Dr. Mary Bassett, the former commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was appointed today as the next Commissioner of the Department of Health. Her appointment is effective beginning December 1st.
"Our recovery from this pandemic requires tested leadership and experience to improve health equity and access across the state, and Dr. Bassett is perfectly equipped to lead the New York State Department of Health during this critical moment," Governor Kathy Hochul said in an announcement. "When I was sworn in as Governor, I pledged to build a talented team with the skills, knowledge, and expertise to stop the spread of COVID-19, return our lives to normalcy, and move our state forward. Dr. Bassett is both a highly regarded public health expert and an exemplary public servant, and I look forward to working with her to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy."
"The pandemic underscored the importance of public health, while also revealing inequities driven by structural racism," Bassett said in a statement. "As we move to end the pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to create a state that is more equitable for all New Yorkers. I look forward to working toward this with Governor Hochul and the team at the Department of Health."
Bassett is presently the director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and she is also a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
She previously served as the NYC Health Commissioner under Mayor Bill de Blasio from 2014 through 2018. Notably, she led the department's response to Ebola, Legionnaires' disease, and the opioid epidemic, took on an increased focus on mental health, and trying to close the gaps in health between the city's richest and poorest neighborhoods.
Bassett's resignation from the NYC health department came amidst a Department of Investigation inquiry into elevated blood lead levels in kids living in NYCHA housing. During the summer of 2018, it was revealed that over 1,000 children living in public housing suffered lead poisoning since 2012.
The current state health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, announced last week he was resigning from the post. Zucker was closely aligned with former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and was featured prominently in the state's pandemic response. In his resignation letter, Zucker explained he was leaving at a time when the state has made considerable progress in addressing the coronavirus.
As Gothamist reported, sources in the state's health department said that Zucker contributed to the toxic culture emanating from Cuomo's executive chamber and said he was a poor communicator of major health policy decisions to employees and local health departments alike. He is expected to help with Bassett's transition.
