Please visit RCDHU’s webpage: Vaccine Resources for Health Care Providers.

Rapid Antigen Testing Kits

To order rapid antigen testing kits for your clients, please complete the Rapid Antigen Test Kit Order Form.

2019 Novel Coronavirus

Health Nexus Webinar: Infection Prevention and Control in Primary Care and Community Settings 

COVID-19 Signage

• Patient Sign – English
• Patient Sign – French
• Visitor Sign – English
• Visitor Sign – French

Guidance Documents

Guidance documents have been produced for a number of health sectors related to COVID-19.

Information Sheets

• 2019 Novel Coronavirus Fact Sheet – English, French, Chinese
• COVID-19 – Safe Practices
• Public Health Ontario – How to care for a child who needs to self-isolate
• How to Self-monitor 

COVID-19 Links

• Public Health Ontario (PHO): https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/diseases-and-conditions/infectious-diseases/respiratory-diseases/novel-coronavirus 
• Public Health Ontario (PHO): COVID-19: Infection Prevention and Control Checklist for Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes 
• Public Health Ontario (PHO): COVID-19 Health Care Resources
• Government of Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
• Government of Canada – Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19: Second Interim Guidance for Acute Healthcare Settings
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC): https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
• World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE – https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Updates:

The Outbreak Status Report is updated daily (excluding weekends and statutory holidays), providing health care providers and our community with a snapshot of possible viruses or other pathogens circulating in our communities.

Outbreak Status Report

Weekly Flu Activity Report

Advisories:

Measles remains endemic in many parts of the world, and several high profile outbreaks are occurring in parts of North America.

As of November 14, 2019, a total of 14 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles have been reported in Ontario. The most recent case occurred on November 8, 2019 (date of rash onset). Twelve are index cases and two are secondary cases. All but one of the twelve index cases are associated with travel outside Canada.

In 2018 there were 8 confirmed cases of measles reported in Ontario. Over the last five years, the number of confirmed measles cases reported in the province has ranged from 7 in 2016 to 22 in 2014. For more information visit Public Health Ontario

Alerts:

April 25, 2023: New Ontario HIV Testing Guidelines Alert

March 24, 2023: XDR Shigella Sonnei Public Health Alert

January 12, 2023: MPOX (formerly monkeypox) Public Health Alert

Alcohol & Other Drugs

• Canadian Clinical Guideline – High Risk Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder
• Help With Drinking – For health care providers

For more information on alcohol and other drugs, visit: Alcohol and Other Drugs.

Quitting Smoking

Supports for your patients to quit smoking are available through a variety of programs and services in Renfrew County and District. Please see: Resources to Quit Smoking in Renfrew County and District – Navigational Map.

Resources

The following resources can assist health care providers to support patients with cutting back or quitting tobacco.

• You Can Make It Happen – A resource for health care providers to assist their patients and clients to quit smoking.
• TEACH – Training Enhancement in Applied Cessation Counselling and Health – A training program to ensure that practitioners who provide services to people who use tobacco have the knowledge and skills to deliver effective, evidence-based cessation interventions.
• Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation – A program that systematically identifies, provides treatment, and offers follow-up to all smokers seen in clinical practice. The inpatient part of this program is implemented by hospitals in Renfrew County.

Breastfeeding

Family Physicians can provide direct counselling in a professional, supportive atmosphere and this has a major impact on the infant feeding decisions of families. Because family physicians have an extended relationship with their patients before pregnancy, during pregnancy and in the postpartum, they have many opportunities to support, educate and encourage breastfeeding.

The Physician’s Toolkit Breastfeeding Quick Reference Guide (updated April 2022) is a “toolkit is designed to assist health care providers in providing optimal care and consistent information to breastfeeding families. The toolkit is based on current evidence and reflects best practice in the care of breastfeeding families. Topics include initiating and sustaining breastfeeding, management of common concerns, medication safety, establishing a breastfeeding-friendly practice environment and local support resources.” The toolkit is available to be emailed (PDF) or mailed upon request. To request the toolkit please:

• call: 613-735-9774 (direct line) or 1-800-267-1097 ext. 589 (toll-free); or
• email: familyhealth@rcdhu.com.

Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program

Healthy Babies Healthy Children is a voluntary, free home visiting program for women and their families in the prenatal period, and women with children from birth until their transition to school.

Healthy Babies Healthy Children program offers support in the home for every child and parent identified with challenges. This includes assessment, teaching, referral and service coordination.

Renfrew County and District Health Unit’s home visiting team consists of Public Health Nurses, Social Workers and Home Visitors. Staff members work with clients on:

• achieving healthy pregnancy;
• good nutrition and feeding (including breastfeeding);
• healthy child development;
• safety;
• adjusting to parenthood;
• accessing community resources and more.

For more information about the Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) program and/or to view/download the HBHC Fact Sheet, visit the Government of Ontario website in English and/or French.

Referral

To refer to the Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program:

• send a completed Referral Form for Service Providers to Renfrew County and District Health Unit OR
• call Healthy Families Intake Line at 613-735-9774 (direct line) or 1-800-267-1097 ext. 589 (toll-free).

