Nassau University Medical Center – an essential safety net health care hospital for our first responders and our region’s most vulnerable patients – has been hamstrung by political patronage, gross mismanagement, and wasteful spending. The circus-like atmosphere surrounding Matthew Bruderman’s long-overdue firing as NUMC Board Chairman – complete with tales of a mysterious break-in and alleged theft of sensitive documents – would have been bad enough on its own.
However, the initial stages of a forensic audit into hospital finances have already unearthed disturbing findings that, commensurate with the hospital’s reliance upon federal, state and local funds, demand an immediate and full investigation by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and Nassau DA Anne Donnelly to identify and prosecute any acts of criminal wrongdoing.
On Thursday, June 19, Newsday first reported allegations that the hospital’s departing CEO, Meg Ryan, gave herself and 12 other employees $1 million in wage and leave payouts that they were not entitled to receive. Ryan was subsequently fired for cause.
To make matters worse, Newsday further revealed that, as Ryan and other top hospital executives had one foot out the door, they spent thousands of dollars on lobster dinners, hotel, and travel reimbursements, all while the safety-net hospital teetered on the brink of financial collapse.
As these shocking facts came to light only partway through a forensic audit being led by NUMC’s new management, there is a very good chance that this is just the tip of a big, ugly iceberg of corruption and graft.
The blame for this latest chapter falls squarely upon the desk of Bruce Blakeman – whose disinterest in doing his job as County Executive led him, despite numerous warnings, to install an unqualified individual as hospital CEO who now stands accused of taking advantage of taxpayers.
For generations, the Nassau County GOP has treated NUMC – a regionally significant Level 1 trauma center that provides essential drug detox services, boasts a world-class burn center, and serves as a medical lifeline for individuals who cannot afford care anywhere else – like a candy store for political patronage. There, they have packed the payroll with allies, forcing taxpayers to foot six-figure salaries for their cronies as deficits soared, the future of the hospital hung in the balance, and Republicans blamed everybody but themselves for the crisis they created.
Blakeman and the Nassau GOP’s exploitation of NUMC goes well beyond these most current allegations. In December 2023, Blakeman appointed disgraced former Sheriff Michael Sposato, whose tenure at the County jail was marred by scandal and numerous inmate deaths, as the $275,000 per year executive director of public safety and investigations at the Hospital. On April Fool’s Day of 2022, the Republican Majority of the Legislature, at Blakeman’s behest, rubber-stamped the appointment of Matthew Bruderman as president of the NUMC board – even though his only qualifications seemed to be his reckless, vulgar mouth and the big checks he wrote to Blakeman’s political campaigns.
In the Legislature where I currently serve, Republicans have co-signed Blakeman every step of the way with disastrous results. True leadership would have been pushing for the County to invest $30 million of the opioid lawsuit settlement funds into expanding the Hospital’s in-patient drug detox and treatment facilities. In doing so, they could have delivered much-needed treatment resources for families in crisis, helped to get opioid funds off of the County books and into the hands of life-saving agencies, and sent a message to New York State demonstrating a heightened commitment to the Hospital’s future.
Instead, they failed to exercise their duty and responsibility as a coequal branch of government and sat on their hands as Blakeman allowed NUMC to fall apart with Meg Ryan as its CEO.
Such a disastrous and self-serving track record creates a perfect storm in which oversight is curtailed, chaos thrives, and corruption can run rampant – and it creates an inflection point. We can either remain silent and co-sign Blakeman’s exploitation of NUMC – or be independent watchdogs, follow the facts and get this essential public resource back on the right track for the benefit of every Nassau County resident.
(Seth I. Koslow represents the 5th District in the Nassau County Legislature. He lives in Merrick)
Be the first to comment