Washington State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy plans to leave job around end of year
Washington State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said she will leave the Department of Health around the end of the year.
Lofy announced her plans Wednesday during a weekly media briefing with health officials about the state’s COVID-19 response.
She said she’s “not moving on for any reason” except that it’s “the right time for me personally.”
Lofy said it’s a decision she’s been “thinking about for a while,” and that she’ll “take a brief hiatus from my career to just focus on being a mom, improving my health,” and reconnecting with friends and family.
She’s been in the role for almost seven years.
“While I have thoroughly enjoyed my work,” Lofy said, she’s ready for something new.
She said she’s committed to helping make the transition at the agency smooth, and that there’s not a specific date set for when she’ll leave. The search for her replacement is expected to start in the next month.
“We are very fortunate to have had Kathy Lofy looking out for the health of all Washingtonians,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. “Her leadership, her dedication to science and data have been invaluable not only during the COVID pandemic, but throughout her entire time at DOH. Kathy will be greatly missed but she’s earned this time off. I have no doubt that whatever endeavor she takes on next, she will bring the same focus, energy and commitment. I thank her for her incredible service and wish her the very best.”
Secretary of Health John Wiesman thanked Lofy for her service during the virtual briefing, and said that “she’s done an incredible job of making sure that on a wide range of issues we’re looking at the data. ... She has been instrumental in all of the work we have done here.”
Wiesman announced earlier this year that he also plans to leave the Department of Health. He accepted a job at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina before the state’s COVID-19 response started.
The agency said in May that his resignation will be effective Jan. 10, the end of Inslee’s second term.
“Serving as the secretary of health under Governor Inslee’s leadership has been a true honor, and leading the dedicated employees of the Department of Health is an opportunity I have treasured,” Wiesman said in a statement in May. “As public servants, we have shared the commitment to do right by the people of our state, and to do our best to improve the lives of all of our residents. I look forward to serving as your secretary of health through the end of the year.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
