The Kitsap Public Health District Board appointed Dr. Herbie Duber, a professor of emergency medicine and attending physician at the University of Washington, to be its interim health officer July 5.

Duber’s appointment follows the recent resignation of health officer Dr. Gib Morrow, who plans to work in that role through September. Morrow has served as Kitsap’s health officer since 2020.

“We will work with our health board to determine a timeline for health officer recruitment. The appointment of an experienced interim health officer will allow the health board and district time to conduct a thorough nationwide search,” KPHD administrator Yolanda Fong wrote in an email.

Responsibilities of a health officer include: enforcing public health laws, controlling contagious diseases, and developing public health policy.

Duber received his medical degree from New York University and a master’s in public health from the Harvard University School of Public Health, the release says.