Top marks for health unit leadership
Re: Jarvis: Despite `wall' of cases — personality conflicts, egos, turf protection
As the CEO of one of the larger agriculture employers in the region, I want to share my perspective on my dealings with the team at the Windsor-essex County Health Unit.
We not only employ close to 1,000 people here in Essex County, we employ many from the most Covid-vulnerable populations. Throughout the pandemic, I have been so impressed with medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed, CEO Theresa Marentette, and the rest of the local health unit team.
As we have confronted the challenges of this pandemic together, I have appreciated their leadership, thoughtfulness, work ethic and compassion. Most critically, they have taken the time to listen and synthesize the information available to make the best possible decisions.
Ahmed, Marentette and their team have been accommodating to the needs of our massive agricultural economy while prioritizing the health and wellness of our community, a challenge I can personally attest to that other public health units across this country have fallen short of.
At the highest levels, they have made themselves available at night and on weekends, something I do not often find within our country's many bureaucracies.
They have dealt with many roadblocks, but they don't just identify problems, they also come with solutions.
And while I may not agree with everything they have implemented, at all times I have felt listened to and my opinion considered. And once decided, they act decisively and with conviction — something you expect from community leaders.
The Windsor-essex health unit has found a balance to move quickly while taking the time necessary to avoid being hasty and rushed, allowing our community's health and safety to be prioritized.
The empathy and compassion they have shown towards the challenges of our workers, many being so far from home, has been remarkable given the accommodations and extra time it takes the health unit to not just do their job, but to do it to a very high level.
There are life-and-death consequences to the job they have, the emotional toll of which I cannot fathom.
But through it all, they have worked the extra hours and made countless personal sacrifices to ensure our community is well taken care of and protected. That's a job well done.
Make no mistake about it, this is a team of leaders, and we are lucky to have them leading us through this pandemic in Windsor Essex.