WECHU hopes to announce new chief medical officer of health 'in the very near future'
After a year-and-a-half without, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says it’s narrowing in on hiring a permanent chief medical officer of health.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai stepped into the role on an interim basis in September 2021, after Dr. Wajid Ahmed resigned to become the associate medical officer of health for the province.
“We’re moving along, and I’m very hopeful that we’re going to have some news in the near future,” says Fabio Costante, chair of the WECHU board.
“In the very near future.”
Costante says the hiring process is being handled by a third party consultant who has reached out to a pool of candidates.
A shortlist, he says, has been narrowed down to a single candidate who “checked all the boxes.”
“We wanted to interview that individual and do our due diligence,” says Costante.
“That process has been completed and now we’re looking at next steps.”
Those steps include obtaining Ministry of Health approval and final board approval.
No hints were offered as to who the candidate in mind might be — but it’s unlikely to be Dr. Nesathurai who last year said he wasn’t after the job.
At Thursday’s meeting of the WECHU board, Dr. Nesathurai told CTV News he said his mind hasn’t changed.
“I’m happy with the current situation at the health unit,” he says.
It’s not clear how soon official word might come from the health unit on the hiring process.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.