Less than a week after the Women’s March, the BC Government has made a historic appointment, naming Dr. Bonnie Henry as the province’s first ever female provincial health officer (PHO).
Dr. Henry will replace Dr. Perry Kendall, who will retire on Jan. 31, 2018.
Uniquely positioned to step into the role, Dr. Henry’s career includes tackling a wide variety of public-health concerns and challenges within Canada and abroad.
Dr. Henry’s Achievements:
- Supporting the STOP polio program in Pakistan in 2000;
- Working with the World Health Organization on the Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2001;
- Leading the operational response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Toronto in 2003.
“With Dr. Henry, we have a direct and experienced advisor to steer and improve public health in our province,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix. “She has a consistent approach providing straightforward information to the public on the risks of Zika, or air quality, to controlling issues that affect families daily, like influenza.”
Dr. Henry was appointed deputy provincial health officer in August 2014. In this role, she has guided the province through the worst wildfire season in decades, which affected air quality; guided the B.C. response to the West African Ebola outbreak, advised on the H7N9 bird flu in B.C., provided guidance on travelling in Zika-affected areas; and provided leadership on the overdose crisis.
Replacing Dr. Perry Kendall
The soon-to-retire Dr. Kendall has been the provincial health officer since 1999 and was a recipient of the Order of B.C. in 2005, marking his contributions to public health in B.C.
He was prolific in writing reports on Indigenous Health, drinking water, and other public-health issues, and managed a wide variety of concerns that included advising on the Ebola outbreak, radiation from Fukushima, SARS, and swine flu.
Together, Dr. Henry and Dr. Kendall are credited with earnestly working together to fight one of the deadliest challenges facing British Columbians today, the overdose crisis.
“Dr. Henry has been an incredibly strong support for me in my role as provincial health officer and filled in for me countless times when I was unavailable,” said Dr. Kendall. “I feel confident that Dr. Henry is the right person for this job. I have relied on her judgment and approach regularly during her time as deputy provincial health officer.”
For more details on Dr. Henry, click here for the full media release.
