Tuesday, May 18, 2021

18 May 2021: "Looking Out for Número Cuomo" COVID Test Doctor Resigns State Government Job

Health Dept. doc who gave COVID tests to Cuomo family leaves state employment

A significant figure in Governor Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandals is resigning from state government service.

The state Health Department employee who helped administer COVID-19 tests to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s relatives during the pandemic has left state employment, officials said.

Dr. Eleanor Adams — a public health physician and special advisor to the DOH’s embattled Commissioner Howard Zucker — reportedly secured and gave coronavirus tests to Cuomo’s family members, including the governor’s younger brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

Adams also helped author a DOH-commissioned study that was later revealed to have withheld the total number of nursing home deaths tied to the deadly disease.

“After 14 months of non-stop work and with COVID cases rapidly declining, Dr. Eleanor Adams has left the State Department of Heath to pursue other career interests,” said DOH spokesman Gary Holmes in a statement.

The report raises questions about who Dr. Adams works for and how much she earned:

Adams has worked for the DOH since 2010 according to her LinkedIn, but records show she has never been on the state payroll.

The DOH previously told The Post her salary is paid by Health Research Inc. — the department’s nonprofit, which, according to its most recent IRS filing received nearly $760 million in federal and state funding during the fiscal year that ended in March 2019 — but neither the DOH or HRI would specify her salary.

HRI did not respond to an immediate request for comment as to the status of her employment.

Dr. Eleanor Adams is directly implicated in two of Governor Cuomo's scandals. Here's more background from the timeline:

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