NUMC terminates former CEO Megan Ryan for cause, according to letter

An oversight board has fired Megan Ryan, CEO of the Nassau University Medical Center, for allegedly doling out $1 million in excessive payments to herself and 12 others, according to a letter obtained by Newsday.

The letter, issued by Dr. Richard Becker, the interim CEO of the hospital, states Ryan is being “terminated for cause.”

Becker said Ryan authorized payments of $3.5 million to herself and the others around May 30 — just after the State Legislature revamped the board overseeing NUMC, set to begin June 1. 

But there was a problem, Becker said.

“Upon review, it appears that at least $1 million of this amount was in excess of amounts that were due to you and the other employees," Becker wrote in the letter.

The payments, which served no "valid" purpose, included unused sick and vacation time, as well as "other forms of leave not permitted by NHCC policy," the letter reads. Ryan even allegedly "authorized excessive termination payments" to herself even though she remained employed.

"Accordingly, effective today, your administrative leave is over and your employment with NHCC is terminated for cause,” Becker said.

Ryan has until the end of Friday to share any information regarding the payments with the hospital board, Becker added. If she can prove they served “a valid business purpose,” the medical center “would be willing to reconsider” her termination. If Ryan does not reach out, the board will assume the findings are true, the letter said.

Ryan and the former employees were "entitled" to the payments, which she authorized "based on time lawfully accrued, and every decision was made in full accordance with hospital policies and over 25 years of established practice," said her defense attorney, Alex J. Hartzband, in an email to Newsday. He added that the termination was "an effort to humiliate Ms. Ryan."

"This is yet another politically motivated hit against Ms. Ryan as NHCC leadership attempts to distract from the State’s own corruption in the handling of NUMC’s finances," Hartzband said. "Ms. Ryan’s integrity and record of accomplishment to improve health care for Nassau County residents are beyond reproach."

When reached for comment Thursday evening, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in an email: "The newly constituted NHCC Board appointed an interim CEO and consulting firms to help steer NUMC in the right direction. You would have to reach out to them for details."

Stuart Rabinowitz, whom Hochul appointed as chair of the Nassau Health Care Corp.'s board of directors on June 1, declined to comment on the letter Thursday evening.

A spokesperson for the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the watchdog overseeing the hospital’s finances, also declined to comment.

Last month, Ryan announced her final day as NUMC's CEO would be July 20 before the hospital board placed her on administrative leave, Newsday previously reported. Becker was appointed in her place June 10.

Years of financial woes preceded the administrative shakeup at the hospital in recent weeks, which coincided with the state taking oversight of the board. At the end of last year, the NHCC reported a $1.4 billion deficit, Newsday reported. The medical center, which accepts patients with inadequate health insurance or none at all, operated at a loss of $144 million last year. Its deepest foray into the red came in 2022, when it lost $164 million.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has opposed the state takeover and argued the state has underfunded the medical center in recent years, a matter that remains the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit, Newsday has reported. State officials and the NIFA have contested this claim.

Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for Blakeman, did not immediately provide a comment when reached Thursday evening.