Funding shortfall forcing layoffs at local health unit

Huron-Perth Public Health (HPPH) says it’s removing 10 per cent of its workforce to try and eliminate at $1.5-million budget shortfall.

Huron-Perth Public Health (HPPH) says it’s removing 10 per cent of its workforce to try and eliminate at $1.5-million budget shortfall.

“We have had to make difficult decisions,” said Dr. Miriam Klassen, Medical Officer of Health for Huron and Perth. “We have spent the past year decreasing program expenses in a variety of ways; however most of our budget is for human resources. We had to make the difficult decision to remove positions from the organization.”

Klassen said 13.5 positions at Huron-Perth Public Health will be eliminated through a series of layoffs, retirements and ending of temporary staff contracts.

She said the decrease in staff will impact the programs and services the organization provides to the community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency provincial funding allowed Huron-Perth Public Health to operate with a large redeployment of staff — but base funding barely changed and is not keeping up with rising expenses, according to Klassen.

With the end to COVID funding, HPPH has accumulated a $1.5 million funding shortfall over the past 5 years.

Exactly what services and programs will be cut or reduced are still to be decided, said HPPH, but the changes are expected to be in place by January 2024.