The public health system than runs the beleaguered Nassau University Medical Center will get a seasoned hospital finance executive — who also worked in Long Island county government — as its permanent CEO and president, the board announced on Tuesday.
Thomas W. Stokes, 54, chief financial officer of Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan, will manage the day-to-day operations at Nassau’s 530-bed, safety-net hospital in East Meadow, as well as the A. Holly Patterson Nursing Home, county jail inmate care and community health centers.
The appointment marks a turning point for NUMC, which has struggled financially and has been at the center of a tug-of-war between county and state lawmakers. Earlier this month, Newsday reported the institution is among New York’s more financially fragile with more than $1.4 billion in debt and only enough cash to fund about two weeks of operations.
Stokes starts in January with a base salary of $1 million and an annual bonus of $250,000 dependent on meeting certain benchmarks, a spokesman said.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
Thomas W. Stokes, a seasoned hospital finance executive, has been appointed as the permanent CEO and president of Nassau University Medical Center, aiming to stabilize the financially struggling institution with over $1.4 billion in debt.Stokes brings over 25 years of experience in hospital operations, finance and local government, having previously served as CFO at Weill Cornell Medicine and held roles in Long Island county government, including as a deputy county executive for operations and finance.His appointment follows a turbulent period for NUMC, marked by leadership disputes and lawsuits, with recent legislative changes transferring board control from county to state lawmakers to enhance oversight and stability.
A resident of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, he has more than 25 years of experience in hospital operations, finance and local government, according to his online resume. The hospital board, with the help of national executive search firm Korn Ferry, received more than 400 applications, interviewing 35 candidates, assessing them for their “leadership ability, health care management experience, and commitment to mission-driven institutions,” officials said in the announcement.
Stokes had been considered for the top role at NUMC in 2020 but withdrew his candidacy because he and his family decided it was not the right time for a career move, he said through a spokesman. The board at the time then appointed Dr. Anthony Boutin, head of the emergency department, to the role.
“I’m truly honored to become NUMC’s next CEO. Returning to serve the people of Nassau County is deeply meaningful to me, and I’m ready to get to work,” Stokes said in a statement to Newsday. “I look forward to meeting and working alongside the dedicated team at NUMC, whose efforts are vital to this hospital’s mission. Together with our partners in government and the Board, we will work to stabilize the institution and position it for long-term sustainability.”
Stokes has served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Organization and Weill Cornell Imaging at NewYork-Presbyterian. He is leaving as Weill Cornell grapples, like other teaching hospitals, with a loss of federal medical research funding.
Dr. Robert A. Harrington, dean at Weill Cornell, said Stokes’ “dedication, sage counsel and bold vision have been invaluable as we navigated an especially challenging time for academic medicine.”
Stokes also had been a deputy county executive for operations and finance under then-Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
Stokes also served for two years on the board of directors for the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county’s state-appointed fiscal oversight board that also oversees NUMC’s finances, and as a financial adviser to former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat. Stokes is a registered Republican, according to voting records.
“Tom’s background in both health care operations and public-sector finance gives us confidence in the hospital’s path toward greater stability and sustainability,” NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel said in a statement. “We look forward to working with him to support continued improvements at the hospital.”
Stokes steps into the role after a year of public fighting over NUMC’s leadership. Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who took office in January 2022, appointed GOP donor Matthew Bruderman, a Centre Island business owner and philanthropist, as chairman of the board. Bruderman, in December 2024, then named the health system’s longtime administrator and general counsel, Megan C. Ryan, to be the CEO and president after she had been running the hospital on an interim basis.
The Bruderman-Ryan team then filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the state, alleging it withheld critical Medicaid funding. A media campaign ensued, warning hospital employees that the state wanted to take over the hospital with an intention to shutter it. The team also sued NIFA in an attempt to strip its oversight authority over the hospital. Both lawsuits were dismissed.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul then passed legislation in April reconfiguring the board, transferring control from county to state lawmakers, prompting Ryan and a dozen other hospital executives to resign. Blakeman and Legis. Howard Kopel, presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, refused to appoint their members to the board in protest.
Hochul in June installed former Hofstra University president Stuart Rabinowitz, who named Northwell executive Dr. Richard Becker to be interim CEO and president. Ryan’s resignation became a firing “for cause” after the new leadership alleged she and others took payouts totaling $3.5 million without proper authorization.
Stokes’ annual compensation would be more than double that of Ryan’s $550,000, but less than CEOs of comparable county safety-net hospitals elsewhere in the state. Thomas Quatroche Jr., CEO of Erie County Medical Center, was paid $1.68 million; and Michael Israel, CEO of Westchester Medical Center, got $1.95 million, according to public salary data online from 2023, the most recent year available.
Rabinowitz said in a statement Tuesday he was “thrilled” to welcome Stokes. He credited Hochul’s decision to restructure the board to allow for stronger oversight and thanked Becker for “his steady leadership during this critical period.”
Stokes’ arrival “strengthens a system that has already made important strides — increasing revenue, improving operations, and reducing costs,” Rabinowitz said. “There is still work ahead, but I’m confident we’ve chosen the right leader to continue this progress and ensure NUMC remains a lifeline for Nassau County’s most vulnerable residents.”
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.