It's finally official.
The Ministry of Health has approved Dr. Wajib Ahmed as the new medical officer of health for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
Dr. Ahmed was named acting medical officer of health following the departure of Dr. Gary Kirk in June 2017.
This past September, the health unit's board of directors removed the acting title but the appointment still needed ministry of approval.
Dr. Ahmed says he's looking forward to the opportunity.
"For me I think my job still stays the same," he says. "It's just adding more credibility to it and just receiving the endorsement from the minister's office as well, it kind just lends more credibility to the job that I'm doing in terms of protecting and promoting the health in our community. So it would definitely keep me going and continue to do the good work that we do at the health unit."
Dr. Ahmed says he was caught off guard by last week's email.
"I was expecting it along time ago but it finally happened," he says. "It did come in as a surprise just the email I received but is happy to see it. It's a further endorsement of the work that we've been doing at the health unit so really appreciate the minister taking the time to approve the appointment."
Dr. Ahmed is entering his fifth year with the health unit.