Dr. Deena Hinshaw out as Alberta's chief medical officer of health
CBC
Dr. Deena Hinshaw is no longer Alberta's chief medical officer of health.
In a news release Monday, the provincial government announced Hinshaw will be replaced by Dr. Mark Joffe, an Alberta Health Services vice-president.
Joffe's interim term began Monday and will continue until the health minister rescinds the appointment, the news release said. He will continue in his current contract with AHS with no additional compensation as chief medical officer of health.
Health Minister Jason Copping said in the release that Joffe has dedicated himself to improving Albertans' health throughout his career.
"He brings this wealth of experience and knowledge to the role of chief medical officer of health. I look forward to working with him," Copping said.
"I also wish to thank Dr. Deena Hinshaw for her service and dedication to Albertans through the past several years."
When Danielle Smith was sworn in as Alberta's premier on Oct. 11, she said she would replace Hinshaw and recruit a new team of advisers in public health who consider COVID-19 an endemic disease.
Less than five weeks later, Smith made good on part of that promise.
Smith has made it clear that she blames both Hinshaw and Alberta Health Services for failing to deliver the best advice and care for Albertans as the hospital system came close to buckling in successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A lot of the bad decisions were made by Alberta Health Services on the basis of bad advice from the chief medical officer of health," Smith told reporters on Oct. 22.
Hinshaw was appointed Alberta's chief medical officer of health in January 2019. Her contract was set to expire in 2024.
Dr. Verna Yiu, who often appeared alongside Hinshaw at news conferences updating Albertans on COVID-19 and its impacts on the health-care system, left as president and CEO at Alberta Health Services in April. Yiu's contract had been extended through to 2023.
Yiu is now interim provost and vice-president academic at the University of Alberta for a two-year term.
Hinshaw became a familiar figure across the province through hundreds of regularly-scheduled COVID-19 updates, garnering both the respect and ire of the public for the advice she provided to government.
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