As he prepares for retirement at the end of the year, Chatham-Kent’s medical officer of health is looking back at the challenges and rewarding aspects of his career.
Dr. David Colby announced on Thursday that he would be retiring from the position he has held at Chatham-Kent Public Health since 2003.
During his tenure, Colby has overseen the response to several public health issues, however, he said the greatest challenge he has faced as Chatham-Kent’s top doctor has been during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Undoubtedly, the hardest thing I’ve encountered is the onslaught of misinformation and disinformation around vaccination, [as well as] the sheer number and passion of people that speak, without a factual basis, about immunization being less than effective and even dangerous,” he said. “What we’ve seen, with the rise of the internet, is what I would call a false democratization of knowledge where it’s the number of people that believe something that becomes important, rather than the facts.”
While the pandemic has made the last two years incredibly challenging, Colby said it was gratifying to witness the resolve of the health care community.
“I get very emotional when I think about this, but I remember when the first immunizations came to Chatham-Kent and the first site that we did was at Riverview Gardens,” he said. “[It] was really the first hope we had of dealing with this pandemic in a meaningful way.
“I still remember addressing that team, just before they were ready to start, and I said, ‘this is something you can tell your grandchildren, that you were a part of the very first team that brought relief to Chatham-Kent… I have never been prouder.”
Colby said following his retirement at the end of the year, he intends to continue teaching as a professor at Western University and he will retain his medical license.
“We’ll just see what the future brings, as far as that goes. If there’s a way that I can contribute, then maybe I will do that,” he said.
As Colby looks to the next chapter of his life, municipal officials and CK Public Health will soon have to begin the search for his replacement.
“We continue on and the baton will be passed,” he said. “Someone else will come and do an excellent job for Chatham-Kent.”