“It’s time for Newsday to get serious.”

Paper Again Drives Agenda with Editorial that Intentionally Ignores Facts

UNIONDALE, NY- Newsday's war on Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) continued this week with another effort by the paper's Editorial Board to undermine the credibility and services of Long Island's largest and only public safety-net hospital. In what can only be described as deliberately inaccurate, agenda-driven misinformation campaign, Newsday's Editorial Board again sought to ignore basic facts to attack Nassau Health Care Corporation's (NHCC) leadership.

Despite NUMC's leadership consistently engaging with Newsday personnel in an honest and forthright fashion, including hours providing detailed briefings about the state of the hospital, its operations and reforms, Newsday's Editorial Board seems bent on maligning the hospital and acting as a mouthpiece for Governor Kathy Hochul's administration with a clear bias against the hospital that serves over 270,000 patients annually and employs more than 3,700 local healthcare professionals.

"NHCC leadership has given Newsday's editors and reporters the respect of repeated briefings and information about the state of the hospital, its ongoing challenges, and the success of the fiscal reforms we have been implementing. They have repeatedly ignored the information provided to intentionally mislead readers and drive an agenda. All Newsday subscribers should question the veracity and ethics of a paper willing to repeatedly ignore facts and data in such a manner," stated NHCC. "Unfortunately for our patients, employees and the largely at-risk community we serve, this attack is nothing new. Newsday's editors have repeatedly used NUMC as a pawn in what can only be described as a political agenda. The lack of journalistic integrity is appalling."

The paper's latest editorial missive is full of half-truths and misinformation. Below are several key NHCC corrections to Newsday's misrepresentations and irresponsible commentary:

Newsday: "NUMC and its public benefit corporation, the Nassau Health Care Corp., responded twice to the state's demands. Neither response reflected the severity of NUMC's needs, took full responsibility for current failures, or promised significant specific reform."

FACT: NHCC issued one response thus far and NHCC's response was detailed and accompanied by more than 150 pages of supporting documentation. NHCC's response was shared with Newsday. They ignored its contents.

NHCC's reform efforts have already identified more than $100 million in cost savings and increased both collections and cash balances. Hospital leadership has fully briefed Newsday personnel by phone about the Financial Sustainability Plan, our progress and finances. That information was ignored entirely by the Editorial Board. A constructive dialogue regarding compliance between DOH and NHCC is ongoing.

Reforms that are already being implemented include can be found HERE.

Newsday:"Some of what they said was untrue, like the contention that '… the NEW NHCC leadership has been taking swift and immediate action to turn around the decades of financial mismanagement.'"

FACT:Newsday has repeatedly ignored that NHCC has implemented significant reforms that have already resulted in improved financial health for NUMC. When County Executive Bruce Blakeman appointed NHCC Chairman Matthew Bruderman there was no CFO, no budget, no current financial statements, no daily cash balance assessment and no timely audit. Further, NUMC's charge master (pricelist) was more than a decade old. NHCC engaged Marwood Group Practice Transformation LLC (Marwood), to execute an aggressive fiscal reform plan.

The charge master is now updated, the financial statements are now current, NHCC now prepares daily cash reports that are distributed (to NIFA), and a timely budget was passed. For the first time, NHCC completed a timely audit last June performed by one of the world's leading independent audit firms. All of this was detailed in NHCC's letter to State officials and has previously been shared with the Editorial Board.

Newsday:"The most worrisome missing piece is the lack of a 'professional and public search' for NUMC's next chief executive. To date, the hospital hasn't even promised such a search, focusing on an internal review instead of finding new leadership. That raises the concern that NUMC is just doing a perfunctory search to guarantee that the choice is Ryan, its current interim CEO. That would be unacceptable."

FACT: Newsday here again ignores basic facts. Under Chairman Bruderman's leadership, NHCC's Board of Directors has worked aggressively to change nearly the entire executive management team of the hospital. In just the last six months, there has been a new interim CEO, a new CFO and a new Chief Medical Officer, as well as Chief Nursing Officer have been identified. A Director of Quality has also been promoted to Vice President of Quality and Risk and the hospital will soon bring on board its first Patient Experience Officer. These individuals are highly skilled and qualified to help the hospital continue the reform process and provide the best possible services for patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Newsday:"Meanwhile, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has played politics, blaming Gov. Kathy Hochul rather than taking real action, such as replacing Bruderman and other board members. McDonald gave NUMC 30 days - until mid-May - to respond. By then, it's unclear whether the hospital will have funds to function and pay staff."

FACT: It's Newsday who is playing politics. Rita Ciolli and the Editorial board have continued to scare the public, suggesting that NUMC will be out of money in 30 days, despite having a clear understanding that there is no factual proof to the statement. It is truly shameful Newsday is now using a safety-net hospital that is a lifeline for underserved and at-risk communities as a pawn in what can only be pathetic ploy to try and boost sales and advance its political allies' agenda.

NUMC's leadership has been transparent about its work with the state officials and legislators - Ciolli and the Editorial Board have refused to acknowledge those efforts or the successes of NUMC's new leadership. It is unquestionably true that the State slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the hospital. NHCC has publicly committed to reducing its need for taxpayer assistance, but it still requires state assistance to survive and fulfill its mission.

Newsday: "If NUMC doesn't comply with the state's demands, heads should roll. The state has the power to take over the hospital and install a temporary operator."

