Nassau County Commissioner Bruce Blakeman has announced his intention to sue the state of New York over Albany’s recent overhaul of the board that oversees the Nassau University Medical Center.
Blakeman said at the press conference at Nassau University Medical Center on Tuesday, June 3, that he will not make appointments to fill the four board seats controlled by his GOP-led county majority under legislation included in the state budget.
“This is illegal,” Blakeman said in front of occasionally cheering hospital staff. “I’m not participating in this charade.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed former longtime Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz to chair the newly restructured board that oversees Nassau University Medical Center amid a pivotal time for the East Meadow hospital.
Rabinowitz was one of four appointees that the governor named to the Nassau Health Care Corporation Board on June 1, days after outgoing board members tendered their resignations, effective July.
“I can’t think of a better person to help lead this next chapter for NUMC,” Hochul said of Rabinowitz.
The new chair added: “I’m eager to get to work with my fellow board members to restore public confidence, implement long-overdue reforms and put this hospital back on a path to stability and excellence.”
New York State lawmakers recently approved a measure reducing the NHCC board from 14 members to 11, with Democrats in Albany appointing six to make up the majority. That shifted the balance of power away from Republican Nassau County lawmakers, who until recently controlled the board but will now have a minority of four appointees. The county executive no longer has the authority to approve the CEO, who also resigned.
Rounding out Hochul’s first four appointees to the revised board are JPMorgan Chase Community Manager Amy Flores, real estate management firm Placid, LLC President Lisa Warren, and Dean Mihaltses, who most recently served as interim CEO and COO at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens.
The governor’s two remaining appointments — one each recommended by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Temporary President of the Senate — have not yet been revealed.
The new board is expected to call a special meeting soon.
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority—a state-appointed control board that has overseen the county’s finances for decades due to Nassau’s long history of budgetary mismanagement—is scheduled to meet on June 5, its first since being given the power to approve all NHCC contracts over $1 million, among other oversight.
The transition comes amid a years-long dispute between Nassau and state officials over the fate of the budget-challenged, critical safety-net public hospital that treats the region’s most vulnerable patients, including the uninsured.
At this press conference, Blakeman ripped the state for what he said was a power grab, repeatedly referring to the board restructuring as “illegal” or “subterfuge.” He said the NUMC has been able to trim its fiscal deficit in recent years, accusing the state government of being unprepared to assume control of the operation.
Irina Gelman, the outgoing chair of the board, also spoke at the press conference. She cited low employee morale and repeated Blakeman’s claims about Albany’s process.
“There has been a complete lack of any communication from New York State,” she said, “absolutely no transition planning has been provided.”
NUMC CEO Megan Ryan submitted her resignation last week and later wrote a letter to hospital staff echoing some of Blakeman and Gelman’s concerns.
“I cannot, in good conscience, participate in what I believe is a dismantling of a vital public health institution,” she said. “Their intent is not to improve health care but to consolidate political power.”
