What you should know
- Governor Kathy Hochul named Dr. Mary Bassett as the state’s new Health Commissioner on Wednesday. His position takes effect on December 1.
- The Democratic governor announced last week that Dr. Howard Zucker had resigned.
- “I made it very clear on my first day in office that I would be looking to build a new team,” Hochul said last week upon accepting Zucker’s resignation.
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NEW YORK – New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Dr. Mary Bassett as the state’s new Health Commissioner, announced Wednesday, citing a versatile skill set and extensive experience that she believes will help guide the been through the COVID-19 pandemic. Bassett will take office on December 1.
Less than a week ago, Hochul said that Dr. Howard Zucker, who worked during the controversy on the COVID-19 death toll in the previous administration’s nursing homes, submitted his resignation. He is expected to stay to help until the transition is complete.
A renowned advocate for health equity, Bassett spent four years as New York City Health Commissioner, from 2014 to 2018, where she led the department’s response to a brief Ebola scare, as well as outbreaks of legionnaires and other diseases.
His career has spanned work for nonprofits, government, and academia locally, nationally, and internationally.
In a statement Wednesday, Hochul noted that Bassett in office will help lift New York state out of this pandemic and equip it with the ability to handle any new public health threats that may emerge. That’s especially true given its focus on equity, which COVID-19 has shown to be drastically lacking at every critical juncture of the crisis, Hochul said.
“When I was sworn in as governor, I was committed to building a talented team with the skills, knowledge and experience to stop the spread of COVID-19, return our lives to normal and move our state forward,” said Hochul. “Dr. Bassett is a highly regarded public health expert and exemplary public official, and I look forward to working with her to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy.”
Bassett currently serves as director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights (FXB) at Harvard University, which was founded in 1993 as the first academic center to focus exclusively on health and human rights, according to the university website. She is also the FXB Professor of Health and Human Rights Practice at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
Early in his career, Bassett served on the University of Zimbabwe Medical School for 17 years, during which time he developed a variety of AIDS prevention interventions. She then served as associate director for health equity in the Rockefeller Foundation’s Southern Africa Office, overseeing its AIDS portfolio in Africa. After returning to the US, Bassett served on the faculty of Columbia University, where he earned his medical degree early in his education.
Bassett grew up in New York City and earned his BA in history and science from Harvard. He also has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington and has several prestigious awards, according to his biography.
“I am honored to return to my home state of New York to lead the Department of Health at this crucial time,” Bassett said of Hochul’s appointment. “The pandemic underscored the importance of public health, while also revealing inequalities driven by structural racism. As we move to end the pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to create a state that is more equitable for all. New Yorkers. “
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