Seattle-King County’s top health officer retiring
Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County’s Health Officer for Public Health, is stepping down.
Dr. Duchin joined Seattle & King County Public Health in 1994 and was named Chief of the department’s Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section in 1998. In 2015, he became the Health Officer for King County Public Health.
He was the face of public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
King County Executive Dow Constantine praised Duchin’s work, saying, “Under his guidance, King County’s sustained response to the pandemic has led the nation, holding illness and death rates to among the lowest in major counties, while focusing on equity as a guiding principle in our work. I’m grateful for his wise counsel and for his long record of accomplishment on our behalf.”
The Director for Public Health for King County, Dr. Faisal Khan appointed Dr. Mia Shim as Interim Health Officer, while a nationwide search for Dr Duchin’s replacement is underway.
Dr. Kahn says that Dr. Duchin’s departure “Leaves a long-lasting imprint on public health practice and everyone it touches.”
Dr. Duchin’s retirement goes into effect July 1st.