Parent Child Wellness Clinics

RCDHU is now offering by appointment Parent Child Wellness Clinics. Clients can spend one-on-one time with a Public Health Nurse and get support as well as answers to questions about feeding, sleeping, crying and other parenting inquiries. The clinics are open to families with children age zero to transition to school.

Clinic locations:

• Pembroke (RCDHU Main Office) – Parent Child Wellness Clinic
• Arnprior (EarlyON® Centre) – Parent Child Wellness Clinic

For more information and to book an appointment:

• call: 613-735-9774 (direct line) or 1-800-267-1097 ext. 589 (toll-free); or
• email: familyhealth@rcdhu.com.

 

Outbreaks

Under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act, outbreaks of respiratory and enteric infections in institutions are reportable to the local Medical Officer of Health on the same day as the outbreak is suspected or confirmed.

When an outbreak is reported to the Health Unit, a Public Health Nurse (for respiratory outbreaks) or a Public Health Inspector (for enteric outbreaks) offers to assist staff at the facility in their efforts to prevent the spread of the illness.

Please note effective June 1, 2022, Renfrew County and District Health Unit Outbreak Team will be resuming regular business hours Monday – Friday 08:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

During Regular business hours:

For urgent outbreak matters: please call 613-602-5966. Please leave a message with name, contact number and reason for call and the assigned Case Investigator will return your call.

For non-urgent outbreak matters, please email outbreak@rcdhu.com.

If you are reporting a single case in a highest risk setting, please complete the Case Reporting Form.

If you are reporting a new outbreak in a highest risk setting, please complete the Initial Respiratory Outbreak Notification Form.

Forms can be emailed to outbreak@rcdhu.com (password-protected) or faxed to 613-735-3067.

After Hours

Please contact the on-call manager at 613-735-9926.

 

COVID-19 Outbreak Supporting Documents

Case Reporting Form

Initial Respiratory Outbreak Notification Form

Initial Checklist for COVID-19 Outbreak Management

Respiratory Outbreak Line List – Resident

Respiratory Outbreak Line List – Staff

COVID-19 Outbreak Aggregate Data Collection Form

Clinical Update Form for Hospitalized COVID-19 Cases

RCDHU Clinical Update Form FAQ

Enteric Outbreak Forms

Enteric Outbreak Line Listing Form (PDF, 1 page, 57 KB)

Initial Enteric Outbreak Notification Form (PDF)

Respiratory Outbreak Forms

Respiratory Outbreak Line List – Resident

Respiratory Outbreak Line List – Staff

RCDHU Line List FAQ

Initial respiratory outbreak notification form

Respiratory Outbreak Control Measures Checklist

Ontario Final Report of an Institutional Respiratory Infection Outbreak Form

Hospitalizations, Complications and Deaths of Line Listed Cases Form

Outbreak Transfer Notification Form

Staff Only Line List – Asymptomatic Case Surveillance (for HHR)

Resources for Respiratory Outbreaks in Hospitals, Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Residences

Control of Respiratory Infection Outbreaks in Long-Term Care Homes, 2018

AMMI Canada Guideline: Guidance on the use of antiviral drugs for influenza in acute care facilities in Canada, 2014-2015

AMMI Canada Guidelines: Guidance for practitioners on the use of antiviral drugs to control influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Canada, 2014-2015 season

Influenza Surveillance Protocol for Ontario Hospitals

Resources for Enteric Outbreaks in Hospitals, Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Residences

MOHLTC  –  Recommendations for the Control of Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Long-Term Care Homes, 2018

MOHLTC  –  Roles and Responsibilities of Hospitals and Public Health Units in CDI Reporting and Outbreak Management, 2014

Public Health Ontario – Clostridioides difficile Infections (CDI)

Public Health Ontario – Environmental Cleaning

Laboratory Services Resources

Virus Respiratory Kit Instructions

Public Health Ontario Test Information Index

Public Health Ontario – General Test Requisition

Public Health Ontario – COVID-19 Test Requisition

Signage and Fact Sheets

We are experiencing a respiratory outbreak poster

Controlling respiratory outbreaks: What visitors need to know fact sheet

Additional Precautions Signage and Lanyard Cards

Recommended steps for putting on and taking off personal protective equipment (PPE)

Routine Practices and Additional Precautions – Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) 3rd edition

Attention: Mask/Physical Distancing Poster 

Do Not Enter If Sick Poster

Hand Sanitize Before Entering Poster

Hand Sanitizer Station Poster

Flu Physical Distancing Poster

Cover Your Cough Poster

Other Resources

Ontario Respiratory Pathogen Bulletin is posted every Friday during influenza season (November to April).

Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC)

Routine Practices and Additional Precautions in All Health Care Settings (PDF, 113 pages, 3 MB)

Websites

Infection Prevention and Control Canada

Influenza

Flu shots are available free for all Ontario residents over six months of age. They are available through local drug stores, health care providers, and Renfrew County and District Health Unit.

