NUMC analysis shows it would lose $213M per year starting in 2029 if 'turnaround strategy' not implemented

Annual operating losses at Nassau University Medical Center would grow each year to more than $213 million by 2029 and without significant changes would create unsustainable debt, according to newly released financial projections.

The hospital's new leadership presented those findings, in partnership with analysts from global accounting firm Deloitte, to the board of directors on Tuesday.

The projections cap about 2½ months of work by the firm and a team of interim executives hired to replace about a dozen officials who had departed the East Meadow hospital in May, just as former CEO Megan Ryan announced her resignation. It also represents a tangible measurement of the trajectory of Nassau's only safety net health care system after a bitter battle between county and state officials over the hospital's governance. 

"These numbers are stark — and unsustainable — but they also present an opportunity," NUMC interim CEO Richard Becker said in a statement. "For too long, NUMC has suffered from systemic mismanagement. Our responsibility now is to face this reality directly, make difficult but necessary changes, and restore NUMC to financial health so we can continue serving patients."

Becker, who was installed on a temporary basis by the hospital's new board chairman Stuart Rabinowitz, appointed in June by Gov. Kathy Hochul, told Newsday in a brief interview ahead of Tuesday's meeting the report identified several financial, operational and clinical areas in need of improvement. Becker said he did not anticipate a significant reduction in staffing at the hospital.

Without major change, the hospital is on track to lose $185 million in 2026, $198 million in 2027 and $205 million in 2028.

The "turnaround strategy" includes renegotiating managed-care payer contracts, supply and purchase contracts, and targeted investments in staff and infrastructure. In the last three months, the hospital has reduced the length of stay for patients who are admitted to the hospital, cross-trained nursing staff, updated pre-surgical testing and better analyzed surgeries. 

The annual deficit projections are driven by "persistent declines in both inpatient and emergency department volume, decades of unchecked expense growth and a poor ability to capture fair payment NUMC has earned from providing its services," officials said. 

NUMC posted an operating loss of $149 million in 2024, according to audited financial reports. 

Rabinowitz, in a statement, said hospital officials "now have a clear picture of where NUMC stands."

Ryan, who worked at NUMC for about a decade in roles including compliance officer, general counsel and CEO, filed a lawsuit against the hospital alleging a contract breach, gender-based pay discrimination, defamation and retaliation.

She was fired in June, weeks after announcing her resignation in mid-May, for allegedly authorizing payouts to herself and other executives in excess of $1 million. Hospital officials in August filed a $10 million lawsuit against Ryan alleging malfeasance and financial waste.

NUMC is a 530-bed main hospital run by Nassau Health Care Corp., a public benefit corporation. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.