Ottawa·NewPublic health officials say closing offices within 50 kilometres of Kingston, Belleville, Brockville and Smiths Falls will save money.Sites within 50 km of Belleville, Kingston, Brockville and Smiths Falls to closeDan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Nov 22, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The public health office in Kingston is one of five that will remain open following closures across the region on March 1, 2026. (John Last/CBC)Southeast Public Health (SEPH) has announced plans to shut down eight offices in smaller communities across the region of eastern Ontario.Leased spaces within 50 kilometres of Belleville, Kingston, Brockville and Smiths Falls will be vacated as of March 1, 2026, according to a news release from health officials Friday afternoon.Offices will close in:Almonte.Gananoque.Kemptville.Napanee.Perth.Picton.Trenton.The office in Cloyne will also cease operations in March, according to SEPH, which said it’s “not conducive” to hosting programs and services.A site in Bancroft will remain open due to its “significant distance” from the four buildings the health unit owns in major centres.Decision ‘not an easy one'”This decision was not an easy one,” said Dr. Piotr Oglaza, SEPH’s medical officer of health and CEO, citing the “tough reality” facing the health unit. He said the financial situation is unrelated to the recent merger of four health units.Still, he rejected the idea that the closures will mean a reduction in service because SEPH staff are often mobile, inspecting restaurants and visiting patients.”I don’t think it’s a reduction,” he said, adding that the rural branches sometimes hosted clinics just twice a month, and were often closed two or three days a week.”These factors led to the conclusion that the money could be better spent if we were to discontinue the leases, but then continue the service in the community using some of the innovations that we’ve we’ve been working on,” Oglaza said.Those include mobile clinics and sharing spaces owned by community partners, he said.’Rural service strategy’ comingSEPH said it weighed usage, occupancy costs, community needs, evolution of service delivery and ways to preserve its workforce as factors in its decision.That evaluation found some of the offices were being “underutilized,” according to the news release, which said terminating the leases will allow it to “protect core public health programs and services” while ensuring the agency can keep going in the long term.The health unit said it will announce “rural service strategies” in the coming months which will provide “evidence-based ways of delivering services.” SEPH said staff will continue providing essential health programs in the affected areas, including collecting and testing drinking water free of charge, and that no permanent jobs will be lost because of the changes.ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area. He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter
Southeast Public Health announces plans to shut 8 rural offices
