Local

Snohomish County’s lead public health official to step down

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — After more than two decades of service, Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters has announced that he will step down from his role with the Snohomish Health District in June 2022.

“There is no work-related reason for my choice to resign from the Health Officer position, and I am not leaving for another role,” said Spitters in a news release. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked here all these years with such a committed group of public health professionals, local health care system colleagues, and other partners in local government and the community.”

Spitters was appointed as health officer in March 2020 after working as the interim county health officer since his predecessor’s resignation in June 2019. His career at the Health District started in 1994 when he was hired as the deputy health officer.

Spitters left the health district in 1999 for positions with the Washington State Department of Health before returning to the district in a tuberculosis consulting position in 2001.

“Dr. Chris Spitters is one of the best public health professionals working today,” said Snohomish County executive Dave Somers. “Chris has been an indispensable part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are thousands of people alive today because of his tireless work and because our response was guided by his expertise and common-sense approach.”

Snohomish Health District will begin a recruitment process to hire the next health officer, with the goal of having them start before Spitters departs next summer.