South East Health Unit Board Update – July 2025

Press Release – South East Health Unit

The South East Health Unit (SEHU) Board of Health met July 23 in Belleville for their regular monthly meeting. The agenda package is available online.

Governance Committee update

The board approved the Appointment of External Advisors Policy. The policy ensures that the Medical Officer of Health/CEO or their designate can retain expertise from external advisors subject to budget availability and in alignment with procurement policies. External advisors may include, but are not limited to, legal counsel, financial advisors, accountants, auditors, engineers, and management and human resource consultants. All external advisors must be licensed under the appropriate governing body and will be at arms-length from the members of the BOH and Senior Management. The full policy can be reviewed in the board package.

The board also approved a self-evaluation survey which will be completed in the fall. This survey gives board members a chance to reflect on their work as a governance body and to identify possible areas for improvement. The survey the board members will be completing can be reviewed in the board package.

Merger update

A progress update on merger activities was provided to the board. A significant amount of work is underway to merge the three legacy health units, including, but not limited to:

• Developing an implementation plan to launch the new brand in the fall.
• Assigning program staff to their new teams effective in September.
• Harmonizing projects that cross portfolios, including the electronic medical records, fax system integration, call intake processes, client service standards, medical directives and the website.
• Providing change management webinars for all staff: Navigating Change at Work in May and July and Creating Connections at Work in August and September.
• Identifying priority policies for review, with the first ones going to the Management Committee on August 21.
• Drafting a document that outlines the values and shared elements of the desired culture based on input from management and staff.
• Continuing work to have a common Microsoft tenant for the organization with an anticipated go-live date of fall 2025.

Meetings

The next meeting of the board is August 27, 2025.