standards - Updatehttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2008/1/10/consultation-for-ontario-public-health-program-standards-upd.htmlHPO Web Editor2008-01-10T14:50:58Z2008-01-10T14:50:58ZHealth Promotion Ontario (HPO) has been one of many stakeholder organizations involved in the consultation and development process for the Ontario Public Health Program Standards, which will establish the new scope of service and accountability framework for Ontario’s public health units. Pending final government approval, it is anticipated that these new standards and the accompanying protocols and performance management framework will be released in summer 2008, with training in the fall of 2008, for implementation in 2009.

The Public Health Standards Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has been leading the consultation process, which most recently has included the development of protocols to support the standards. Protocol Development Teams have been drafting detailed supporting documents throughout the fall of 2007. The next step in the process will be consultation on the draft protocols, which will happen in two phases, the first of which has been scheduled to take place between January 28 and February 15, 2008. HPO has been invited to participate in this consultation process, and we will be seeking input from our membership through the consultation period.

The HPO Executive feels that the proposed standards represent a significant advance over the current document, and we are pleased to see that comprehensive health promotion strategies are called for across all of the standards. We feel strongly that within a multi-disciplinary public health workforce, Ontario's health promoters are well positioned to act as "integrators" and provide strong linkages between epidemiology, program planning, evaluation and implementation, particularly in the domains of policy development, creating supportive environments and community capacity building and engagement. Up to date information regarding the Ontario Public Health Standards, including the Draft Standards, can be accessed on the Ontario Public Health Portal, www.publichealthontario.ca

]]>2007 HPO Membership Materialshttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2007-hpo-membership-materials.htmlHPO Web Editor2007-08-14T13:02:41Z2007-08-14T13:02:41ZThe 2007-2008 membership drive is on! Click here for current membership forms and related documents.

]]>HPO 20th Anniversary Conference!http://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2007/3/5/hpo-20th-anniversary-conference.htmlHPO Web Editor2007-03-05T20:13:46Z2007-03-05T20:13:46Z
The HPO executive was thrilled with the attendance and response to our 20th anniversary conference, May 10-11, 2007. 68 Health Promoters from across Ontario gathered in Toronto and shared ideas, learned from keynote speaker John Garcia, and panelists Ronald Labonte, Pegeen Walsh, Paul McDonald, and Suzanne Jackson. The conference also featured presentations by Alycia Fridkin, Brian Hyndman and Gayle Bursey on Health Promotion Competencies.
Presentations are now available online - click here.
]]>Ontario Public Health Program Standards Reviewhttp://hpo.squarespace.com/home/2007/2/20/ontario-public-health-program-standards-review.htmlHPO Web Editor2007-02-20T17:34:00Z2007-02-20T17:34:00ZOn behalf of the HPO Executive committee, this is an update to inform you that HPO submitted a response to the new program standards. We received feedback from many of you, and your comments and feedback were incorporated into our submission. Click here to view our submission (large.pdf file).

Thanks very much to all who contributed to our response. To summarize, HPO is largely in favour of the standards as written, and offered suggestions where we had specific comments to make. The HPO Executive feels that the proposed standards represent a significant advance over the current document, and we are pleased to see that comprehensive health promotion strategies are called for across all of the standards. We feel strongly that within a multi-disciplinary public health workforce, Ontario's health promotion practitioners are well positioned to act as "integrators" and provide a strong link between epidemiology and program planning and implementation, particularly in the areas of policy development, creating supportive environments and community capacity building and engagement.

Kevin Churchill, on behalf of the HPO Executive Committee   

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