St. Paul, MN) -- The new acting Minnesota health chief is pledging tough action on elder abuse investigations.

Dan Pollock is promising to make serious reforms in the state's troubled system for handling abuse and neglect accusations at senior care homes. Pollock said Thursday that his highest priorities will be accelerating investigations and reducing the backlog of uninvestigated complaints. He was named to head the state Health Department on Tuesday after the previous commissioner abruptly resigned.

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