Opinions

Thank you to Dr. Bruce Chandler, a public health leader and champion for Anchorage

Dr. Bruce Chandler recently left his job as chief medical officer of the Anchorage Health Department after 26 dedicated years of public service. You may not be familiar with Bruce Chandler’s name, but all residents of the municipality have benefited from his work. As colleagues of his, we want to thank him for the positive influence he has made in our lives.

Bruce is a public health leader and champion. His patience and respectful guidance and teaching was always evident, whether caring for a patient, training public health workers, responding to the media or briefing policymakers. His compassion coupled with his medical expertise and ability to translate his knowledge into sound public health practice, strategies and policies was remarkable. Bruce worked closely with the State of Alaska Division of Public Health, CDC Arctic Investigations Program and Anchorage School District, and built strong, positive and productive relationships with other stakeholders. An unsung hero, throughout the past two decades he has led efforts to protect Alaskans from infectious diseases as they emerged, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, 2018 mumps outbreak, foodborne illness outbreaks, tuberculosis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bruce also served as a pediatrician at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, beginning in 1998. His passion for ensuring that all children and families have access to health care was clearly evident to the 7,000-plus patients who he served in his time there. His fellow health care workers at ANHC recall him as being tireless in his dedication to providing excellent service, with kindness and compassion to every single patient who came under his care.

Although Bruce preferred to remain behind the scenes and quietly served the residents of the municipality, he has received much deserved recognition and praise for his work and contributions. In 2020, he was named a U.S. TB Elimination Champion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in 2011, he was awarded the Alaska Public Health Association’s President’s Award for Excellence in Public Health. Bruce always brought public health issues to the forefront that needed to be addressed, no matter how difficult they were. In his role as chief medical officer, Bruce advised all of the directors of the Anchorage Health Department and guided many directors through complex public health emergencies. He is an institution that will truly be missed, and his departure is a major loss for our community.

Bruce made us safer, he did it with a generous heart and he is irreplaceable. Thank you to Dr. Bruce Chandler for his years of service to our community. The Municipality of Anchorage is fortunate to have had his leadership, skills and experience. We are better off for having been able to work with him.

Beverly Wooley served as Director of the Municipality of Anchorage Dept. of Health and Human Services from 2003-2007 and Director of the Alaska Division on Public Health from 2007-2009.

Diane Ingle was Directory of the Municipality of Anchorage Dept. of Health and Human Services from 2007-2012.

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Natasha Pineda was Director of the Anchorage Health Department from 2018-2020.

Heather Harris was Director of the Anchorage Health Department from 2020-2021.

Shannon Kuhn was Public Information Officer for the Anchorage Health Department from 2017-2019.

Tammy Green has been Chief Executive Officer of Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center since 2015.

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