MSSN to welcome a new president

Dr. Adhi Sharma will become president of Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside on Sept. 1, the medical center’s board of directors announced Tuesday.

Sharma, an emergency medicine physician who helped steer MSSN’s Covid-19 response as its chief medical officer, will succeed Richard Murphy, who will retire at the end of the year. Murphy has served as president for nine years and has worked in leadership roles in the health care field for more than four decades.

Over the past 18 months, Sharma was the clinical “quarterback” of MSSN’s pandemic response, while also serving as the hospital’s executive vice president for clinical and professional affairs. Under his guidance, the hospital increased capacity to 500 beds as it cared for more than 4,890 Covid-19 patients during the pandemic. Sharma also helped devise a strategy to meet daily unforeseen challenges, such as redeploying staff to meet the surge in Covid-19 patients, an equipment shortage and care for patients stricken by a disease for which there is no known cure.

“Dr. Sharma has proven he is the kind of leader we need to continue our expansion of leading-edge clinical program growth,” said Joseph Fennessy, of Wantagh, co-chair of the hospital’s board of directors, which conducted a months-long search for a new hospital president. “Mount Sinai South Nassau is posed to expand services to the South Shore so our patients and their families don’t always have to travel into the city for the advanced care they need. Dr. Sharma shares the board’s vision to bring more top-quality care close to home.”

Anthony Cancellieri, of Rockville Centre, co-chair of the hospital’s board, said Sharma “has the confidence of the board, the health system and, most importantly, the front-line staff to lead us going forward. He showed his mettle during the pandemic every day, and we know he is the right leader for the job.”

Sharma said he was honored to be selected and will continue to help the hospital grow into a major regional medical center on the South Shore.

“It is with great humility and appreciation for the dedicated clinical and support staff at the hospital that I have accepted the role as president for Mount Sinai South Nassau,” Sharma said. “The hospital is one of the leading facilities on Long Island, and its relationship with the Mount Sinai Health System has only enhanced its standing within the communities it serves. Together with the board and the clinical leadership, I look forward to setting a vision for the hospital that will carry it well into the 21st century.”

Murphy, who led the hospital’s response after Superstorm Sandy and during the pandemic, helped launch a $400 million capital construction program to modernize the Oceanside hospital and helped guide the facility to an affiliation in 2019 with the world-renowned Mount Sinai Health System. Murphy praised the selection of Sharma and said he would work during the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.

“It has been my privilege to serve as CEO for Mount Sinai South Nassau,” Murphy said. “I’m appreciative of the board of directors and medical staff leadership for the support they have given me through the many challenges we have faced, including most recently the hospital’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.. . . Dr. Sharma is an excellent choice to be my successor. He has the confidence of the medical staff and the entire hospital community, including the leadership of the Mount Sinai Health System.”

Murphy was praised for his work and dedication by Fennessy, Cancellieri, Kenneth Davis, the chief executive officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, and Arthur Klein, the president of the Mount Sinai Health Network.

Expansion projects on the hospital’s main campus in Oceanside include a new four-story patient wing that will expand the Emergency Department, add nine new operating rooms and 40 critical care beds, a three-story parking structure and a new central utility plant. Also planned is a $40 million Medical Arts Pavilion at the hospital’s Long Beach campus, and a multi-specialty health care center in Wantagh that will provide an array of specialty services in one location to South Shore residents in eastern Nassau County.

Sharma has been responsible for facilitating medical staff interactions with hospital administration and the governing board, and for ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of quality medical care consistent with the hospital’s mission. He also has been instrumental in identifying opportunities for service line development and expansion, as well as the recruitment and retention of specialist physicians.

Sharma is a graduate of New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., and completed his residency in emergency medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Jacobi/Montefiore Medical Centers. He completed a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at NYU/Bellevue. He is board certified in emergency medicine and medical toxicology. He also holds a master’s degree in health care administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Mount Sinai South Nassau; compiled by Mike Smollins.