After a unanimous vote, the Middlesex-London Board of Health has recommended that Dr. To make Alex Summers the new health officer for the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU).
The 34-year-old started as an associate MOH in the healthcare unit in 2018 and has been with Dr. Mackie’s leave of absence last fall as acting health officer for the region.
dr Summers will oversee a phased transition of staff from emergency pandemic response to more traditional public health roles.
“I am committed to working with the leadership team and board to ensure that (employees) find the space to share and acknowledge their experiences so that we can regain the joy of working in public health,” he says.
dr Summers is inheriting a health unit that comes under scrutiny after CUPE Local 101, which represents about 300 current employees, raised concerns about an adverse work environment.
“No comment,” responded Emily Williams, CEO of MLHU, when asked by CTV News if any investigations or other processes stemming from Dr. Mackie’s time as health officer is underway. “What our workforce and union leadership need to hear from us is that we are committed to working to develop a positive work environment in the healthcare unit.”
Board of Health Chairman Matthew Reid made a commitment to employees: “The health and well-being of employees will be a focus going forward and it is very important that all of our employees feel supported.”
“We will commit to kindness every day,” adds Dr. Added Summers. “It will be a cornerstone of how we operate as an organization.”
Summers is a graduate of Queen’s University School of Medicine, completed his residency in Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Toronto and holds a Masters of Public Health from Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in the Master of Public Health program.
dr Chris Mackie officially resigned from his role as health officer on Monday. In November it was announced that he was taking a leave of absence.
Mackie was previously criticized for leaving large amounts of equipment at 50 King St. after declaring that MLHU had successfully relocated to CitiPlaza.
An investigation found that personal information and personal health information remained on two discarded hard drives.
Paper documents left at 50 King St. contained information on 270 people involved in a food poisoning investigation.
Last year, he defended accepting more than $100,000 in overtime in 2020.
The attitude of Dr. Alex Summers as Medical Officer of Health is pending final provincial approval.
