By: Nick Buglione
The announcement came about a week after the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents some 3,000 Nassau Health Care Corporation employees, called for Turan's resignation because he accepted a raise while planning to lay off more employees.
The corporation, which runs the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, the A. Holly Patterson nursing home and seven community clinics, has laid off about 700 employees to date.
The statement noted that when Turan, who became president of the quasi-public benefit corporation in December 2000, took the job, he agreed to stay for three years. "He decided this past weekend that, having been at the Nassau Health Care Corporation for three and a half years, it was now in his and his family's best interest, and the best interests of the Nassau Health Care Corporation for him to leave," the statement read.
It's not known exactly when Turan will step down or who will take over when he does. The statement did note that the date of his departure would be determined in "discussions with the board of directors" to "ensure a smooth transition."
"There will obviously be a nationwide search for his successor, and someone will have to be picked to run the hospital during that time," said Larry Elovich, a member of the corporation board of directors.
Turan said he'd been mulling bowing out for some time. "I had been going back and forth but I think in a position like this one has to determine how long they can be effective," he said.
He characterized his tenure with the NHCC as a success, pointing to improved care and financial recovery. "They were difficult years of significant progress," Turan said. "I think the hospital has improved significantly."
But his years have also been marked with controversy. In April 2003 the state Ethics Commission charged him and five other corporation officials with taking gifts from potential clients vying for contracts, a violation of the public officers law. The group agreed to pay $12,000 to the Ethics Commission, though the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
Meanwhile, when Turan became president, he promised that the corporation -- which had lost millions of dollars each year since its 1999 creation -- would break even in three years. Three years later, the corporation is still projected to lose millions of dollars, while an independent study commissioned by the county estimated at the beginning of the year that the corporation would run out of cash in the next 12 to 18 months.
The financial survival of the NHCC is of great importance to Nassau County, which would ultimately be responsible for the debt service payments on more than $250 million in bonds issued to finance its creation.
Turan has asserted that if not for skyrocketing state pension costs, the corporation would likely have shown a profit this year. Still, a gaping deficit forced it to lay off staff, an announcement that was made at a September 2003 board meeting. Corporation employees, who have been without a contract since December 2002, staged a February rally protesting the cuts.
Then, when it was recently revealed that Turan's annual salary would be jumping from $200,000 to $325,000, the CSEA called for his resignation. "We gave him a chance to try and prove himself, and, unfortunately, it was a dismal failure," said Nick LaMorte, president of the CSEA Long Island Region, on Turan's tenure. "We're very pleased, and we're hoping that someone that has some health and hospital experience will take the reins."
Turan, who was president of a college prior to heading up the Nassau Health Care Corporation, isn't sure what path his career will take next. "I don't know what I'm going to do," he said, "but I'm keeping my options open."
