Dodds to Resign as Public Health Officer
Lawrence E. Dodds, Ventura County’s public health officer and former head of the Public Health Department, will leave the county July 30, it was announced this week.
Ventura County Health Care Agency Director Phillipp K. Wessels told a committee of county health leaders Thursday that he has narrowed the field of replacement candidates to three physicians who already work for public health in Ventura County.
He plans to fill the post by early next week.
Dodds said he is leaving the county to seek other career opportunities.
“This is my personal choice,” he said. “There’s been no pressure on me. It’s been stimulating, but it’s time for me to move on.”
Five months ago, Dodds stepped down from his position as director of the Public Health Department to concentrate on his health officer duties, including research and statistical analysis.
After 10 years working in public health in Ventura County, the 56-year-old physician says he is interviewing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Colorado for a more “people-oriented” position.
“It will still be focused on preventive medicine and public health,” he said. “But I’m not quite sure yet exactly what it will be.”
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