Island Health Island Health will have a new leader at the helm this fall.

Island Health will have a new leader at the helm this fall.

Dr. Réka Gustafson joins the team in September as Vice President, Population & Public Health and Chief Medical Health Officer.

In this role, Dr. Gustafson will lead Island Health’s population and public health teams as they continue to respond to the toxic drug supply crisis and pandemic response and recovery.

She will oversee the team of medical health officers and work closely with senior leaders to drive quality improvements and ground strategies and initiatives throughout the organization.

Dr. Gustafson has been at the forefront of the dual public health emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic and the toxic drug crisis in B.C., providing leadership for evidence-informed public health initiatives, planning and decisions.

She joins Island Health from the Provincial Health Services Authority where she held two senior leadership roles of Vice President, Public Health & Wellness, and Deputy Provincial Health Officer, providing leadership to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Prior to that Gustafson was the medical health officer for the City of Vancouver and deputy chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health.