NUMC SURPASSES 500 INPATIENT CENSUS DURING WEEK OF APRIL 20, 2009, HIGHEST CENSUS IN OVER A DECADE, SIGNALING THE START OF SUCCESS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND UNDERSCORING VITAL IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY NET INSTITUTION DURING DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES
April 24, 2009
Contact: Shelley Lotenberg
516-572-6055
Shelley@numc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NUMC SURPASSES 500 INPATIENT CENSUS DURING WEEK OF APRIL 20, 2009, HIGHEST CENSUS IN OVER A DECADE, SIGNALING THE START OF SUCCESS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND UNDERSCORING VITAL IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY NET INSTITUTION DURING DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES
DESPITE HIGHER CENSUS, NHCC IS STILL FACING PROSPECTS OF LOSSES DUE TO STATE BUDGET CUTS WITH GIANELLI CALLING ON CSEA LEADERSHIP TO RECOGNIZE IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS, TO COME TO THE TABLE AND TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH NHCC LEADERSHIP
East Meadow, NY…….Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, announced that during the week of April 20, 2009, the inpatient census at the Nassau University Medical Center had exceeded 500, with 511 as the highest inpatient census recorded in over a decade.
“This higher inpatient census signals the start of our success with the implementation of our strategic initiatives, underscoring the vital importance of our safety net institution, especially during these difficult economic times to the residents of Nassau County, and highlights the support that we have obtained from the community at large, our political leaders and the press,” said Gianelli. “While we still face the prospects of losses due to New York State budget cuts, we are calling on the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) leadership to work collaboratively with us to recognize the difficult times that presently exist and help us avoid the choices that have to be made.”
Steven J. Walerstein, senior vice president for medical affairs and medical director for the NHCC, attributed the higher census to “the cultivation of relationships with practicing physicians in the community, public awareness of NUMC’s new emphasis on quality and patient satisfaction and community support”.
In order to maintain this momentum, Gianelli emphasized the need “for hospital leadership and staff members to work together as a team and for the CSEA leadership to recognize the financial hardships facing the NHCC”.
Safety net hospitals and health systems, such as NUMC, provide quality health services for all patients, including the uninsured and underinsured, while providing many essential community-wide services, such as primary care, trauma care, neonatal intensive care, burn care and train many of America’s doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.