An independent review hammered the heavy-handed leadership style of former Governor Andrew Cuomo during the COVID crisis
The 262-page, taxpayer-funded report published by the Olson Group, was ordered by current Governor Kathy Hochul two years ago. The independent review, costing taxpayers $4 million dollars, blasted Cuomo’s management style and also serves as a blueprint for how New York State can manage a future crisis.
The main criticism: Former Governor Cuomo enlisted a “top down, one-size fits all” approach of issuing orders from Albany, while ignoring the unique needs of 62 different counties in New York.
“Governor Cuomo’s decision to center the State’s response in the Executive Chamber and, more specifically, in his office was a significant and unnecessary mistake,” wrote the Olson Group in their report.
The report goes into great detail on the origins of COVID first appearing in the Empire State. The first positive test in New York was March 1st, 2020, when a healthcare worker came back to Manhattan via JFK airport after a trip to Iran.
Six days later, there were 79 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in five different counties. That is when Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency.
By March 7, 2020, 76 positive cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in five New York counties. Governor Cuomo’s declaration of a state of emergency occurred on March 7, 2020.
Cuomo criticisms found within the report is his blanket order mandating masks across New York State, when some local counties wanted more autonomy to make that decision on their own.
“Many county and some NYS department participants expressed the feeling that, ‘one of the most frustrating components of this event was when the State removed local control from local entities, basically saying locally elected officials could no longer protect their own communities and that it would be handled statewide,’” wrote the report.
The criticism continued when Cuomo scrapped an already established New York State Department of Health Pandemic Response Plan.
“Many participants stated, ‘that Cuomo appeared to lose confidence in or even abandoned a lot of the plans that were in place in lieu of an executive order-driven operation. The state had the plans but did not follow them because the Executive Chamber wanted to do their own thing,’” sid one local official.
The common refrain from local communities during the COVID crisis in New York was that decisions were made by the Executive branch in Albany, with little to no input from local communities.
“A local official related that ‘the Chamber doesn’t know us or what we are going through.’ Another participant, referencing the challenge of one-size-fits-all orders, said that ‘mandates cannot be uniformly implemented! All counties have different priorities and circumstances but again, do they care?” stated the report.
A former state official stated, “there were plans on the shelf that were never opened or used. Plans were too quickly abandoned, and new plans were made ad hoc with little or no transparency.”
The report also took New York State to task for ordering millions of dollars worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), only to let it sit in warehouses where a lot of it expired.
“[There were] inadequate stockpiles of PPE, medical equipment, etc. Without warehouse space in individual facilities, [we used] old, outdated buildings for storage because we simply didn’t have any other storage space. There was a huge effort undertaken to distribute PPE, hand sanitizer, etc., but often the supplies we received were cheap and unusable. An NYS Inspector General report cited a state-run health facility at which improperly stored PPE was subsequently damaged and had to be destroyed, with a value of between $560,000 and $1.6 million. This example underscores the importance of optimal stockpile management and preparedness efforts,” said the Olson Group report.
The main recommendation for a future health care crisis: collaborate, listen to counties, and reject a “top down” leadership approach.
“Collaborative efforts across governments, industry, healthcare, and other stakeholders and groups are essential in building a more robust and adaptive system that is capable of withstanding future crises while safeguarding the well-being of all New Yorkers,” concluded the report.
Cuomo Spokesman Rich Azzopardi responded to the report on Twitter and how it was released on a later Friday evening:
"This report clearly states what we have said since the beginning, the state 'provided appropriate guidance that was consistent with universal best practices in congregate care and accurately reflected the best understanding of the scientific community at the time they were issued," said Azzopardi.