February 28, 2007

WEITZMAN URGES CHANGES TO PROPOSED AGREEMENT WITH NASSAU HEALTH CARE CORPORATION

Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman today urged that the County Legislature should not approve a proposed agreement governing the business arrangements between Nassau County and the Nassau Health Care Corporation unless it is modified to restore a provision requiring County Executive consent before NHCC may sell or lease its property. The new agreement is to be considered by a committee of the Legislature on March 5.

“Previous agreements between the Suozzi administration and the hospital corporation stipulated that NHCC could not sell or lease its assets without the County Executive’s approval,” Comptroller Weitzman said. “That protected Nassau residents who depend on the health care facilities; it also protected Nassau taxpayers.

“The county has guaranteed NHCC’s $300 million in debt, making us by far the Health Care Corporation’s largest creditor,” Comptroller Weitzman said. “We should have a say in any decision to sell or lease the real estate, including the A. Holly Patterson and Nassau University Medical Center campuses, and in deciding how the proceeds would be spent. I believe the proceeds should be used to protect the interests of the hospital system’s clients and to pay down the debt, for which the county’s taxpayers are liable,” he said.

“NHCC is a critical community health center and Nassau’s only safety-net hospital for its indigent and uninsured population. The county’s commitment to NHCC has remained firm throughout the hospital’s recent financial crisis, and remains so now that its finances have stabilized under the outstanding leadership of Chairman Martin Payson and CEO Art Gianelli.

“The county subsidizes the operations of NHCC, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” Comptroller Weitzman said. “But in order to protect the county taxpayers and our residents who use the health care system, it is essential that the County Executive retain its right to approve any sale or lease of major assets.”

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