Healthy Babies program faces downsizing

Due to proposed budget cuts to Ottawa Public Health, mothers who have recently given birth may no longer receive a follow-up call unless they or their children are considered at risk.

Vera Etches, deputy medical officer of health at Ottawa Health, says they are required by law to have a balanced budget and the pressures on the expenses side are exceeding the organization’s revenues.

One of the ways Ottawa Health will achieve a balanced budget is by “shifting the focus” of the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program, she says.

“Most of the effort in the program goes into working with families who are finding there’s some challenges to raising their children and through home visits,” Etches says.

She says that they are only looking at changing their approach with families who have no identified concerns or risk factors. Those without risks can still access information online, such as through Ottawa Health’s new Parenting Portal.

Haifa Husseini, a mother of two, received follow-up calls after the birth of her children. She says with her first son, “they called the day after and a nurse actually came to the house and she checked his weight.”

After her daughter was born, staff called a day later. 

“I told them they didn’t have to come because I already knew what to expect and everything,” she says. “But they were really nice and they asked all the right questions.”

Husseini says if she did have any concerns, she knew that she could get in touch with Ottawa Health.

Etches says the risk factors that would prompt a follow-up with the new budget include things such as mental and physical challenges, a difficult birth, mobility impairment, lack of community or family support, language barriers, and addiction issues. 

These risks would be identified by a healthcare provider while the parent is in hospital or at a birthing centre.

“There’s quite a wide range (of risks),” she says, “but the other thing is if the parents themselves say ‘I don’t feel comfortable, I’m not confident, I’m not sure I can do this.’ That in itself is a risk factor which would keep them in the pool of people who are going to receive a phone call.”

Simone Thibault, executive director of the Centretown Community Health Centre, says she was initially concerned by the proposed budget cuts due to the possibility of people falling through cracks in the system. The centre works closely with Ottawa Public Health and has since been in discussion with them about any possible impacts.

“We’re seeing in these times of austerity areas that are going to be cut and we need to pay attention to it as a community and to make sure that we have that lens,” says Thibault. “We know that investing in prevention in the upstream is healthier and also better for the dollar than waiting for something to happen later on.”

Etches says public consultations on the proposed health budget are part of city consultations which will take place Feb. 8 to 12. The next board of health meeting is on March 2. People can also send in their ideas to Ottawa Health at any time. 

“We’ll be monitoring the impact carefully and looking at evaluation of it,” she says.