Valley top doctor retiring this summer
Posted Apr 22, 2022 03:37:00 PM.
The medical officer of health for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit is retiring this summer.
Dr. Paula Stewart, who has been in the role since May 2010, announced her plans on April 22. She intends on staying until the summer, to ease the transition, but then will focus on things she hasn't been able to find time to do.
“I live on a farm and haven't really been able to enjoy the farm, so spending more time on the farm, we have horses, so riding, and gardening, and I'm really thinking about doing some unusual things, like taking courses at university for things I've never had time for before,” explained Dr. Stewart in an interview with CityNews on April 22.
She believes now is the right time to retire, but the last two years of living in a pandemic made the decision a bit more difficult.
“I did not want to leave at a point where there wasn't stability within the health unit and some stability within the community. I care deeply about the people in this region. I'd always worked in the city before, in Ottawa, and to come and work in a rural area is very different and I love the people here.”
Dr. Stewart says it will be a calming experience this summer, and looks forward to reconnecting with friends she hasn't had much time for the past couple of years.
