SERINO URGES GOVERNOR TO SELECT HEALTH COMMISSIONER COMMITTED TO ‘UNRAVELING’ STATE’S COVID POLICIES IN NURSING HOMES

Hyde Park, NY—Senator Sue Serino today released the following statement in response to news of the resignation of the State’s Health Commissioner:

“When Dr. Bassett came before the Senate Finance Committee before her confirmation, she stated that she had made the decision not to look back, or in her words, “unravel” what happened with the former administration in regards to the State’s pandemic response in nursing homes. To date, the state’s efforts to conduct any pandemic review have been lackluster at best. The thousands of grieving families who were impacted by New York’s dangerous COVID-19 policies as they relate to nursing homes are still desperate for answers that the state seems determined to withhold even with a new Administration at the helm.

As the Governor undergoes a search for a new Department of Health Commissioner, I urge her to appoint a professional who will be truly committed to ‘unraveling’ the decisions of the former administration to improve long term care and ensure that deadly mistakes are never repeated. New Yorkers deserve closure in the form of concrete answers to the tough questions they have been asking for far too long.”  

Senator Serino is the Ranking Member of the State Senate’s Committee on Aging. 

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