A local health unit's filled its top job.
The Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury and Districts - whose coverage area includes Chapleau - has announced the appointment of Dr. Mustafa Hirji as its next Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer, set to succeed Dr. Penny Sutcliffe on March 18th, when she'll begin a year-long sabbatical before she retire after nearly 25 years with the health unit.
Hirji's noted to have obtained his Public Health and Preventive Medicine Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2015 - with education in epidemiology, political science, and engineering physics - and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University, though he'd also spent eight years at Niagara Region Public Health, five-and-a-half acting as Medical officer of Health and Commissioner of Public Health and Emergency Services.
This comes as Public Health Sudbury and Districts and Algoma Public Health are exploring the feasibility of a voluntary merger, though they've yet to make any commitment toward one.