Dear Chairman Bruderman:
I write in my capacity as a Nassau County Legislator and member of the NUMC Forward task force to urgently request a complete and immediate update on the fiscal condition of the Nassau Health Care Corporation and the status of short- and long-term plans for sustaining its viability as a provider of essential public health resources. As recently noted in published reports, Nassau Health Care Corporation officials projected that the system’s projected deficit would grow to a staggering $179.3 million for 2023.
Cognizant of these hazards, outside auditors have warned for five consecutive years that the collapse of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, and thereby the closure of Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, is a real possibility. Analysts have furthermore stated that the system would fully exhaust its liquidity and cease to operate by February 2024. Such an outcome is an unacceptable – and avoidable – public health disaster.
At the most recent NUMC Forward task force meeting – which I attended alongside yourself and New York State Senator Kevin Thomas; New York State Assembly Members Taylor Darling and John Mikulin; Chief Deputy Nassau County Executive Arthur Walsh; Legislator Thomas McKevitt; CSEA Local 830 President Ron Gurierri; NUMC President/CEO Dr. Anthony Boutin and NuHealth Board Counsel Megan Ryan – attendees discussed at length the corrective steps necessary for placing NuHealth on a path to long-term fiscal and operational stability.
There was also discussion of my proposal for right-sizing the Nassau Health Care Corporation’s assets, which entailed transferring A. Holly Patterson to the NUMC campus in East Meadow. Such a restructuring would connect A. Holly Patterson’s residents to the Hospital’s crucial clinical practices and address the under-utilization of NUMC’s campus. To address any costs
incurred by completing such a move, the former A. Holly Patterson site could be leased long-term to a suitable entity; additional resources could be accessed through Empire State Development, as is being done in the example of the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
I left that meeting with a sense that those conceptual proposals had been well received, and I agreed with plans that had been expressed to aggressively pursue grant opportunities wherever they may exist at the federal and state levels. However, I am now deeply concerned by the fact that, despite the threat of near-term insolvency looming on the horizon, there has been no discernible follow-up by the Nassau Health Care Corporation or an update providing any level of clarity on progress that has been achieved in the pursuit of the priorities that were articulated.
We are now in the window of time in which experts have warned that the Corporation may become insolvent and cease to operate. Yet, the Legislature and the public remain in the dark as to whether NUMC’s doors will remain open into the New Year.
Those of my constituents who rely upon this premier Level 1 trauma center – many of whom are among our County’s most economically disadvantaged and medically vulnerable individuals – would suffer a devastating negative impact upon collapse of the Nassau Health Care Corporation and the resulting vacuum in healthcare access. Furthermore, as fiduciaries of the County, I am keenly aware of the fact that every Nassau County taxpayer would be stuck with the bill of such a failure because the County serves as the guarantor for more than $115 million in Nassau Health Care Corporation debt as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) issued by Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips.
All of us have a vested interest in overseeing and prioritizing the continued successful operation of the Nassau Health Care Corporation – an entity whose institutions are staffed by thousands of dedicated professionals who so dutifully serve our most at-risk constituents. I feel strongly that the delivery of an immediate update outlining the fiscal standing of this institution is essential for charting a path to long-term viability and success in which all appropriate levels of government work collaboratively to ensure the restoration and acquisition of funding streams. Your immediate cooperation in this endeavor is essential for achieving the positive outcome that we all demand.
Sincerely,
Siela A. Bynoe
Nassau County Legislature
Second Legislative District