The man who was the go-to for guidance and action during the COVID-19 pandemic is retiring.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby announced Thursday that he will be retiring at the end of the year.
Colby has served as Chatham-Kent’s medical officer of health since 2003 and Joe Faas, chair of the Board of Health, said Colby's dedication to the health and wellbeing of Chatham-Kent and its citizens is unrivalled.
“Dr. Colby’s leadership throughout his time as our Medical Officer of Health has been commendable. On behalf of the Board, staff, and the community, I thank Dr. Colby for his years of dedication and service to Chatham-Kent,” said Faas.
In a statement, the municipality said Dr. Colby has demonstrated his dedication time and time again over the years, but never as much as during the last two years. Municipal officials noted Dr. Colby’s leadership throughout the pandemic has been exemplary.
Colby said he never thought he would have to deal with a pandemic but did the best he could, adding it's been quite a ride the last couple of years to cap off a career.
"It's time to pass the baton and there are books to be written, waves to be surfed, boats to be sailed, and a lot of other things that need doing," said Colby.
An emotional Colby said he's very proud of his unselfish public health team during this historic pandemic and has never been prouder than being part of the significant historic moment at Riverview Gardens long-term care home when the first doses arrived.
"The way that everyone came together, there was nobody that said are we gonna get paid overtime for all this kind of stuff, like all this extra work? I don't like this. Everybody just said what do we need to do," the doctor added. "I still remember addressing that [vaccination] team just before they were ready to start and I said this is something that you can tell your grandchildren that you were part of the very first team that brought relief to Chatham-Kent," Colby said.
Colby said he will continue teaching at the University of Western and two other universities and will keep his licence in case he's needed down the road.
Colby was also instrumental in Chatham-Kent’s continued war on smoking by enacting one of the province’s most comprehensive smoking bylaws in 2009. He also successfully led the community through H1N1 [swine flu] and has been a vocal advocate during the ongoing opioid crisis.
