PORT ANGELES — Dr. Tom Locke has announced that he will resign as Clallam County public health officer on Jan. 31, Iva Burks, director of Clallam County Health and Human Services, said Tuesday.
Locke will continue as public officer for Jefferson County, a role he has filled for 18 years, she said.
He is leaving the Clallam County position to become a co-medical director of the Jamestown Family Health Clinic in Sequim, sharing responsibilities with Drs. Larri Ann Mishko and Paul Cunningham.
“It has been a great honor to serve as Clallam County Health Officer for the past 27 years,” Locke said in a news release, “but it is now time to recruit and hire a new county health officer.
“I am excited about the opportunity to return to my roots in clinical medicine and focus on the many challenges that face our health care system in the 21st Century.”
Locke said that that the Jamestown S’Klallam Family Health Clinic at 808 N. Fifth Ave., “has shown extraordinary leadership in implementing the health care delivery model known as the ‘patient-centered medical home’ and expanding services to meet the primary care needs of Clallam County residents.
“This is a career opportunity I simply could not pass up,” Locke said.
Recruitment efforts will be overseen by the Clallam County Department of Human Resources, Burks said.
The Clallam County Board of Health, which was notified of Locke’s intentions earlier this month, will review the applications and conduct interviews.
Locke, who has lived in Clallam County since 1979, will continue to do so.
