Kitsap’s new health officer discusses ins and outs of his role

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 25, 2026

When not treating patients in Harborview Medical Center’s emergency room in Seattle, Dr. Herbie Duber serves as the recently appointed health officer for Kitsap Public Health District.

“I help ensure that our programs are operating in a way that is scientifically sound and meeting the needs of the community,” Duber said. Among the programs he is referring to are those concentrating on sexually transmitted infections, HIV, tuberculosis and environmental health initiatives. The office also collaborates with schools, healthcare providers, and long-term care facilities.

“I make sure staff have the resources and guidance they need and to ensure (individuals) get access to the appropriate diagnostics and treatment,” he said.

The health officer position changed from full-time to part-time last November. Duber devotes part of the week to KPHD, and the other days he works in Seattle.

He is a professor and attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington. Duber teaches medical students and residents at Harborview and UW Medical Center. In addition to working in the ER, he conducts research on health programs.

Duber believes his shifts in the emergency room and prior work at the state Department of Health equipped him to tackle the responsibilities as the county’s health officer.

“As a physician, I understand the healthcare system. As an emergency physician, I have a unique perspective on when the system fails. I also have insight into the inpatient world and the outpatient world, where we send people once they’ve been seen in the emergency department,” he said.

Duber works one day a week at the health district’s Bremerton office. He also commutes from his home in Seattle to attend special public health meetings in the county and participate in events that promote the office.

Maintaining funding for public health and educating residents of Kitsap County on health issues are two central parts of his job, Duber noted.

“I, and our team, met with numerous representatives and senators to talk about foundational public health service funding. The purpose is to make sure they have the information they need to address the funding shortfall that we are experiencing,” he said.

He also consults with county officials as they develop a strategy to disperse funds related to substance use disorders through the one-tenth of 1% initiative.

KPHD plans to step up its public outreach.

“We’ve talked about hosting community events. maybe at a library or coffee shop where people can come in and talk about public health issues that are affecting them. They don’t necessarily get a lot of opportunities to do that,” Duber said.

The demographics of Kitsap County and the area’s limited amount of medical services are challenges, he admitted, but added those issues also create opportunities for innovative solutions.

“We have a unique age structure here; we’re a little bit older than many other communities. We also have a large military presence. Along with that military presence, we have an age bump around young men in our community – 25- to 35-year-old men,” he said.

“Our singular hospital makes for a unique healthcare system. And there is a small number of providers per capita in general. This creates some challenges for the community. And quite frankly, makes this job really interesting,” he added.

Duber became interim health officer last September after Dr. Gib Morrow retired. He was appointed permanent health officer by the KPHD board in February, following a nationwide search.