Alberta temporarily fills top public health officer roles

Alberta has named two interim senior public health officials after failing to offer enough pay to keep the outgoing doctors in those positions.

Effective Monday, Dr. Gerry Predy from Edmonton's Capital Health will start the transition to become the province's acting chief medical health officer.

Dr. Richard Musto, a 23-year veteran with the Calgary Health Region, will become acting deputy chief medical health officer, Alberta Health and Wellness said Friday.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Dr. Karen Grimsrud, the acting provincial health officer, Dr. Gloria Keays, the deputy provincial health officer, and Dr. Ameet Singh, the infectious-disease medical consultant, are all leaving the department.

Health Minister Ron Liepert blamed a salary dispute for the departures.

Public health officers play key roles in managing infectious diseases and immunization issues, such as the recent mumps outbreak in Alberta. Critics had worried that leaving the positions vacant for too long would put patients in a vulnerable position.

John Tuckwell, spokesman for Alberta Health, said Friday that Predy and Musto will work with the three outgoing doctors until their contracts expire in August. The two men will then act as backfill support until candidates are found to permanently fill the jobs, he said.

"Both Dr. Musto and I are concerned about the fact that the public needs to have confidence in the public health system, so we have engaged in these discussions with the department to ensure that there is continuity and that the recruitment process can be facilitated so that the position is not left vacant for too long," Predy told CBC News.

Predy said he will help recruit candidates, but isn't interested in taking over the job himself permanently.

Both Predy, chair of the Urban Public Health Network, and Musto, an associate professor at the University of Calgary, will also maintain their positions in the Edmonton and Calgary regions.