Dr. Michael Collins ended his 28-year tenure as medical director for the Grand Traverse County Health Department this week.
His contract was terminated a few weeks after he wrote an op ed criticizing county leaders for putting limits on the health department.
On why he called county commissioners “irresponsible” for a resolution on medical autonomy:
“This was a totally unprecedented thing that the commission would try to interfere so much with the health department. It didn’t happen before in my 28 years on the job. It’s been very hard on [the] morale of the department.”
“I think it’s just very wrong that their resolution muzzled the department, kept us from being able to advise other entities in their own decisions about vaccination or mandates. If I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing and write the same editorial.”
On whether he was fired because of his op ed in the Traverse City Record-Eagle:
“Within a day or two of that appearing in the newspaper, I was asked to attend a meeting with [deputy county administrator Chris Forsyth]. He told me he was angry and that he was pretty sure my contract wouldn’t be able to be renewed. And he wanted me to resign at that time. I told him I didn’t want it to look like it was my idea to leave. I didn’t want to resign, and I’d have to be fired. … They just waited until my contract expired on Sept. 30 and didn’t renew it.”
Grand Traverse County Administrator Nate Alger said it was a joint decision with the health department to terminate Collins’ contract. He said they agreed the county wanted to go in a “different direction.”
On escalating verbal and physical attacks of public health workers in Michigan:
“It’s a sad commentary on the state of the country, red versus blue conflict in many areas – of course, the anti-vaccine movement being one of them. I haven’t personally experienced any such actions fortunately, but it’s very sad that any others have had to deal with that.”
