Blakeman: No ‘state takeover’ of Nassau County medical center

We’ve had enough of the failure of leadership that has led to a culture of failure.”

Bruce Blakeman, County executive

Opposing opinions have flared recently over who should be on the governing board of Nassau University Medical Center. While Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman wants entrepreneur Matthew Bruderman, a Republican, state officials on the other side of the aisle say they want someone else. Both insist, however, that they don’t want the hospital to close.

Senate Bill S.8381-A, which Blakeman called “political shenanigans,” would give Gov. Kathy Hochul and other leaders of the State Senate and Assembly more control over who is a member of the hospital’s board. Hochul would also be able to appoint the board chair and chief executive — who, as of now, is Blakeman.

The bill pursues a “state takeover” of the hospital, Blakeman said. “Why? Because they want to close it. First they want to control it, then they want to close it.

“We’ve had enough of the failure of leadership that has led to a culture of failure,” Blakeman told reporters outside  NUMC on Monday. “Believe me, I have seen in the private sector, I have seen in the public sector how much leadership makes a difference, and that’s why I nominated Matt Bruderman to be the chairman of the board of this hospital.

“I wanted someone that was independent. I don’t want a political hack.”

Bruderman, a Republican campaign donor whose company specializes in mergers and acquisitions, has no health care experience, according to published reports. Yet, Bruderman told Monday’s crowd he already had plans that would  “not only fix the hospital, but it will make it the world-class institution that it can be.”

His plan includes working with the NUMC chief executive Anthony Boutin and the board to install a chief financial officer and create a system of checks and balances. Bruderman also wants to create a board subcommittee that could screen high-quality candidates, who can then be presented to state and county officials for consideration.

“I want to identify real people,” Bruderman said. “People that have real health care and business experience that can be helpful to the hospital.”

NUMC is a public teaching hospital that helps those who typically can’t afford treatment. It has 530 beds and is Long Island’s only Level 1 trauma center and certified burn center.

Yet, the facility also has a reputation for carrying extensive debt, suffering poor ratings and, recently, an arrest following an embezzlement investigation.

The bill also aims to increase the number of voting directors from 15 to 21. That would increase Hochul’s appointments from eight to 10, adding two picks by the Senate majority leader, and two by the Assembly speaker, while retaining the three chochoices by the county executive and four by county legislators.

State Sen. Kevin Thomas and Assemblywoman Taylor Darling, both Democrats, are the sponsor versions of the bill in both chambers. They have denied plans to close the hospital.

Rather, the two lawmakers issued a joint statement after Blakeman’s news conference saying their bill “seeks to facilitate the appointment of competent, qualified individuals who will professionalize and de-politicize the operations of this hospital so that it can thrive, not just survive.”

The politicization of the hospital, Thomas and Darling said, started under former Republican County Executive Ed Mangano.

“We cannot risk losing years of progress at NUMC to the same cronyism and corruption that ran rampant during the Mangano era,” they said in their statement. “If Mr. Blakeman and his administration continue down this path, NUMC may be forced to close its doors forever.”

The proposal is a part of the state budget, which is set to begin negotiations this week.

The budget is due by April 1.