Why N.J. health commissioner Persichilli is ready to step down

This story originally appeared on NJ Spotlight.

A longtime nurse and former hospital system executive, Judy Persichilli brought a new set of skills to her role as New Jersey Department of Health commissioner, a job traditionally held by physicians. Persichilli, a Pennington resident whose career is rooted in Trenton, announced she plans to retire in August after four years leading the state health department, a tenure that includes an unprecedented pandemic. The governor’s office declined to say Monday who will be replacing her.

While state Cabinet officials rarely become household names, Persichilli was literally dubbed “the woman who needs no introduction” by Gov. Phil Murphy during what would become daily media briefings on COVID-19. Once the coronavirus emerged in New Jersey in early March 2020, Persichilli was an ever-present figure at these events, calmly sharing updates on disease spread and hospital capacity and patiently reminding residents to cover their noses and mouths, avoid crowds, wash their hands and stay home when sick. Eventually, she would add be tested and get vaccinated to the list, when these options became available. She also worked with local leaders and other partners to help connect Black and Hispanic residents — who became sick and died from COVID-19 at higher rates than white people — with vaccinations. Behind the scenes she led regular briefings with hospital, nursing home and public health leaders and would eventually receive multiple accolades for her work. Murphy named the new department headquarters after her last summer.

Despite months of preparation, the state’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines proved problematic, with immunization sites and the online sign-up system nearly overwhelmed, leading to widespread public frustration. Persichilli has been criticized by some Republicans for not doing more to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, whose residents accounted for nearly one in four pandemic-related deaths. They’ve also taken her to task for policies they said stunted children’s education and economic growth. Further, some local public health officials also became frustrated with Persichilli’s department, which they said failed to include them in planning or provide necessary resources. Persichilli defended the state’s response in an interview with NJ Spotlight News, noting that given what is now known about COVID-19 the state actually should have shut down public activity sooner.

Before Murphy nominated her to fill the post of departing Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the governor tapped Persichilli to conduct a review of University Hospital in Newark, the state’s only public hospital, which had long struggled with operational and financial problems. Persichilli outlined a reform and then served as acting CEO at the hospital, which serves a unique role for Newark’s predominantly Black and Hispanic population, before she started in Trenton. Elnahal would replace Persichilli at University Hospital as the president and CEO until his departure in 2022 for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs’ health system.

According to Persichilli, she began her training at 17 at what was then St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Trenton and received her diploma there in 1968. She went on to get a bachelor’s in nursing from Rutgers University and a master’s in administration from Rider University, raduating summa cum laude from both. More recently she received several honorary degrees and a long list of awards, many related to her leadership during COVID-19.

Persichilli went on to run St. Francis Hospital — now part of Capital Health — for eight years before joining the mid-Atlantic division of Catholic Health’s hospital system in 2003. Six years later she would become the acting CEO of the system, which eventually merged with Trinity Health to create a new system. While Persichilli has tried to retire several times — including before her stint at University Hospital — she told NJ Spotlight News that she hopes this time it will stick. However, she plans to stay involved in health care somehow, noting it is “in my DNA.”