Nassau Health Care Corporation Remains the Only Provider of Equitable Healthcare
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nassau Health Care Corporation
meganryan@numc.edu
Nassau Health Care Corporation Remains the Only Provider of Equitable Healthcare
March 17, 2021
East Meadow, N.Y., March 17, 2021 – Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC), a leading healthcare provider serving Nassau County, Suffolk County, and parts of Queens, today made several key statements and responses addressing two recent articles regarding a 2020 report by Alvarez & Marsal Healthcare Industry Group (A&M).
First and foremost, NHCC would like to thank Nassau County Executive Laura Curran for her continued support and leadership throughout these extremely challenging times. In response to the findings of the Alvarez & Marsal Healthcare Industry Group (A&M) report, we would like to provide additional detail and deeper context to the public to whom we are beholden. On the topic of healthcare finance and operations, we appreciate the recommendations set forth and have approached the matter with thorough internal examination and full transparency with our stakeholders.
The A&M findings were based on work done in 2020 and no adjustments were made to include the 2021 budget and operational improvements. Subsequently, our newest initiatives were also not incorporated. Final 2020 results placed NHCC in a much more advantageous position than projected by A&M by a margin of $54.4 million. Our 2021 budget resulted in $51.3 million in expense savings and revenue initiatives.
NHCC currently has operating cash and current projections indicate sufficient funds to operate effectively through early 2024 rather than through the end of this year. This number additionally does not include the third and fourth rounds of CARES Act funds or FEMA funds which have not yet been distributed to NHCC. The budgeted operations for 2021 reflect an improvement of $83.3 million from the “projected loss approaching $200 million” which was included in the report.
The A. Holly Patterson (AHP) facility, Nassau County’s only public extended care facility, has a current 2021 budget loss of $20.4 million. Based on projected financial losses of this magnitude, the A&M report recommends selling this facility. This loss, however, reflects the impact that the COVID crisis has had on this facility. With a recovery from COVID and the successful implementation of two new cultural programs at this facility, management believes that the projected operating loss will be reduced by 80%.
Closing Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) would be an extreme action which would leave the entire region of Long Island without a Level I trauma center and burn center. Concurrently, eliminating the Emergency Department would have serious and dangerous ramifications not only for our first responders, but to the surrounding communities. In 2019, NUMC’s Emergency Department provided life-saving care to 67,029 patients. Closing the Emergency Room would impact emergency response time, risking the one-hour window in which patients of traumatic injury must receive critical care.
Nassau University Medical Center also provides specialized healthcare to 300,000 patients, including patients from Long Island’s most at risk communities. At a time when health disparities in the United States are at their most visible, NUMC continues to provide equitable care to all patients regardless of their financial status. The majority of these patients are ineligible to seek specialized care at nearby facilities, as referenced in the A&M report. We are currently the only provider of specialized healthcare for Nassau County’s uninsured residents, as well as those on Medicare and Medicaid, including bariatrics, ophthalmology, orthopedics, cardiology, and oncology.
In the winter of 2020 the Board of Directors, in recognition of the challenges facing Nassau Health Care Corporation, created a Strategic Planning & Action Committee to work with the executive team, reviewing current operations, financial information, and most importantly the community’s healthcare service needs, to develop future options for the hospital consistent with its findings.
Additionally, NUMC employs over 3,200 healthcare professionals who, as stated by the Newsday Editorial Board, were a “crucial resource during the terrifying first wave.” (of the COVID-19 crisis) These dedicated first-line responders would become unemployed at a most precarious time for our community.
While it was impossible to predict the global impact of COVID-19, we can however, predict that NHCC will again be ready to meet every and any crisis that is brought to our doorstep. We will continue to champion quality healthcare for our most vulnerable populations.
At NHCC, we deeply value our patients and employees and it is our intention to continue to serve the public. While we understand and appreciate the insight provided by the A&M report, we must at all times account for the critical human measure of healthcare, which has been and continues to be our top priority.
CONTACTS:
Megan C. Ryan, Esq.
General Counsel
Chief Compliance, Privacy & Ethics Officer, Executive Vice President-NuHealth
meganryan@numc.edu
(516) 296-2389
Source: Nassau Health Care Corporation