Local Influenza Activity

Many people with influenza-like illness do not seek medical care or have lab testing done. Therefore reporting of laboratory confirmed influenza cases to public health units significantly underestimates the burden of influenza in Ontario.

For information on the number of lab confirmed influenza cases in Renfrew County and District, see the Local Influenza Activity section of our Weekly Outbreak Status Reports.

Web Sites

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care – Universal Influenza Immunization Program

Government of Canada – For health professionals: Flu (influenza).

Public Health Ontario – Influenza webpage

An influenza pandemic is declared when a new strain of flu virus emerges that has never been seen before and begins to spread quickly around the world.  For example, in Spring 2009, a new strain of the influenza virus, the H1N1 virus, caused a pandemic.  As it was a new strain and because humans had little to no natural immunity to this virus, it caused serious and widespread illness.

The frequency of pandemics is unpredictable, but experts agree that we need to be prepared for the next one. Renfrew County and District Health Unit’s Pandemic Influenza Plan provides direction on responding to an influenza pandemic in coordination with federal, provincial and local pandemic influenza plans

Infection Control

Renfrew County and District Health Unit works with hospitals, long-term care homes, day nurseries and other community settings to ensure infection control programs are in place where required and that infection prevention practices are followed. Health Unit staff participate in the infection control committees of hospitals and long-term care homes in Renfrew County and District.

Resources
Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC)

Best Practice Documents:

• Best Practices for Prevention, Surveillance and Infection Control Management of Novel Respiratory Infections
• Infection Prevention and Control in Perinatology
• Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization of Medical Equipment/Devices
• Environmental Cleaning for Prevention and Control of Infections
• Infection Prevention and Control Programs in Ontario
• Best Practices for Hand Hygiene
• Infection Prevention and Control for Clinical Office Practice
• Routine Practices and Additional Precautions Annexes A, B and C
• Surveillance of Health Care Associated Infections

Public Health Ontario: Hand Hygiene 

Web Sites

Regional Infection Control Networks (Ontario)

Infection Prevention and Control Canada

 

Reportable Diseases

The Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act lists over 68 communicable diseases that must be reported to local health units. Physicians and other practitioners, administrators of hospitals, superintendents of institutions, and school principals are responsible for reporting to the local Health Unit. All reports are followed up by a Public Health Nurse or Public Health Inspector.

How to report communicable diseases:

• Reportable Diseases of Public Health Significance Toolkit (July 2023)
• For diseases that need to be reported immediately, call 613-732-3629 during office hours, and 613-735-9926 during evenings, weekends and holidays.
• For all reportable diseases, complete the appropriate reporting form and fax to 613-735-3067 by the next business day.
• Diseases-of-Public-Health-Significance-Reporting-Form-for-HCP (Formerly known as “Communicable Disease Reporting Form”)
• Positive TST Reporting Form for HCP
• Rabies: See below
• Lyme Disease Reporting Form

Please Note: Respiratory and gastroenteritis outbreaks in institutions should be reported immediately by telephone when an outbreak is suspected or confirmed. See Outbreak Management for forms and resources to use during an outbreak.

Resources

Recommendations for Tuberculosis (TB) Screening in Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes (PDF, 2 pages, 300 KB)

Public Health Ontario

Public Health Ontario Laboratory Test Directory

Sexually Transmitted Infections Case Management and Contact Tracing Best Practice Recommendations (PDF)

Guidelines for Testing and Treatment of Gonorrhea

Public Health Agency of Canada

Canadian Guidelines on Sexually Transmitted Infections

Canadian Tuberculosis Standards, 7th Edition, 2014

Lung Association

Tuberculosis Information for Health Care Providers, 5th edition (PDF, 34 pages, 1240 KB)

Lyme Disease – Management of Tick Bites and Investigation of Early Localized Lyme Disease Clinical Guidance (PDF)

Rabies Prevention and Control

The Health Unit works to prevent human cases of rabies through the following activities:

• monitoring the type, number and location of animals that have tested positive for rabies in Renfrew County and District and surrounding areas
• having a Rabies Contingency Plan and keeping it up to date
• investigating when people are exposed to animals suspected of having rabies
• having a supply of anti-rabies vaccine
• consulting with doctors in deciding when there is a need to give the vaccine to a person who has been exposed to an animal suspected of having rabies
• Public Health Inspectors investigate animal bites and scratches that are reported to the Health Unit. The owner has to put the suspect animal into quarantine. This is necessary to ensure that the rabies virus was not present in the saliva of the animal when the person was bitten or scratched. The animal is checked at the end of the quarantine period to make sure it is free of rabies symptoms.

All animal bites and scratches involving humans must be reported to the Health Unit immediately using the Contact with Suspect Rabies Exposure Investigation Form.

If a person exposed requires rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, fill in the Request for Rabies Post Exposure Vaccine Form and report it to the Health Unit immediately.

The document to be reviewed by health-care providers upon report of an animal bite can be found here:  Management of Potential Rabies Exposure Guideline, 2020

Resources

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – Rabies in Humans