Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced on Monday that he is resigning from the office of New York City Health Commissioner, a position that he has held since 2022. In the press release from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the public health leader cited personal reasons, stating his desire to devote more time to his wife and children: “I’m grateful for their love and have chosen that now it is time to support them and their wellbeing.”
Mayor Eric Adams’ City Hall is currently awash in scandal, as federal investigations of corruption against top officials have led to a string of resignations. Caban’s replacement, Tom Donlon, just had his home raided by the FBI. City Hall Chief Counsel, Lisa Zornberg, considered one of Adams’ most formidable assets, resigned last week, with some sources saying that she was pushing the mayor to fire aides in the feds’ crosshairs before she left.
In this context, some have speculated about the timing of Dr. Vasan’s announcement. However, it does not immediately appear that his decision to leave is necessarily related to these issues, particularly since his announcement precedes his actual stepping-down by a few months, as opposed to Caban and Zornberg, whose rushed departures looked more like jumping ship. “I appreciate Dr. Vasan’s decision to stay on through early next year as we transition to a new commissioner,” the mayor said of Vasan’s resignation.
The NYC Health Department has over 6,000 employees and a budget of over $1 billion. Under Vasan’s stewardship, the Department confronted a COVID-omicron spike and Mpox outbreak in 2022, as well as the first polio case in New York City in decades. The Department also launched the Abortion Access Hub, an online portal and hotline to help people who may get pregnant access the healthcare they need. The website states that this help is available “regardless of immigration status” and that users “do not need to live in New York City” to contact the Hub – conditions that appear to be in response to anti-immigrant and anti-abortion policies elsewhere in the country. Dr. Vasan also launched NYCTeenspace, “a free text, call, or chat counseling service for teens between 13-17 years old” which, according to the Department, has already served thousands of kids.
Vasan is most famous for pioneering the “clubhouse” model of mental health as president and CEO of Fountain House, a Hell’s Kitchen-based nonprofit. Clubhouses are essentially day centers where people in need can receive vital non-medical care, such as receiving meals, socializing, and even finding employment opportunities. One of the only sources of controversy during the commissioner’s tenure was the restriction city funds to clubhouses this past summer, with some advocates opposing the move, accusing the Commissioner of funneling funds towards his old nonprofit, Fountain House, which is one of the few clubhouses that meets the 300-people-a-day bar set by the new rule.
An epidemiologist and primary care doctor by training, Ashwin Vasan is expected to return to his clinical work and teaching, having held faculty positions at Columbia University, where he also serves ex officio on the School’s Board of Advisors.
