The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health connects regularly with Regional Medical Officers of Health and other key members of the public health system in Manitoba and Canada to assure:

• standards of public health practice are maintained or enhanced;

• major health issues and threats to the health of Manitobans are addressed; 

• appropriate stakeholders are involved; and 

• health information is communicated in an appropriate and timely manner.

The Office also pursues opportunities to promote healthy public policy and sustainable development and to participate in strategic planning to protect, promote and preserve the health of Manitobans.

The Medical Officers of Health are responsible and accountable to the Chief Medical Officer of Health for standards of public health practice and professional performance.

The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health works closely with the Public Health Branch.  It has a responsibility to report on threats to the health of the population in a responsible and credible fashion.

The Office is expected to communicate with Manitobans in an independent fashion in any matters that are of interest to the public's health.

Regional component
The Medical Officer of Health is part of the senior community health management team in their region.  They work closely with their CEO(s) and regional health planning team(s), as well as with public health inspectors and other stakeholders in their region in strategic planning and designing programs to protect, promote and preserve the health of individuals in their region.  Collaboration, team building and empowerment are major features of their role.  They provide expertise with regard to health information, health status assessments, health risk assessments, surveillance, risk communication, health promotion, health protection interventions and program evaluation.

Provincial component
The Regional Medical Officer of Health (MOH) is part of a team of provincial Medical Officers of Health. The team of MOHs is composed of Regional MOHs, Public Health Branch MOHs and MOHs from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. These physicians provide 24 hour public health coverage for the province of Manitoba. They also provide a resource to the province as a whole by sharing concerns and assisting each other in identifying , evaluating, communicating and responding to health issues in Manitoba. This connection assures consistency in public health practice and provides a mechanism to respond quickly and efficiently to health threats.