Montgomery Co. health officer Dr. Travis Gayl rigns - WTOP News

Contents:

• AFTER ‘TORRENT’ OF PUBLIC ABE, MONTGOMERY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS
• MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS
• MONTGOMERY CO. HEALTH OFFICER DR. TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS
• TRAVIS GAYL
• DR. GAYL: ‘IT’S BEEN A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOR’
• EMERGG HEALTH LEARS: TRAVIS GAYL OF HAZEL HEALTH
• DR. TRAVIS A. GAYL
• DR. TRAVIS GAYL BE NEW CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER AT HAZEL HEALTH
• MONTGOMERY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL JOG TELEHEALTH STARTUP
• MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL TO RIGN
• COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER DR. TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS

AFTER ‘TORRENT’ OF PUBLIC ABE, MONTGOMERY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS

Travis Gayl, who beme a faiar face to unty rints durg the COVID-19 panmic, will leave his posn next month, he told unty lears a Wednday morng rignatn letter.

Gayl, one of the unty’s top health officials and a public face of s panmic rponse, announced on Wednday that he will step down September.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS

A letter Gayl sent to County Executive Marc B. But Elrich told reporters that Gayl has “gone through hell over the past 18 months. “He absorbed a torrent of hate and vrl om segments of the public, cludg receivg threats on his safety, racist and homophobic emails, and social media attacks, ” the executive said.

MONTGOMERY CO. HEALTH OFFICER DR. TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS

Over the urse of the panmic, some health officers, cludg Gayl, the vice-chairman of the Maryland Associatn of County Health Officers, have clashed wh state lears over polici erng bs activy, social gathergs, mask requirements and vacce allotments.

TRAVIS GAYL

Gayl “had to fight wh his boss, ” Elrich said. Gayl was hired by Elrich’s precsor, Isiah Leggett (D), 2017.

Gayl will go down as one of the most important people our unty’s history, ” the executive said. Gayl was unavailable for ment Wednday, a spokwoman said. Elrich and the uncil learned of Gayl’ cisn to part an email that arrived at 3 a.

The executive said Gayl is on vatn and that he sent the msage at 9 a. Gayl thanked unty lears for “creatg a space for science to be heard and embraced, and for advotg for equable accs to improved health out for all our rints. Montgomery County Heath Officer Travis Gayl rigned Wednday, markg an abpt end to the tenure of one of the area’s hight-profile public health officials as ronavis s have risen the Maryland suburb and are surgg elsewhere the the urse of the panmic, Gayl advoted for strgent measur to curtail the spread of vid-19, phed for health equy vacce distributn and led a rollout that has rulted one of the hight vaccatn rat the untry.

DR. GAYL: ‘IT’S BEEN A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOR’

”Elrich said he learned about Gayl’s rignatn an email Gayl sent early Wednday om vatn France. ”Gayl did not rpond to qutns om The Post on than 70 percent of Montgomery’s 1 ln rints have been fully vaccated, acrdg to a tracker by The Post. A pediatrician by trag, Gayl served as D.

“His work has saved liv, ” County Council Vice Print Gabe Albornoz (D-At Large) said of Gayl. ”Elrich said Gayl faced a variety of challeng over the past 18 months, cludg repeatedly clashg wh Gov.

“He has pretty much gone through hell over the last 18 months, ” Elrich, who is Black, spoke publicly about the stream of racist and homophobic attacks he received on social media and munitns to his office. He revealed last year that he was touch wh police about the attacks, and activated his public Twter acunt recent months to avoid the hateful said he had not yet talked to Gayl about why he cid to leave, but he said he knows how hard the panmic has been on health officials across the untry.

EMERGG HEALTH LEARS: TRAVIS GAYL OF HAZEL HEALTH

“[Gayl] is criqued a way that not even the unty executive is some ways. ”County Council member Evan Glass (D-At Large), the first openly gay member of the body, said the “credible hatred” that Gayl faced “tak a toll on a person.

DR. TRAVIS A. GAYL

”Gayl’s ut approach to reopeng trated some — pecially parents of children the unty’s private schools and s public school system, which was slower than many to brg stunts back to the classroom last school year. )“As a parent the unty, I am relieved, ” Jennifer Lton Reman, a psychologist and mother of an 11-year-old Montgomery’s public schools, said of Gayl’s said she was trated by Gayl’s ntued advice to keep schools closed, even when studi showed the risk of ronavis transmissn classrooms was low when masks and distancg were employed. ”Margery Smelkson, an fect-disease scientist who has four children Montgomery public schools, scribed Gayl’s approach as “very excsively overly ut.

“It didn’t have to be like that, ” Smelkson said that she hop that the next health officer is willg to look at all of the data and be “more reasonable” than Gayl. ”Gayl is the send high-rankg official to part om unty ernment this summer, followg assistant chief admistrative officer Carole Sturgis, who rigned July to bee budget director for the cy of Port St.

Travis Gayl adjts his mask before talkg wh members of the media on Tuday, April 7, 2020. Travis Gayl, who helped navigate Maryland’s most populo unty through the ronavis panmic, is rigng.

DR. TRAVIS GAYL BE NEW CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER AT HAZEL HEALTH

In an email to County Executive Marc Elrich and members of the Montgomery County Council Wednday morng, Gayl submted his formal rignatn and said his fal day wh the unty would be Sept. “I have enjoyed the opportuny to serve the rints of Montgomery County for the past 4 years, cludg through the past 18 months related to Covid-19, ” Gayl wrote the email. Gayl’ plan to rign, first reported by The Washgton Post, appears to have ught many unty officials off-guard.

Gayl’ email was received by other unty officials shortly before 3 a.

Gayl is on vatn France, which is six hours ahead of the Eastern Standard Time zone. Speakg to reporters durg an onle media briefg Wednday afternoon, Elrich praised Gayl for his learship durg the panmic and said the doctor “has gone through hell” over the past 18 months, potg to clash wh the ernor’s office over panmic-related cisn-makg and a “torrent of hate and vrl” om some unty rints over the ut urse of actn liftg ronavis rtrictns that Gayl advoted.

MONTGOMERY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL JOG TELEHEALTH STARTUP

Gayl is gog to go down as one of the most important people our unty’s history, ” Elrich said. Of Gayl’ clash wh the admistratn of Republin Gov. Larry Hogan, Elrich said Gayl “has been a te profile urage.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER TRAVIS GAYL TO RIGN

One high-profile flap wh state health officials me last summer, followg an orr issued by Gayl requirg private schools to temporarily mata virtual-only class given the muny spread of the vis.

COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER DR. TRAVIS GAYL RIGNS

Gayl, who eventually rcd that orr, mataed he was actg the bt tert of stunts’ health and safety. Gayl, I would. Gayl, who had served as the unty’s health officer sce 2017, won both praise and cricism for the unty’s handlg of the panmic, which clud strict ronavis rtrictns and an exceptnally ut approach toward reopeng.