San Francisco’s top public health official is stepping down, ending six years of leadership through twin crises: the Covid pandemic and the fentanyl epidemic.
Dr. Grant Colfax said Thursday that he will step down Feb. 7 as director of the Department of Public Health.
Colfax is the latest department head to announce his departure since Mayor Daniel Lurie took office; Jeffrey Tumlin is exiting as director of the Municipal Transportation Authority.
Dr. Naveena Bobba, deputy director of Public Health, will serve as acting director until Lurie appoints Colfax’s replacement.
In an email to Public Health employees seen by The Standard, Colfax described his time as director as “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I am grateful to all of you for our contributions that have resulted in nothing less than a transformed and innovative health department that is ready to meet the needs of generations to come,” he wrote.
Perhaps the greatest test of any public health department, the Covid pandemic saw Colfax enacting policies alongside Mayor London Breed to save lives in San Francisco. Within the first year of the pandemic, the mayor’s office announced that 80% of San Franciscans had been vaccinated against the novel virus. The success drew national accolades, and in 2022, the San Francisco Bay Times hailed Colfax as a “public health warrior.”
“From our city’s COVID response, to saving Laguna Honda hospital, to expanding primary care and treatment for substance use disorders, Dr. Colfax has led with a data driven, community-centered focus that benefits all San Franciscans,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in a statement.
The city’s latest public health crisis drew far less rosy headlines, with fentanyl overdoses climbing to record highs amid a national opioid epidemic. The battle against fentanyl has reshaped many city agencies, from the district attorney’s office to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
In his inaugural speech last week, Lurie pledged new strategies in tackling fentanyl. Colfax’s departure will allow the mayor to try a different public health approach if he chooses.
As director of the Department of Public Health, Colfax oversees roughly 8,000 employees and facilities like Laguna Honda Hospital.
Colfax has spent decades in the public health sector. He came out as gay during the AIDS crisis, when many men in his community faced persecution and fear as the epidemic spread. He joined the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 1997 to research and implement HIV prevention. In 2012, he joined the administration of President Barack Obama as director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, applying his work in San Francisco to the rest of the nation.
Last year, the HIV rate in San Francisco was the lowest in decades.
“Together, and in partnership with community, we improved outcomes for both individuals and populations,” Colfax wrote in his letter to employees. “Public health work is grounded in science, data, and facts, but it is delivered through compassion and caring for others.”