Nassau County Exec Bruce Blakeman's shocking move throws wrench in Hochul's hospital ‘takeover'

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman refused to nominate anyone to Nassau University Medical Center's board — saying in a surprise announcement Tuesday he was protesting Gov. Kathy Hochul's 'illegal' takeover of the hospital.
Blakeman, a Republican, was set to announce his picks for the NUMC board of directors after at least 10 executives resigned in protest to New York state's takeover of the facility — but instead said he will not be naming anybody to the Democratic governor's 'puppet board.'
'The state blatantly passed a law, which is illegal, to take over Nassau University Medical Center with the sole interest in closing the hospital as we know it,' Blakeman told reporters at a press conference outside the hospital.
He called NUMC 'one of the finest medical facilities in the United States' and said he won't stand for state officials shutting it down.
The state has denied allegations that it plans to shut down the hospital or convert it into a mental or behavioral health facility.
But a 2024 letter from the state Department of Health, which was obtained by The Post, said the agency determined that the only way for the hospital to be fiscally sustainable is to cut staff and multiple departments and convert to a behavioral health facility. The letter was signed by Hochul.
Blakeman blasted Hochul and state officials, accusing them of bringing on a financial crisis.
'The state has defunded this hospital with the intent to take it over and make this bogus claim that there is a financial crisis,' Blakeman said.
Former NUMC chairman Matthew Bruderman has filed a lawsuit accusing the state of systematically defunding the hospital in a convoluted scheme. The allegations sparked a federal investigation.
'Now the state, without any transition plan, without any coordination whatsoever, has taken this power grab, and let's be clear, this is nothing more than a cover-up,' Blakeman said, citing the allegations.
NUMC said they've turned around the fiscal disaster since new leadership under Blakeman took the reins and is now on track to profit $11 million this year without cutting any jobs or departments — despite being in the hole hundreds of millions of dollars just a few years ago.
Blakeman and hospital staff said the state provided $180 million in subsidies to the hospital in 2021 but has provided no aid in 2024 and 2025 — claims Hochul's office denied.
'We want the state to fund this hospital as they've done before, and this hospital has done a great job, the turnaround of this hospital the last four years has been remarkable because of the people standing behind me,' he said of the medical staff surrounding him.
'Instead of being partners, they want us to be puppets. That ain't happening.'
Gordon Tepper, the governor's Long Island spokesperson, called Blakeman's remarks 'ridiculous.'
'The board's restructuring is the best possible news for anyone who relies on NUMC,' he told The Post.
'There's been gross mismanagement at the hospital for years under the County's watch which has forced this desperately needed intervention.'
A day after the 10 executives announced their resignation from the board last week, Hochul named former head of Hofstra University Stuart Rabinowitz to helm NUMC's board, along with three other new appointees, the governor's office announced.
Hochul chooses the chair and gets six picks in total on the hospital's new board, including one recommended by the Assembly speaker and another recommended by the head of the state Senate.
Two were to be appointed by Blakeman while the Nassau County Board of Legislators gets three picks for the board: two from the GOP majority and one from the dem minority.
A legislature source told The Post that the GOP majority plans on following Blakeman's decision and not appointing anybody to the board.
The Democrats meanwhile, slammed Blakeman's decision as a ''blatant refusal to do his job' and said they plan to move forward with their nomination.
'We intend to make our appointment to the NUMC board because we follow the law and put patients before politics,' Democratic Nassau County Legislator Seth Koslow said.
'His administration drove NUMC into financial and operational chaos. Now the state is stepping in to stop the bleeding, and instead of helping, he's walking off the field,' he added.