George Tsunis appointed as chairman of NUMC

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran appointed George Tsunis, a member of her transition team, as chairman of the board of directors of Nassau Health Care Corp., the umbrella company that runs Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

The appointment on Feb. 1 followed former chairman Michael Mirotznik’s unexpected resignation. The Bellmore attorney left the position two weeks earlier, giving no public reason.

Curran said that the nature of the board and its operations have been “complicated” and Tsunis could “right the ship.” She criticized NuHealth in October after the board granted a two-and-a-half-year contract extension, worth $368,000 annually, to Victor Pilotti, the president and CEO of NUMC. She also spoke out against the board amid an August alleging that the company hired a number of employees because of their political ties.

“I think [Tsunis] is the one to bring order and look out for the county and the people who use that safety net hospital,” she said.

Pilotti also celebrated the appointment and said, “We’re very pleased. We feel that [Tsunis] has a lot of relevant background in both business and the hospitality industry.” Pilotti cited Tsunis’s experience as chairman and CEO of Chartwell Hotels in Huntington, adding that he is confident that the board is in the right hands.

Pilotti also spoke highly of Mirotznik, who was appointed in 2014 by former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. “We will be forever grateful for his hard work,” Pilotti said of Mirotznik. “We feel that [Tsunis] will continue to improve this hospital.”

Tsunis is highly involved in the Nassau County Democratic Party, as Newsday reported that he donated $35,000 last year, and contributed to Democrats Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. However, there are no records showing that he donated to Curran in her campaign for county executive.

Tsunis was also an active donor to former President Barack Obama and was a candidate for the U.S. Ambassador to Norway in 2013. He withdrew after a Senate hearing in which he did not properly answer certain questions about the country.

Tsunis’s appointment as chairman of the NUMC board of directors did not need approval by the County Legislature.