County Executive and NuHealth board at odds over NUMC leadership

Robert Detor began his tenure as chairman of NuHealth, the public benefit corporation that runs Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, on Jan. 16, after a NuHealth board of directors meeting that was crowded with union workers holding signs that read “Stop Downsizing” and “No More Political Buddies Here at NUMC.”

County Executive Laura Curran appointed Detor to replace George Tsunis, who was serving as both chairman of NuHealth and NUMC’s interim president and chief executive officer.

“We’ve turned the page on the era of corruption and waste at NUMC,” Curran said, calling Tsunis “the right leader for the right time” for the decisions he made in his two-year tenure. Since Curran appointed him, Tsunis had fired nine employees and canceled a number of contracts that he said were politically connected to the Republican Party.

“I thank him for his deft navigation of a ship in stormy waters,” Curran said, adding that Detor was the right person “to build on the progress we’ve made and ensure continued access to quality medical services.” 

Detor, 72, of Port Washington, was most recently the president and chief executive officer of the Long Island Home, which runs South Oaks Hospital and Broadlawn Manor Nursing & Rehab Center, both in Amityville.

Detor also chaired the Long Island Federally Qualified Health Center, a nonprofit that runs in partnership with NUMC and operates health clinics across the county.

Members of the Civil Service Employees Association Nassau Local 830 came to the NuHealth board meeting to show their opposition to the official partnership between NUMC and the Northwell Health network, which began in November 2018. NUMC employs some 3,000 union members, and many said they feared Northwell would downsize NUMC and outsource its jobs to other Northwell employees.

“We do not want our hospital to be sold off for parts,” said Richard Dopkin, a union representative. “We simply want transparency so as to achieve our ongoing mission as a public hospital for all walks of life, rather than be turned into a private hospital and exclude those left out in the cold.”

The relationship between Northwell and NUMC began in 2005, said Terry Lynam, a Northwell spokesman, and “has been restructured over the years based on the needs identified by the hospital’s management team and board of directors.

“With the appointment of a new board chair, Robert Detor,” he continued, “we have restated Northwell’s commitment to continue to support NUMC in meeting the health needs of the communities it serves.”

Lynam added that Northwell Health “is prepared to modify any aspects of its relationship with NUMC that would best support the institution.”

The NuHealth board voted to put its partnership with Northwell Health on hold by suspending consulting contracts so members could continue to mull them over. 

The board also installed Anthony Boutin, the hospital’s chief medical officer, as its interim chief executive and president for 18 months, while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

Both Curran and Tsunis, however, opposed the board’s decisions. Curran said that the board usurped Detor’s leadership, and that Boutin’s appointment was not “lawful or appropriate.”

In a letter to Meg Ryan, NuHealth’s general counsel, Curran formally rejected Boutin’s appointment, and wrote that her administration would meet with the board in the hope of selecting someone else for the position. By press time on Tuesday, it was reported that Detor would be serving as interim president and CEO of the hospital. However, he has since appointed Boutin to fill the position until a permanent  replacement is found.

As recommended by Nassau County Democrats, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed three new members of the NuHealth board, all of who come from Northwell Health. They include Martin Glennon and Waylyn Hobbs Jr. The third appointee’s identity was not confirmed by press time.