Dr. Pace deserves our gratitude and our respect
In what turned out to be a surprising announcement late last week, Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora announced at the city council meeting that Dr. Gary Pace, the county’s health officer for the past 11 months would be stepping down, most likely in mid April, adding that the county would be attempting to recruit a new public health officer over the next couple of months.
“The nearly 48,000 deaths in California, alone, have shook every one of us; no one can be unaffected,” said Pace in an official statement, summarizing some of the outcomes from the pandemic and a lot of the challenges we have all collectively faced. “Many of our children have missed a full year of inperson instruction, and social barriers to educational attainment that are consequential even during the best of times have been greatly exacerbated. Add to that the still-mounting consequences to businesses of all sizes; relief has often come in the form of deferment of obligations or loans — the debt burden taken on by even businesses that have been able to survive the pandemic will reverberate in our communities for many years to come. We also continue to count the costs associated with mental health effects of the rapid social changes of the past year, and the social isolation that has too often stemmed from ‘social distancing’ mandates.”
Although no official reason was given by Pace for his “difficult decision to begin the process of resigning as Lake County’s Public Health Officer” other than a desire to return to clinical practice, having worked for over 20 years in family medicine, it is not far fetched to imagine that the political pressures in a position that is normally apolitical has taken its toll. Chair of the Board of Supervisors Bruno Sabatier acknowledged that no matter what county, PHOs have had a rough journey since the start of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, we were dismayed and disgusted by some of the comments posted on social media following the announcement of Pace’s impending departure. Comments such as: “Good riddance,” “Best news I have heard yet,” and
“He can go home to Sonoma
County where he lives” ran the gamut from short sightedness to cruelty and will surely continue to make the thankless job of County health officer tough on whoever the board chooses to replace him. Some of our county residents should feel ashamed for mistreating and berating Pace during his tenure. The county will soon find itself without someone in that vital role to oversee the vaccine rollout which has been royally botched by state officials thus far.
From our perspective, Dr. Pace performed admirably during difficult, unprecedented times. He fielded difficult questions from local officials with professionalism and decorum, without ever losing his cool. We’ve also lost count of the many anecdotes from the various segments of our community, from education to agriculture, to small businesses, relating the health department’s and Dr. Pace’s work behind the scenes to help them cope with the challenges presented to employees and peers during the deadly pandemic. We also appreciated his weekly updates to county officials regarding the metrics and status of hospitalizations and COVID deaths.
Ever the dedicated professional, Dr. Pace said last week he was grateful for the way board members, County administration, department heads and staff throughout County service stepped up to support our pandemic response. He also took the time to “thank the many dedicated, capable people working to ensure Lake County residents have the best possible opportunity to emerge from this situation and build a bright future.” We were sorry to hear Pace was stepping down. He has our gratitude and our respect.