The Windsor Essex County Health Unit's CEO, Nicole Dupuis, has announced she is resigning from her position.
Health Board chair Gary McNamara says they were made aware of the decision this past Friday.
Dupuis, who only took over as CEO in July of 2021 after the retirement of Theresa Marentette, says the decision was due to personal family reasons but she is not retiring.
She says it wasn't in her near vision when she took the role, but things change.
"Life's circumstances happen and courses change. I am really grateful to the chair, and the board for their faith in me. And to the community for their faith in my. It's been a rewarding and challenging year for sure," she said.
It comes at a time when back to school vaccination campaigns are underway, as well as preparations for cold and flu season, but Dupuis is confident the health unit team will continue to do the important work.
"The health unit is an organization filled with more than 200 professionals and it's an amazing team," she continued. "It's not me or any one specific leader that gets the job done, it's the over 200 people that are within this building that do the job for the community everyday."
McNamara says while it's disappointing, they understood the rationale and wished Dupuis the best moving forward.
"She's leaving us in good hands with a tremendous senior team, and again, 200 plus professionals that do their jobs on a daily basis with passion, compassion and empathy to the community. So the board were no doubt disappointed on Friday, but they understood," he said.
Dupuis will remain on the job until September 23, working in tandem with interim CEO Eleanor Groh to make sure the transition to the next full time leader is seamless.
McNamara is hoping that by sometime in October they'll have the CEO in place.
Dr. Nesathurai continues as the Acting Medical Officer of Health and will work hand in hand with the Board through the transition.