By Nick Buglione
Last week, Turan was hit with a double whammy of bad press. The New York State Ethics Commission filed civil charges against him and six other top officials from the Nassau Health Care Corporation, which runs NUMC, for wrongfully accepting gifts from companies bidding for contracts with the corporation.
Even before those charges surfaced, county leaders had once again called into question the hospital's financial woes and how they could affect the county, which would be responsible for over $250 million of its debt should the medical center go under.
"During the past two years, great strides have been made to increase the stature of our hospital," read the statement, which was signed by the 13 chairpeople of NUMC's clinical departments, two of whom were included in the Ethics Commission's charges, and the hospital's deputy medical director. "Successes have been very hard to come by since we are always fighting battles involving lack of funds ... Richard Turan has remained steadfast in his desire to make our hospital the best in the area."
The doctors praised Turan's commitment to expanding hospital services. "We want to assure you that he is in our corner when it comes to program enhancement, education of his staff and improvement of safety and patient care."
There have been no firings or resignations in the wake of the ethics charges, and Turan said it wasn't even a main topic of discussion at the recent board of directors meeting.
"We didn't even discuss it," he said. "There was nothing that was done by anybody here that would not meet normal ethical business standards."
The ethics charges deal with violations of the public officers law, which prohibits public employees from accepting gifts over $75 from anyone seeking to do business with that entity. According to the Ethics Commission, the charges mostly involved gifts Health Care Corporation employees received from several vendors vying for an information technology contract, which carried a projected cost of $12 million to $24 million.
Turan was charged with three infractions, including flying to Kansas City at the expense of the Cerner Corporation and receiving an $85 ticket to a New York Islanders game from Siemens. What's more, the commission charged that Turan not only received the gratuities, but actively solicited them.
He insists, however, that restitution was paid for the gifts and that the Nassau Health Care Corporation even notified the commission of the transactions.
"Some people have worked very hard for the hospital, and instead of being complimented, they're being dragged through the mud," Turan said.
For each gift with a value over $75, Turan and his colleagues face a fine of up to $10,000, said Walter Ayres, a spokesman for the New York State Ethics Commission. Ayres stressed that the hospital could not incur any fines. The commission is setting up a hearing on the matter.
Yet even before news of those charges spread, the hospital's financial health was again the subject of published reports and debate among Nassau elected leaders. Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman once again underscored the importance of NUMC's breaking even to reduce the county's financial exposure arising from its guarantee of the hospital's debt.
In the past, Turan has been praised for reducing NUMC's deficit, which in 2001 was $42 million and in danger of ballooning to $82 million. It was hoped that the hospital, still $17 million in debt, would break even by the end of 2003.
"Every health care organization in the country is undergoing problems," Turan said, noting that state health-care cuts and the lagging economy have set back his hospital's progress.
As a result, the hospital will most likely run a deficit of $9 million by the end of this fiscal year.
Inside the charges
The state Ethics Commission filed charges against seven Nassau Health Care Corporation employees for accepting gifts from companies bidding for contracts with the corporation, a violation of state ethics law. Here's a list of who was charged and the cash values of the gratuities they allegedly received.
Richard Turan, president and CEO $699.60
Christine Forman, vice president $4,010.28
Gary Bie, chief financial officer $883.02
Dr. Paul Moh, head of radiology department $1,993.73
Judith Eisele, registered nurse $1,094.03
Dr. Joan McInerney, head of emergency medicine department $1,375.72
Lawrence Honold, director of information systems $216.55
