Three eastern Ontario boards of health to merge into new South East Health Unit

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) District Health Unit in Brockville. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Three eastern Ontario health units will be merging into a single health unit in the new year.

The boards of health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health (KFLAPH) and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGLDHU) voted this week to create the new South East Health Unit.

The health unit will cover a nearly 20,000 square kilometre-area, serving more than 550,000 residents living in the geographic boundaries of the KFLA, HPE and LGL.

“A merger of our three agencies will strengthen capacity and local public health programs and services, resulting in overall healthier communities across the South East region,” said HPEPH board chair, Jan O'Neill.

The new health unit will be in place on Jan. 1, 2025, with a new governance structure and board of health representatives from across the new geographic region.

Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health medical officer of health Dr. Piotr Oglaza will be the medical officer of health and CEO for the new merged unit.

Dr. Ethan Toumishey and Dr. Lianna Li will be the deputy medical officers of health, with Dr. Li supporting the LGL region and Frontenac County and Dr. Toumishey supporting the HPE region, L&A County, and the City of Kingston.

"The new governance structure will ensure that the entire South East region has the benefit of four experts guiding public health issues locally, while still ensuring that each geographic area retains local leadership during the transition to a larger agency," the health units said in a joint statement.

The merging process will be funded by the Ministry of Health for the first three years. MPP Steve Clark announced on Thursday the Ontario government will provide the LGLDHU $1.9 million to support the voluntary merger.

“We are very pleased that we’ll be able to reach the goal we’ve all been working towards for more than a year now,” said KFL&A board chair Wess Garrod. “The merger will ensure we have the skilled personnel needed to deliver the highest quality and most effective public health services to our communities.”