NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan spoke to Eyewitness News ahead of his final day as a member of the Adams administration and discussed the reasons for his resignation.
Vasan initially told Mayor Eric Adams that he would resign by the end of the year, but moved his resignation to Oct. 18, citing concerns for his family.
Miles asked how Vasan was handling his retirement.
Vasan replied, “It’s very emotional. I put my heart and soul into this work.”
Friday will be his last day as the 44th Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“I’m so blessed to have the privilege of being a doctor to 8.5 million people. I’m a doctor first, right?” Vasan said.
Vasan seemed emotional.
“You, you, you spend so much time here, you spend so much time away from your family. I have three young children. Public service is really important to me, and it’s really hard, but… It’s really meaningful because you can really impact the lives of millions of people, and every moment I’m here is a moment I’m not with my kids or my wife. . All the sacrifices they made,” Vasan explained.
Vasan explained why he initially announced he would step down in January 2025.
“The decision to leave now rather than at the end of the year is a sign of two things: a real pull towards family and a more pressing pull, but also a real sense of confidence in the leadership of this firm.” The conspiracy argument is the fact that 7,000 people here get up every day and keep the city moving forward,” Vasan said.
Miles questioned whether “palace intrigue” meant a crisis at City Hall.
“I’m a New Yorker and I see what’s going on. Most importantly, I want this city to succeed. And for a city to succeed, it needs successful leadership. . And anything that prevents us from doing that is not good for us as a city. We want to focus on work. Because we all come to work every day to do our jobs. So we’re becoming less aware of what’s going on in the wider environment. ” he said.
Vasan’s work has led the city through the coronavirus pandemic, launched ambitious new public health initiatives, and will join Michelle, who has served as the city’s chief medical officer for the past three and a half years. It will be supervised by Dr. Morse.
“For me, this focuses more on health equity and marginalized communities and really reflects my experiences as a Black woman,” Morse said.
“The race hasn’t changed and I’m going to hand it over to a great leader,” Vasan said.
Finally, Miles asked if Vasan would ever return to public service.
“I love public service. If I am asked to do public service again, I would be happy to consider it, because I think that is the joy of life,” Vasan said.
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