At Nassau University Medical Center, we embrace that challenge and are rising to meet it. After a year of progress in 2024 toward safeguarding the financial health of our area’s only public hospital, we look to 2025 as a transformative year in our institution’s history.
The past year has been one of tremendous reform and rejuvenation for NUMC. NUMC earned the coveted Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission, a mark of excellence that underscores our commitment to patient safety. Additionally, we received the first increase in our Leapfrog safety rating in more than six years.
In 2024, we also opened our new MRI facility equipped with cutting-edge imaging technology, providing faster and more accurate diagnostics and construction for our new cath lab is now underway. We moved our out patient adult mental health services after forty four years to a new renovated safe space located within NUMC.
In 2025, we will launch our NUMC’s new mobile mammography center, replacing a 20 year old vehicle with a spacious, state-of-the-art screening center that will bring early detection services to thousands of women across Nassau.
When we say that we’re more than a hospital, it’s not just a tag line. At NUMC, we’ve always believed in providing high quality clinical and preventative care. We’ve recently expanded those offerings to the public including expanded hours for pediatrics, women’s health, physical therapy and general medicine.
In the U.S. each year, more than 150,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer. Our new colorectal screening clinic is now open and providing lifesaving early detection services. Additionally, NUMC has opened a new Reflux Clinic to help patients with persistent heartburn and other stomach conditions.
NUMC continues to lead the region in specialized services. From hyperbaric medicine, to our burn unit and our water birthing suite, we provide unique care options not widely available. As a teaching hospital, we also train the next generation of healthcare professionals while maintaining a strong focus on community-centered care.
This past fall, we opened our new community engagement office that will help ensure we are communicating effectively with our patients and meeting the changing needs of all our residents, regardless of status or ability to pay.
Financially, NUMC achieved remarkable results in 2024, despite misinformation peddled by NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel, Albany players and Newsday.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve introduced a series of strategic reforms, including the installation of a new CFO, introduction of a new charge master pricing list and updated billing software, and produced the hospital’s first annual budget in years, all of which helped us reduce the hospital’s projected deficit by more than $100 million.
At the same time, we ended 2024 with more than $84 million in cash on hand—a 600% increase over the end of the previous year. These achievements allow us to reinvest in critical areas of care, technology, and infrastructure, strengthening NUMC’s ability to provide quality care and improve financial stability.
We did all of this without receiving the critical aid from New York State to which we are legally entitled, and despite the state continuing to perpetuate an illegal Medicaid scheme that’s costing the hospital nearly $50 million annually. Our recently-filed lawsuits will seek to further expose this corruption and ensure Nassau’s most at-risk residents get the aid they deserve.
New York State established NUMC to ensure that our area had a safety-net hospital that provided care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. We will not shrink from that responsibility and sincerely hope that the Hochul Administration and the state Legislature will support our indispensable efforts to provide care to those most in need.
This year will be a year of greater impact. Sustainability plans are underway across all departments to meet community needs and ensure long-term financial success.
One more note. NUMC starts the new year with women in the top three leadership roles at the hospital for the first time including Dr Grace Ting, our chief medical officer, and Shannon Costello, our chief nursing officer.
I invite all our residents to join us on the journey to better health this year by utilizing all of the fantastic resources NUMC has to offer. Together, we can build a healthier Long Island and ensure NUMC remains a cornerstone of quality care for generations to come.
Megan C. Ryan is the president, CEO and chief legal officer for Nassau Health Care Corporation and Nassau University Medical Center.
