NEWS RELEASE
PORCUPINE HEALTH UNIT
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In the fall of 1944, World War II was drawing to a close. Ottawa had announced the “baby benefit” for Canadian families with children under 16. Ontario had just relaxed wartime alcohol rations to one bottle a month. And in Timmins, Ontario’s first health unit was formed: the Porcupine Health Unit.
As part of their ongoing 75th Anniversary celebrations, the Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) will be holding an open house at the main office on Pine Street this Friday (Nov. 29) from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m.
Throughout November, the PHU has been celebrating their 75 years of providing important public health services to prevent illness and injury, and to protect and promote the health and well-being of the population. It will also be celebrating the hundreds of professionals that have served our communities since 1944. According to Dr. Lianne Catton, the medical officer of health for the health unit, “local connections with municipalities and community partners is central to the work of public health and we are grateful for the relationships fostered over the years to support healthy communities. We have been taking the time this fall to celebrate our many achievements and the people who made them happen.”
On Oct. 2, 1944, Timmins Council approved the formation of a regional health unit, to serve the Townships of Whitney and Tisdale and the Town of Timmins. It would be the first created under the Province’s newly amended Public Health Act. Headed by the town’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Graham Lane, the new Porcupine Health Unit’s first challenge was to continue the tuberculosis survey that was the major health concern of the day. By September of that year, an amazing 5,550 Timmins residents had been screened in what was the first mass X-ray clinic in Ontario. Other communities followed.
Over the next few decades, additional communities would join the Porcupine Health Unit: Matheson and Iroquois Falls in 1950; Kapuskasing and Smooth Rock Falls in 1954; Cochrane, Hearst and others in 1955; and Hornepayne (then Wickstead) in 1972; with Moosonee following a few years later. By 1983, the Porcupine Health Unit was the biggest health unit on the continent, covering a region of over 266,000 square kilometres.
The health unit’s anniversary provides an opportunity to look at the important role public health has had in the area, reflects Dr. Catton. “There are challenges ahead, as we look towards Public Health modernization” she says, “however, we will continue to ensure public health needs and the local voice remain a priority for all our communities.”
This fall, all nine health unit offices will be holding celebrations to recognize the milestone.
Dr. Catton notes there have also been historical photos published on their Facebook page with an emphasis on how the services and the staff have changed with the times. This Friday (Nov. 29), the Porcupine Health Unit is pleased to celebrate the 75th anniversary with current and past staff, Board of Health members, community partners and the public at their Open House from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at 169 Pine Street South in Timmins, their home since the fall of 1981.
The PHU’s first Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Lane, was truly an innovator in community health. The PHU continues to honour his legacy with their mission of ‘Strengthening opportunities for healthy living within healthy communities’.
The Porcupine Health Unit is located in Northeastern Ontario, serving the entire Cochrane District and Hornepayne, in Algoma District. The main office is located in Timmins, Ont., with branch offices in Cochrane, Hearst, Hornepayne, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Matheson, Moosonee and Smooth Rock Falls.
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