After spending two decades with the Middlesex-London Health Unit, Dr. Bryna Warshawsky is moving on.

On Friday, Warshawsky will serve her last day as the associate medical officer of health for London-Middlesex as she moves into a new role as a public health physician at Public Health Ontario.

Warshawsky joined the health unit in 1994. She currently serves as the associate medical officer of health and the director of oral health, communicable disease and sexual health services.

During her time at the health unit, Warshawsky was the point-person for the health unit in the debate over fluoridation of London’s water supply. She was also at the forefront of the mass vaccination campaign during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.

The health unit says Warshawsky will now take her expertise and experience to Public Health Ontario to assist other health units across the province.

Dr. Warshawsky says the decision to leave was a difficult one, but she is looking forward to the new challenge.

She says her new role at Public Health Ontario is very similar to the work she has been doing at the health unit, just on a broader scale.

Dr. Warshawsky says she’s proud to have worked at the MLHU for 20 years.

“There are few people who are as passionate and committed to public health as Bryna Warshawsky,” says Dr. Christopher Mackie, medical officer of health. “While this announcement is a huge loss for the Middlesex-London Health Unit, it is a big gain for public health across the province.”

Dr. Mackie says the health unit will begin the search immediately to find a suitable candidate for Dr. Warshawsky’s soon-to-be vacant position.