The #PublicHealthHeroes campaign was created with the intention to thank and recognize those who are working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic and every day to make a difference! We invited people in all sectors to learn more about the many roles of public health, and what this work looks like behind the scenes. Thanks to everyone who helped us to spread the word. You can see from the infographic summary that we have made great progress around our goal of raising awareness about the important work that public health  does to keep communities healthy and safe. We were especially pleased to see the almost 20,000 impressions and 3,000 gallery views as well as the campaign being featured in Hospital News Public health and health Care: Partners in tackling COVID-19, which has a readership of over 60,000. 

In recognition of those efforts and due to popular demand, we are launching #PublicHealthHeroesStories. This next wave will create space for those who want to share some reflections around their COVID-19 related experiences and/or forward-looking ideas for public health in Ontario. See below for more details around submissions and possible topic areas.  We invite you to share this information broadly with any colleagues you feel may have an interest in participating.

Please find outlined below more details on #PublicHealthHeroesStories.

• Submission due date: August 17, 2020
• Submission contact: Please send stories to MSanderson@opha.on.ca
• Possible topic areas:
  1. What you or your team would like to see for the future of public health
  2. Experiences/reflections around what you or your team have learned while working behind the scenes during these unprecedented times for public health
• Suggested length: is between 150 – 250 words
• Image requirements (optional):
  • images can be of something that inspires you or your team or anything that is relevant to your submission
  • image files should be formatted as JPG, GIF, or PNG
  • maximum file size of 1MB for images
  • recommended image width 564px
  • please ensure that any people in your images have expressed consent before sharing it
• How the information will be showcased: we will feature submissions in OPHA’s e-bulletin newsletter, as well as potentially in a blog-style OPHA webpage dedicated to the #PublicHealthHeroes topic area as well as other OPHA communication efforts to promote the work of public health. 

Thank you for your consideration and for the critical work that so many of you and your colleagues are doing to keep our communities healthy and safe.

Pegeen and the OPHA Team