Gov. Phil Murphy dedicates the New Jersey Department of Health State Office Building as the Judith M. Persichilli Building with Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, D-33rd District, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, Mayor Reed Gusciora and Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Sept. 28. – EDWIN J. TORRES/NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
A group of state officials, public employees and health care professionals gathered Sept. 28 in Trenton to dedicate the New Jersey Department of Health’s office building as the “Judith M. Persichilli Building.”
The unveiling follows an announcement by Gov. Phil Murphy last June that the building would be named for the commissioner of the state’s Department of Health to honor her service to New Jersey — especially during the pandemic.
“Commissioner Persichilli has been an invaluable advisor and partner over the past several years, helping our state navigate the many challenges of an unprecedented pandemic,” said Murphy. “Her composure and dependability as she led the Department of Health and kept residents informed alongside me during countless COVID briefings has made the name ‘Judy Persichilli’ ubiquitous throughout our state.
“This building will serve as a reminder of the illustrious career of the ‘woman who needs no introduction,’ both as a leader in the health care sector and as New Jersey’s distinguished commissioner of health,” he said Wednesday.
Persichilli has served as commissioner of health since 2019, initially in an acting role before being confirmed in early 2020 — just before the state’s first confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“To say I am overwhelmed and humbled by this honor is an understatement,” said New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli during a ceremony dedicating the Department of Health State Office Building as the Judith M. Persichilli Building on Sept. 28, 2022. – EDWIN J. TORRES/NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
“To say I am overwhelmed and humbled by this honor is an understatement,” said Persichilli. “This building will reflect the hard work and commitment of all who have worked throughout the pandemic and our commitment to public health.”
As Murphy referenced, Persichilli was a mainstay of the governor’s daily briefings, which were a staple of the worst of the pandemic-era. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District, said because of her work on the frontlines of the state’s COVID response, it was no surprise she became a household name.
“Working to keep New Jerseyans informed, but above all safe and healthy, today’s official renaming ceremony is a fitting honor to memorialize her incredibly diligent and dedicated leadership of the NJDOH,” said Coughlin.
The other individual who typically shared the stage with Murphy and Persichilli during those COVID briefings was Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Col. Patrick Callahan, who was effusive in his praise of the commissioner.
“I consider it a great honor and privilege to have stood alongside Gov. Murphy and Commissioner Persichilli for two years while updating the residents of New Jersey on the state’s progress as we battled against the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Commissioner Persichilli is the epitome of poise and professionalism, and I can think of no one more deserving to receive such a distinction.”
