Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has legislated responsibility for delivering public health services including health protection, disease and injury prevention control of communicable diseases, family health services and responding to public health services.

OPH delivers bilingual programs and services to a population of almost one million Ottawa residents in both rural and urban communities. OPH serves Cumberland in the east to Fitzroy Harbour in the west, and from the Ottawa River in the north to Osgoode in the south.

OPH works locally with individuals and families of all ages, all abilities and from all cultures, as well as with the community and partner agencies, to promote and protect health and to prevent disease.

Public health programs and services are delivered in a variety of settings including workplaces, day cares, schools, households, seniors’ care and health care facilities, and community spaces.

OPH is a teaching health unit (site of the provincial Public Health Research, Education and Development Program (PHRED)) and works with all post secondary educational institutions in the area.

What do we do?

Protection

Ottawa Public Health works to protects the overall health and well being of the community, using the skills of many public health professionals, such as health inspectors, public health nurses, and doctors. Their goal is to protect the community from the risks of communicable diseases and hazards involving biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear substances.

Promotion

Ottawa Public Health staff promote health by working with individuals and communities to improve their own health by:

• Encouraging healthy public policy
• Developing personal skills
• Creating supportive environments
• Strengthening community action
• Re-orienting the health system

Surveillance

Ottawa Public Health Surveillance monitors population health status by detecting and tracking outbreaks, patterns of communicable and non-communicable disease, demographic profiles, behavioural risk factors, adverse health events, and exposure to toxic substances including environmental agents harmful to health.

Ottawa Public Health provides health prevention programs and services, management and control of infectious and communicable diseases, clinic services including immunization, early detection of cancer and sexual health and supports optimum health choices for individuals, families and communities within the city of Ottawa.