The board of directors of Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC) last week approved a three-year contract for Richard Turan as President/CEO of the health system, a spokesperson for NHCC has announced.

The board unanimously approved the contract in a vote last Monday, according to Spokesperson Shelley Lotenberg. Turan had been serving as interim President/CEO since the resignation of Jerald C. Newman in December, 2000. With his leadership role confirmed, for the next three years, Turan will oversee administration of the Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), located in East Meadow, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, and community health centers under the health system. NHCC is a public benefit corporation that was created from the transfer of the medical center and affiliated health facilities from Nassau County. The county had transferred ownership of the health facilities in 1999 to save operating costs, in light of the municipal fiscal crisis.

As the new head of the NHCC, Turan is faced with the challenge of getting the financially troubled hospital on firm fiscal footing and improving patient services, which have recently been the subject of much public scrutiny. Most recently, the viability of the medical center and health centers, and the quality of services for the needy, were under a microscope during a day-long hearing of the Health and Social Services Committee of the Nassau County Legislature, held Feb. 13. The hearing included 10 hours of testimony from public officials and members of the public focusing on problems associated with health care reimbursement costs, staffing levels at the medical center, doctor's fees, health clinics and services, and gaps in health care services.

Among those who testified was County Legislator Roger Corbin of Westbury, deputy leader of the Legislature's Democratic majority. "This hearing provided the hard facts about the state of health care and social services in Nassau County," said Corbin. "We need to review this information carefully and take whatever action is necessary to ensure that health care and services in this county are delivered efficiently and effectively." Turan, during the hearing, said his mission is to improve the quality of services of NUMC through enhanced revenues and expense reduction, as well as investment in facilities.

Turan, who earned a reputation for success as the former head of Briarcliffe College and Long Island Forum for Technology (LIFT), a non-profit organization aimed at advancing technology industries on the Island, believes he is up to the task of improving NHCC. In an interview last week, Turan outlined his goals for the medical center and community health centers that compose the health care corporation.

"It's a team effort, and I am optimistic. I think that we've identified the problems, and we have a method of finding solutions," Turan said.

"The primary challenge is financial. The hospital is running a deficit of about $35 million for this fiscal year, and of course, no organization can continue to run a deficit."

He added, "We also have administrative problems that have to be cleared up, and we can do a lot of that with computers. We've also got to become more patient-friendly, so that more people would like to come and be patients at Nassau University Medical Center. And we need to improve our public image across Long Island."

The viability of NHCC is a major health issue for the poor of Nassau County, many of whom use the hospital and clinics as their primary source of healthcare. And, Nassau University Medical Center is the safety net hospital for Long Island, in that the facility will provide treatment and care for anyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

The hospital has by far the most active emergency room on Long Island, with more than 81,000 patients visiting it this year. The healthcare corporation includes clinics that are primarily used by people in need, and about a quarter of a million people visited them this year. The system also includes community health centers in seven communities throughout the county, and more than 100,000 people visited those centers this year.

According to Turan, consensus-building will be key to affecting the changes necessary to overhaul the system. "What I need to do is bring people together, and create a team environment, where we identify problems and then solve problems as a group. Obviously, sometimes a group can't make some decisions, and that's where leadership comes in," the hospital chief said.

"But we need to have some serious planning. We need to have some direction, and we need to move forward in a dynamic way. And I think that I have been successful in the past with building a consensus."

The new head of the hospital feels he brings to the table leadership skills that have been proven in his past experience in the private sector. Turan headed Briarcliffe College for 20 years, and raised the prestige of the school by investing heavily in it, for example in new facilities, technology and a baseball team. Just before being appointed to run the hospital, he also had a nine-month stint as head of LIFT.

"I think in both instances, we took an organization that was small, that was not well-known, that did not have the type of public perception that it needed," commented Turan. "And, we built a lot of quality in that organization, and made it much more recognizable, and grew the organization in terms of quality and size."

Now, as Turan looks to overhaul the hospital, he plans to make investment a key part of the process. He has already planned a $6 million expansion of the hospital's emergency room and hospital-based clinics, noting that 80 percent of the hospital's patients are admitted through the emergency room.

"You don't bring an organization back to health by cutting. What you need to do is cut where appropriate. You can't save your way to success. You've got to invest for success," said Turan. "So we're going to save in areas where we're not as efficient as we could be. But we're also going to invest in areas that are going to provide more services, and attract more people to the medical center."

The communities surrounding the hospital, which include Salisbury and East Meadow, will also be an important part of the process, according to Turan.

"Our goal is to serve the community. We can't serve the community by dictating to the community what it needs," he said, noting that he plans to meet with local civic leaders to obtain input on the direction of the hospital. "I think the hospital impacts on the local community, and the local community impacts on the hospital. So we have a vested interest in working closely."

In conclusion, Turan expressed much confidence for achieving his goals for NUMC over the next three years.

"We're confident with the fact that we'll be able to turn the fiscal fortunes of the hospital around, so that the hospital will be operating on a break-even basis in three years," he said. "We'll be providing services that may not be provided today, so we may be providing additional services. And I think we will become a much more patient-friendly hospital - a place where if you need to go to the hospital, this is the place that should be your first choice for the area."