Need for permanent chief medical officer of health 'dire,' says Alberta Medical Association
Health minister won't say how many have expressed interest in top doctor role
Alberta's health minister says the search for a permanent chief medical medical officer of health is in the early stages, prompting concerns about health leadership as the province continues to battle its worst measles outbreak in nearly three decades.
The total number of confirmed cases since the outbreaks began in March surged to 210 on Friday. That's the highest case count since 1997, when 242 cases were reported.
The escalating case numbers come at a time when the province is without a permanent top doctor.
The provincial government appointed an interim chief medical officer of health after Dr. Mark Joffe opted not to renew his contract in mid-April. He had been in the role since November 2022.
Joffe left as calls grew for him to take to the podium and speak directly to Albertans about the measles outbreaks. At the time, doctors raised concerns about whether he was allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
The province has not yet found a permanent replacement.
"I think the need to get someone who has expertise in the role is dire," said Dr. Shelley Duggan, president of the Alberta Medical Association.
"It could be tricky. But I think it's important. There's lots of people trained in public health. We need to get somebody in Alberta. And we need to let them develop a campaign and work with their team to get the messaging out."
When asked by CBC News about the search for a replacement, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange did not say how much interest there is in the job. Nor did she say how many candidates have been interviewed.
"We're at the initial stages of the search," she said at a news conference on Thursday.
"We were quite hopeful that Dr. Joffe would have extended his contract. Since that hasn't happened, we are just at the initial stages of the search. And I'll keep you posted as we go along this road."
When it comes to concerns about how the province will handle its surging measles cases without a permanent CMOH in place, she said she's confident in the work of the public health teams.
"It's the local [medical officers of health] that are in the communities, that are on the ground working with those communities, that are most affected. They report up to the CMOH. So there's obviously a lot of interaction that happens."
LaGrange said measles immunizations have increased this year compared to last year due to the work of those teams.
When asked if she ever refused to greenlight any requests Joffe made about how to handle the measles outbreak, LaGrange did not answer directly, noting instead that she had many conversations with him about how to reach impacted communities.
"There are hot spots, but we do not have a provincial outbreak of measles," she said when pressed further.
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Recruitment in question
"Recruitment and retention of qualified public health leaders and health leaders, in general in this province, has become increasingly difficult," said Lorian Hardcastle, associate professor in the faculty of law and the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
She said concerns about politicization of public health could be a deterrent.
"And given the revolving door of public health officials — of [Alberta Health Services] CEOs, of the AHS board — I think it's going to be difficult to recruit and retain qualified people to these kinds of roles in this province."
It's problematic, she said, to be facing measles outbreaks with people moving in and out of the job.
"You don't want to have those transitions in the context of a public health crisis. You want consistent, clear messaging from the same trusted authority. And I don't think they're positioned to do that."
The Alberta NDP said it, too, is skeptical about Alberta's ability to recruit a new top doctor.
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"[Premier Danielle Smith] ran a leadership campaign showing disrespect to science, to public health, to experts, and it continues. And now she's got control over that office and it's caused a lot of chaos," said NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman, adding she's not surprised a permanent replacement is not in place.
"It is concerning because there should be separation between those who are in charge of gathering evidence and those who are in controlling political messaging."
Changes coming about through the UCP government's health system overall could be a further deterrent, according to Hoffman.
Bill 55, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, was tabled on Thursday. If passed, zone medical officers of health who are now part of Alberta Health Services will move to Alberta Health.
The plan has sparked concern about the consolidation of decision-making power — for matters relating to the health of Albertans — within the ministry.
"It is really important that we have experts that are entrusted to give their very best advice and direction. And when you're within the department, you don't have that same independence," said Hoffman.
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With files from Janet French