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Dr. Deena Hinshaw Quits Both Hero and Villain Jobs

Ms. Hinshaw quietly left the company, issuing only a statement stating that serving as Chief Medical Officer for Health had been her greatest joy.

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From the thousands of Alberta people waiting for her every word, to some of the same people calling for her to be fired, Dr. public health officials have gone back and forth with the COVID-19 pandemic itself.

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Prime Minister Daniel Smith announced this week that Dr Hinshaw was replaced as the province’s chief medical officer by Dr Mark Joffe, a longtime executive of the Alberta Health Service. The move fulfilled Smith’s promise to replace Hinshaw with a group of advisors.

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Hinshaw departed quietly, only issuing a statement that it was her greatest pleasure to play the role.

“While I no longer hold that role, my priority has been to support the health of all Albertans. I encourage all of us,” said Hinshaw.

She no longer belongs to the state government. Her contract was due to expire in 2024.

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Hinshaw, who was first appointed to CMOH on January 28, 2019, has been forced by state politicians and Albertans to change course and stop life several times as most people knew. She will most certainly be remembered for her advice on how to navigate the pandemic.

Her first appointment, announced through a news release from the NDP government at the time, did not generate many headlines. made a comment about In total, her name was listed in the Calgary Herald her 5th time.

Then came COVID, and over the next 12 months, Hinshaw was named in the Herald nearly 500 times, making him the public face of the state’s response to the pandemic.

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Lorian Hardcastle, associate professor at the University of Calgary, said:

“I think people often put a lot of trust in their medical professionals, so it was nice to have a trusted voice explain the facts about COVID when they came out.”

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Hinshaw appeared almost every weekday afternoon alongside various health officials and politicians to provide the latest updates.

Along with that, her public status increased. Albertans created her T-her shirt that likened her to a superhero. — and when she wore a dress with the periodic table printed on it during one of her briefings, demand for her outfit skyrocketed.

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Calgary artist Mandy Stobo holds a portrait of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, painted on March 20, 2020.
Calgary artist Mandy Stobo holds a portrait of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, painted on March 20, 2020. Ajin Ghafari/Postmedia

As the pandemic drags on and people grow weary of public health measures and the politicization of the pandemic, chief medical officers everywhere have become a lightning rod for criticism. The far right demanded that Hinshaw be jailed or fired for ignoring the wishes of her elected officials and enforcing her own restrictions.

As Hinshaw’s profile increased, so did unrest within the UCP government, turbulent by outside forces opposing measures taken by the state.

Former CMOH of Alberta, Dr. James Talbot, who has known Hinshaw for years, said she was always motivated by the right reasons. He said she got the timing right by introducing restrictions during the first wave, but in subsequent waves there is political will to move away from what science recommends. It became clear that

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Governments often praised public health responses when people agreed with their decisions and used Hinshaw to justify unpopular choices.

“There’s a disconnect between the science that the health secretary seems to be recommending and what the government is doing, and as a result, we’ve suffered more in the second and third waves,” Talbot said. said Mr.

Then came Alberta’s “best summer ever” when then-Prime Minister Jason Kenny announced that nearly all public health measures would be lifted by Canada Day 2021.

Hinshaw did not attend the high-profile press conference announcing the lifting of restrictions, but government officials said she supported the plan. She later told a group of doctors that she felt she was somehow responsible for the narrative that COVID-19 was over.

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“I think that’s where a lot of Albertans lost their confidence,” said Talbot. “They knew that people were still dying because they knew what they had given up to get this under control and what they needed to do to get it under control again. , the government was telling us to ignore it.”

Prime Minister Jason Kenny announces plans for Alberta's summer openings on June 18, 2021.
Prime Minister Jason Kenny announces plans for Alberta’s summer openings on June 18, 2021. Sean Butts/Postmedia

In the fall of 2021, as COVID-19 patients began filling intensive care units across Alberta, the government was forced to reinstate restrictions such as vaccinations that mandated access to non-essential indoor spaces. By March 2022, 53% of his Angus Reid survey respondents said Hinshaw was doing a bad or very bad job in managing the pandemic.

Later in the pandemic, Hinshaw received more criticism when it was revealed that she received a six-figure bonus for her work. , was denounced when a judge ruled that the withdrawal of the state’s mask order was unreasonable.

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Hardcastle agreed that the summer open was the turning point. The law and health professor said many felt the decision was overly political and that there was a lot of turmoil throughout the pandemic that was making the decision.

She sees Hinshaw’s time as CMOH in a position where people can do more, as the law indicates that the CMOH has the power to be a decision maker during public health emergencies. I believe people remember what happened.

“I think that argument is there. At what point can you not conscientiously support what the government is doing? ‘ because I was standing on the shore,’ said Hardcastle.

Talbot has taken a different stance, saying public health officials are being judged harshly as people reflect on their decisions during the pandemic. If you do, you are most likely to lose your job, he said. Talbot argued that Hinshaw was one of a group of public health physicians who successfully weathered a once-in-a-century crisis by overcoming health concerns through political pressure.

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Without Hinshaw’s decision, the death toll would have been much worse, he said.

“The economy as a whole is recovering, but the only thing that hasn’t recovered is the 5,000 lower in terms of grandparents, parents, people who have had some disease or are affected by poverty. These 5,000 people have not recovered, they will come back,” Talbot said.

“We should celebrate as a community how well we have come together to protect the less fortunate… You’re making this weird argument about how you failed because you should have let me die. I don’t understand.”

Hardcastle and Talbot agreed that the role of chief medical officer should be changed to make it more independent from political influence.

They say the future of the role is now in shambles now that Hinshaw has been replaced.

Health Secretary Jason Copping thanked Hinshaw for her service in a statement that he was replaced by CMOH earlier this week. His office declined further comment on Wednesday.

dshort@postmedia.com

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Dr. Deena Hinshaw Quits Both Hero and Villain Jobs

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