Megan Ryan, president and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., shared plans to resign July 20 following a state-approved restructuring of the board that oversees the safety-net hospital.
Under the state’s latest budget bill, approved May 7, the Nassau Health Care Corp. board will be governed by 11 members, including six appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The governor will also appoint the board chair, and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority will assume greater oversight of the board, according to a May 31 news release from the governor’s office.
Ms. Hochul announced four new appointments to the restructured board, part of a broader effort to improve financial management and accountability at the hospital, the release said.
Ms. Ryan is among 10 leaders who have recently left the organization or shared plans to do so. Several reference the governance restructuring in their resignation letters, according to statements shared with Becker’s on June 2. Departing leaders include:
- Grace Ting, MD, chief medical officer
- Kasi Bowen, chief human resources officer
- Shannon Costello, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer
- Kim Edwards-Johnson, BSN, RN, deputy chief nursing officer
- Sasy Salomon, chief information officer
- Patrick Degree, executive vice president of facilities
- Sloan Yoselowitz, director of revenue cycle management
- Michael Knee, pharmacy director
- Marisa Plotkin, director of special projects
Ms. Ryan was appointed interim CEO in January 2024 and was named to the permanent role in December. She previously spent nearly a decade as general counsel for the corporation, which operates the hospital.
In her resignation letter, Ms. Ryan said her decision follows “the passage of unprecedented legislation that will place NUMC under the direct control of Albany.” She claimed its rationale — allegations of mismanagement — is fabricated.
“Due to years of gross mismanagement, NUMC is in financial peril,” Gordon Tepper, a spokesperson from Ms. Hochul’s office, said in a statement shared with Becker’s on June 2. “Contrary to the rosy picture outgoing leadership has painted, their own audit says they lost $142 million last year.”
Ms. Ryan cited several achievements during her tenure, including a more than 600% increase in cash reserves, the hospital’s reestablishment as a level 1 trauma center, renegotiated supply contracts and expanded access in general medicine, women’s health and pediatrics.
