Siela Bynoe: Fighting for Nassau University Medical Center’s future

When you show up at the doors of Nassau University Medical Center, there’s only one thing on your mind: Will I get the immediate care that I need?

For thousands of Nassau County residents, NUMC serves as their safety-net hospital. It is one of the only facilities equipped to treat third-degree burns, and maintains designated centers for stroke, hypertension, diabetes and vascular disease. It’s particularly well equipped to treat cancer patients, rare and advanced infections and autoimmune disorders, as well as tackling the increasing number of mental health and substance-abuse cases.

This advanced treatment is only possible thanks to NUMC’s highly trained medical staff. The facility also functions as a teaching hospital with numerous educational affiliates, training the next generation of providers to continue offering the gold standard of care.

As a newly elected state senator representing parts of Nassau County, and as an alumna of the County Legislature, I came to Albany to fight tooth and nail for the unique needs of our community. NUMC’s years of financial disarray, mismanagement by its board and long-overdue infrastructure upgrades directly jeopardized its own future, and the reliability of care for county residents. We knew that swift action needed to be taken. That’s why I immediately went to battle for provisions that actually deliver what NUMC needs: financial guardrails, community input, and future investments in the facility.

I led the charge to ensure that nine of the 11 NUMC board appointees will be county residents, as a way to preserve the irreplaceable voices of those that it serves. At least one of the board appointees will be made by the Senate majority leader, an important measure to ensure that state-level appointees are fairly balanced. The final state budget language that I negotiated will also require ample input from the community itself on the future of the hospital as the new board puts together future spending plans, further prioritizing the voice of Nassau residents in this process. Finally, I proudly secured $50 million for future infrastructure upgrades, earmarked for release with the completion of the board’s financial plans. With these elements, NUMC’s final budget language will take into account the realities on the ground, while balancing the need for reforms from within.

The budget also incorporates an additional $500 million, allocated by the Senate, to the Distressed Hospital Fund. Upon NUMC’s adherence to the Department of Health’s Corrective Action Plan, it will qualify to access a portion of the $1.5 billion aimed at enhancing its financial management and long-term strategic planning.

As a state senator, I know firsthand how important NUMC is to our community and the thousands of patients it serves, many of whom will have nowhere else to turn if this hospital fails. To me, the success of the hospital is personal. It’s where my grandmother sought medical care and ultimately took her last breath. It’s where my high school best friend received treatment for a rare form of cancer. The brave staff at NUMC looked after them with dignity and compassion, as I know they have done for countless others in their darkest moments.

We know what’s at stake if the hospital’s course is not corrected, including for the more than 80,000 emergency patients that are treated there annually, and the 270,000 patients overall who seek care at NUMC, 70 percent of whom come from minority and low-income communities. Many of them are my constituents.
Now the behaviors that put NUMC in this position to begin with are over. A system that has long been riddled with nepotism, and a misguided fiduciary responsibility, which has left the staff and patients in a state of constant uncertainty, is coming to an end.

Now it’s the good people of Nassau County who will have a direct say in the future of our beloved hospital, who will help shape its future financial plan, who will be responsible for keeping the needs and interests of the community at the center of its operations, and who will breathe life back into this system.

I am very proud to have won a budget deal that centers Nassau County in the future of NUMC, and charts a path forward that will ensure the financial solvency needed for it to continue caring for our residents.