new york state department of health new york state department of health the new york state department of health (nysdoh) is the department of the new york state government responsible for public health. its regulations are compiled in title 10 of the new york codes, rules and regulations. "new york department of health" redirects here. for the new york city entity, see new york city department of health and mental hygiene. new york state department of healthdepartment overviewformedfebruary 19, 1901 (1901-02-19)jurisdictionnew yorkheadquartersalbany, nydepartment executivejames v. mcdonald m.d. (acting), commissionerkey documentpublic health lawwebsitewww.health.ny.gov public health infrastructure the cdc describes the public health infrastructure as three components: workforce capacity and competency: the recruitment, continuing education, and retention of health professionals; organizational capacity: the consortium of public health agencies and laboratories, working with private and nonprofit organizations; and information and data systems: the up-to-date guidelines, recommendations and health alerts, and the information and systems that monitor disease and enable efficient communication. a nurse pinning ceremony at nazareth college. nurses represent a majority of rural public health workers. new york relies on a county-based system for delivery of public health services. nysdoh promotes the prevention and disease control, environmental health, healthy lifestyles, and emergency preparedness and response; supervises local health boards; oversees reporting and vital records; conducts surveillance of hospitals; does research at the wadsworth center; and administers several other health insurance programs and institutions. 58 local health departments offer core services including assessing community health, disease control and prevention, family health, and health education; 37 localities provide environmental health services, while the other 21 rely on nysdoh. at the local level, public health workers are found not only in local health agencies but also in private and nonprofit organizations concerned with the public's health. the most common professional disciplines are physicians, nurses, environmental specialists, laboratorians, health educators, disease investigators, outreach workers, and managers, but also includes allied health professions. nurses represented 22% of the localities' workforce (and 42% of full-time equivalent workers in rural localities), scientific/investigative staff represented 22%–27% of the workforce, support staff represented 28%, education/outreach staff represented 10%, and physicians represented 1%. in 2018 the nysdoh had over 3300 personnel in its central office, three regional offices, three field offices and nine district health offices, and an additional 1400 personnel in its five healthcare institutions. history the 1858 staten island quarantine war was a series of attacks on the new york marine hospital in staten island the earliest new york state laws regarding public health were quarantine laws for the port of new york, first passed by the new york general assembly in 1758. the 1793 philadelphia yellow fever epidemic precipitated the 1799–1800 creation of the new york marine hospital, and in 1801 its resident physician and the health officers of the port were constituted as the new york city board of health. the 1826–1837 cholera pandemic precipitated further legislation. in 1847 a law mandated civil registration of vital events (births, marriages, and deaths). in 1866, the state legislature passed the metropolitan health law and established the nyc metropolitan board of health, and in 1870 the legislature replaced it with the nyc department of health. the state board of health was created 18 may 1880 by the 103rd legislature. the 1881–1896 cholera pandemic further caused an expansion of its powers to compel reporting and to perform the duties of local boards of health. the state department of health and its commissioner were created by an act of 19 february 1901 of the 124th legislature, superseding the board. list of commissioners namedates in officegovernors servedcomments daniel lewismarch 6, 1901 – early 1905benjamin b. odell, jr.previously was president of the state board of health, which became the department of health, and served out full term eugene h. portermay 1905 – early 1914frank w. higgins, charles evans hughes, horace white, john alden dix,william sulzer, martin h. glynnserved out his term hermann m. biggsjanuary 19, 1914 – june 28, 1923martin h. glynn, charles s. whitman,alfred e. smith, nathan l. millerdied while serving matthias nicoll jr.july 12, 1923 – january 11, 1930alfred e. smith, franklin d. rooseveltresigned to become commissioner of the westchester county (new york) department of health thomas j. parran, jr.march 5, 1930 – may 6, 1936franklin d. roosevelt, herbert lehmanresigned to become surgeon general of the united states public health service edward s. godfreyapril 21, 1936 – may 1, 1947herbert lehman, charles poletti, thomas e. deweyretired herman e. hilleboejuly 1, 1947 – january 7, 1963thomas e. dewey, w. averell harriman,nelson a. rockefellerbecame head of the division of public health practice at the columbia university school of public health hollis s. ingrahamjanuary 7, 1963? – january 2, 1975nelson a. rockefellerserved out full term robert p. whalenjanuary 2, 1975 – april 29, 1975 (acting)april 29, 1975 – december 31,1978hugh careyresigned to become vice chairman of the new york state health planning commission david axelrodjanuary 1, 1979 – may 12, 1991hugh carey, mario m. cuomoresigned after a severe stroke lorna mcbarnettefebruary 25, 1991 – june 9, 1992mario m. cuomoacting mark r. chassinjune 9, 1992 – december 31, 1994mario m. cuomoserved out full term barbara ann debuonoearly february 1995 – november 1, 1998george e. patakiresigned to become an executive in the newyork-presbyterian healthcare system dennis p. whalennovember 1, 1998 – june 1999george e. patakiacting antonia c. novellojune 1999 – december 31, 2006george e. patakiserved out full term richard f. dainesfebruary 2007 – december 31, 2010eliot spitzer, david patersonserved out full term nirav r. shahjanuary 24, 2011 – may 4, 2014andrew cuomoresigned to become chief operating officer (coo) at kaiser permanente in southern california howard a. zuckermay 4, 2014 – may 5, 2015 (acting)may 5, 2015 – december 1, 2021andrew cuomo, kathy hochulpart of governor cuomo and hochul's covid-19 task force during the pandemic mary t. bassettdecember 1, 2021 – january 1, 2023kathy hochulpart of governor hochul's covid-19 task force during the pandemic james v. mcdonaldjanuary 1, 2023 – currentkathy hochulacting