#Gov. Cuomo’s top nursing home regulator to retire after initial postponement

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chief nursing home regulator was all set to retire at the end of 2019 following a 31-year state career, but agreed to put it off until his replacement could be trained. Then the coronavirus crisis hit.

Now, after more than 6,200 mostly elderly people died in the facilities under his oversight, Mark Kissinger has had enough and is leaving — even though, sources told The Post, Cuomo administration officials can’t find anyone “dumb enough” to take his job.

New York’s nursing homes quickly became breeding grounds for the deadly virus after a March 25 Health Department order mandated they take in COVID-19 positive patients. Kissinger was not involved in crafting that fateful directive, a source said.

“They’re looking to fill Mark’s job, but they just haven’t found anyone dumb enough to take it because this administration has a horrible reputation to work for,” one health care-industry source said.

Kissinger, whose annual salary was more than $195,000, left the state payroll on May 16, according to the Comptroller’s Office.

Health Department spokesman Gary Holmes said, “DOH has some of the best and the brightest public health officials in the country working for our state, a fact that has been underscored by the response to this global pandemic and we know we will maintain that same level of talent to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy.”

Kissinger said, “It’s been an honor and privilege serving in this administration … When the pandemic hit, I agreed to stay on longer to help DOH get through the worst of the crisis. Now that New York has bent the curve and the worst is hopefully behind us, I am officially leaving state service.”