Day after day, Dr. Heather Morrison manages a warm smile as she appears on the television and computer screens of thousands of Islanders to update and to caution.
Her soft, calm tone belies the intense weight of being the top person leaned on to navigate the province as safely as possible through a pummeling pandemic.
The chief public health officer acknowledges that the pressure of doing all in her power to try to limit the number of illnesses and deaths on Prince Edward Island caused by COVID-19 is quite wearing.
Morrison has been thoroughly immersed in fighting this deadly disease.
She has, for the past while, put aside her shifts practising emergency medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
She is unable to give the usual attention she has for years to her many diverse functions as the province’s chief public health officer.
She is far too busy monitoring the crisis and implementing safety measures, speaking with Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, and exchanging information and strategies with other health officials across the country. She is also meeting with P.E.I.’s cabinet ministers daily and holding separate briefings at least five days a week for the public and media.
And, on the personal front, the mother of four has much less time to spend with her family.
“It has been pretty all-consuming, there is no doubt about that, in the last number of weeks,’’ she says.
“It is exhausting. I do feel pressure because I want everybody to be OK. I have only been home for supper three times in the last seven weeks.’’
Still, Morrison makes it abundantly clear she is not looking for even a pinch of pity. She is quick to note all Islanders are under considerable strain – and she thanks them for the sacrifices they are making to help curb the spread of the virus.
“I’m inspired by what everybody has given up and what everybody has changed to make this happen,’’ she says in a lengthy telephone interview with The Guardian earlier this week.
“What I am going through is no different. Everybody’s lives have been turned upside down by COVID-19. It’s been hard, but it’s been hard for everybody … it is a shared experience.’’
“It’s me that wants to thank the population for being patient, for being understanding, for looking out for each other.’’
Snapshot
- Grew up on a farm in rural P.E.I. just outside Charlottetown
- As P.E.I.’s first female Rhodes Scholar, she completed both a Master’s and Doctorate degree at the University of Oxford in Comparative Social Research and Social Policy
- Completed her medical degree at Dalhousie University
- Appointed chief public health officer for P.E.I. in 2007
- Served in numerous leadership roles, including chairwoman of the Canadian Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health and as P.E.I.’s representative on the national Special Advisory Committee on H1N1 and on epidemic of opioid overdoses
- Recognized in 2016 as UPEI’s Alumna of the Year
- Practises emergency medicine in Charlottetown
Morrison has been widely lauded for taking swift action early and often to reduce the spread of the virus on P.E.I.
The province has had only 26 cases of COVID-19 with all but a couple considered fully recovered.
“I’m relieved and pleased that we have not had any hospitalizations or deaths,’’ says Morrison.
She is also thankful that P.E.I. has not experienced any long-term care outbreaks which, she adds, have had tragic consequences in other parts of the country.
Morrison says each measure she has imposed, from early screening to shutting the border to non-essential travel, boils down to an assessment of risk based on the best available evidence.
Many of the decisions have been difficult, she says, knowing they will have profound impacts on the economy and social well-being.
“Lots of sleepless hours, for sure,’’ she says.
Morrison says a smart ease back, which could begin as early as May 1, will include addressing interaction between family members and friends, such as the once previously innocuous act of simply visiting a relative or friend to enjoy a drink and a chat.
She points to her own four children, ages seven to 13, being so eager to hug their grandmother but not wanting to harm her.
CELEBRITY STATUS
One outcome of the pandemic Morrison was neither seeking nor expecting was to achieve celebrity status.
Children dressed up as her in a superhero-themed virtual hangout.
A calf was named after P.E.I.’s chief public health officer.
Countless signs sing Morrison’s praises.
She has had a fiddle tune named after her.
And a T-shirt with the doctor’s likeness reads: “What Would Dr. Morrison Do?’’
What to make of such hero-worshipping?
“Of course, I’m flattered and humbled because this is my job to try to think about trying to protect the health of the population,’’ she says.
“I’m certainly flattered…It’s me that wants to thank the population for being patient, for being understanding, for looking out for each other.’’
