Alberta minister, new permanent chief medical officer of health eye renewed collaboration

Alberta’s primary care minister and the first permanent chief medical officer of health since the last one was fired in 2022 say they are looking forward to working together as the province enters a new era.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said she believes she can build strong health systems across Alberta with Dr. Vivien Suttorp, who has been the South Zone’s lead medical health officer for the past 17 years.

LaGrange and Suttorp made the comments during a separate virtual news conference about the respiratory virus season.

LaGrange told reporters the rise in influenza cases that’s being seen is typical for this time of the year and encouraged Albertans to stay up to date on their immunizations.

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Suttorp is the first permanent medical health officer in Alberta since 2022, the year Premier Danielle Smith fired Dr. Deena Hinshaw after they clashed over health measures curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Dr. Mark Joffe took over Hinshaw’s role on an interim basis but left before his contract expired earlier this year, and then Dr. Sunil Sookram was appointed to the job temporarily.

Joffe and Sookram both kept low profiles while in the role.

Suttorp has served as lead Alberta Health Services medical officer of health for the South Zone for 17 years, the province said, overseeing all aspects of public health while supporting workplace health and safety, as well as infection prevention and control.

She has more than 25 years of experience in public health and preventive and community medicine across both urban and rural settings.

Lethbridge-based Suttorp graduated from the medical school at the University of British Columbia in 1994 and specializes in family medicine, according to the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In 2019, she was recognized with a Friends of Health Sciences Award from the University of Lethbridge, where she has been a regular guest lecturer and has supervised practicum students since 2011, along with many graduate and medical students from other institutions.

— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News