FACT: Newsday's position that Albany should take over the hospital lays bare the real agenda here. Ciolli, editor Don Hudson, and the paper's staff could not care less about the quality of care being provided to hundreds of thousands of Long Island's most vulnerable. They could not care less about the litany of reforms being made or the progress toward great fiscal health for the institution, because it doesn't fit their agenda. Newsday's leadership is transparently working as an arm of Governor Kathy Hochul's administration to attack NUMC, county leadership and political adversaries so Albany can assume control of the hospital. It's time for Newsday to get serious and stop attacking NUMC.

Newsday:"Bruderman has been in office for two years, Ryan more than nine, and neither has turned anything around."

FACT: Let's be clear, Newsday is attacking two of the people who are driving the most significant reforms to the hospital in decades, after soft-pedaling any criticism of previous leadership.

Megan Ryan has been the interim CEO and President for only four months, during which time she has been steadfast in her efforts to execute NHCC's Financial Sustainability Plan. Ryan has also implemented additional noteworthy reforms, including restrictions on non-clinical overtime that have already resulted in a 23 percent reduction, and millions of dollars in annual savings for NHCC. Additionally, initial adjustments to Faculty Practice Plan distributions have already yielded over $4 million in annual savings. Ryan named a Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Quality because those positions had not been filled in some time. She implemented a new Quality program, employee engagement program, and patient experience rounding.

Ryan restructured the Chair of Department leadership team, fostered transparency and accountability by daily messaging to staff, implemented two Joint Commission mock surveys to assess areas in need of improvement and then subsequently engaged a consultant to address these issues. During her time as interim CEO, NUMC passed two DOH surveys, instituted weekly safety meetings, and created an "excellence at NUMC" initiative. She has also accelerated grant applications, obtained a $2.5 million opioid treatment grant from Nassau County and opened a new 16-bed surgical wing. Additional achievements of the last number of months can be found HERE.

NHCC's Board of Directors has also made significant personnel changes and other cuts. Contracts have been reviewed and renegotiated for significant savings. To date, NHCC has filed five Vital Access Provider Program (VAP) applications for state aid. This is important because the Financial Sustainability Plan reforms implemented under Bruderman and Ryan's leadership have been so successful that it has made the hospital ineligible for additional aid resources, like the distressed hospital funds often cited by lawmakers as a vehicle for funding. NHCC has also been proactively seeking funds by creating teams to apply for the State grants (e.g., statewide technology, etc.). NHCC has also significantly restricted travel and other reimbursements for employees, and changed the distribution of the faculty practice plan, further creating millions of dollars in savings.

Newsday:"Responding last week, State Health Commissioner James McDonald spelled out how NUMC's response fell short, listing eight requests that remain "outstanding." The hospital's five-year transformation plan, McDonald said, was "insufficient." Its organizational chart was "not legible." Its gross compensation list didn't include everyone. Its information on how much was spent on lobbying was incomplete. And its accounting of how state funding supposedly had fallen "continues to represent State aid inaccurately."

FACT: NHCC has provided a comprehensive response to State Health Commissioner James McDonald's past inquiries and has promptly acted upon most of the Department of Health's directives. It is in continued conversation with DOH about any areas the agency believes require more detail.

NHCC has respectfully requested DOH reconsider certain aspects, specifically, NHCC suggests that additional funding from the State to address its funding deficit need not be solely sourced from VAP funds. Instead, NHCC proposes that a portion of the funding could be allocated as a payment to cover NHCC's non-federal share for IGT programs, similar to the support provided to SUNY hospitals by the State.

NHCC also clearly articulated why state funding should not be tied to additional controls of NHCC by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA), as such requirements conflict with a number of provisions in state law including that DOH cannot expand the authority granted to NIFA by the Legislature. Also, functions such as approval of management-level employees constitute the operation of a hospital pursuant to DOH regulations, specifically 10 NYCRR §405 .1, which is not in the purview of NIFA.

All of this was detailed in the copy of NUMC's letter that was previously provided to Newsday.

Newsday: "Additionally, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the state's fiscal watchdog, needs to continue approving NUMC's actions. NUMC has questioned NIFA's legal authority; McDonald affirmed it. That should be the end of the matter."

FACT: It has been explained to Newsday that NIFA allowed mismanagement at the hospital to continue for years. NIFA's multi-million-dollar consulting firm, Alvarez and Marsal (A&M), has routinely offered projections that have turned out to be inaccurate. The firm has repeatedly omitted critical financial data in their reports and projections to advance NIFA's narrative about their desire for expanded management and control. Most shockingly, NIFA irresponsibly recommended slashing the hospital's staff by 90 percent during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Newsday was made aware of those facts and continues to ignore them and fail to report them to the public. If Newsday has the public's interest as their focus, they would not be advocating additional control of NUMC for the very entity that recommended closing it down a few short years ago during a public health emergency.

NHCC maintains that NIFA does not have the legal authority to expand its control over NUMC. Not only does NIFA not have the legal authority to operate a hospital, it does not have the requisite experience to do so.

Even if NIFA had legal authority, NHCC has been fully compliant with NlFA and State DOH. NHCC has also been responsive and transparent with NlFA's consultants and leadership. NIFA has canceled four meetings with NHCC leadership in the last month.

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