Former lobbyist, first lady Paterson a health care booster

BY KEITH HERBERT | keith.herbert@newsday.com

11:01 PM EDT, March 12, 2008

Friends use words like "smart" and "sophisticated" to describe Michelle Paige Paterson, who'll be New York State's new first lady when her husband, David Paterson, becomes governor on Monday.

"I don't think New York could have a better first lady," said Michelle Stent, who works in community and government relations at Harlem's North General Hospital, the job Paterson used to have. "She cares."

Expect Paterson, 46, who raised the couple's two children in Harlem, to use her position to put health-care issues such as disease prevention and early screening in the spotlight, friends said.

Paterson's job at North General included some lobbying work, but she no longer lobbies for the hospital, said Errol Cockfield, a spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

"Mrs. Paige Paterson worked as a lobbyist for North General Hospital in 2003 and 2004 and has not been a lobbyist since," said Armen Meyer, spokesman for Paterson.

Dr. Samuel Daniel, president and chief executive of North General, said that in 2001, his hospital was in peril, and needed $150 million in debt refinanced to survive. Gov. George Pataki was prepared to let legislation governing a refinancing expire, Daniel said.

He said he recruited Paterson, who had just graduated from New School University with a graduate degree in health care management, to lobby the Pataki administration and Albany legislators to restructure the hospital's debt.

"Michelle was instrumental in getting me before the legislature," Daniel said. "Finally, the bill passed and was signed by the governor."

Former New York Comptroller Carl McCall said he's known Paterson for 20 years, first meeting her through her husband.

"She cares very much about education and health care," McCall said Wednesday.

"She'll be very comfortable," McCall said. "She's very sophisticated and smart. I think she'll make an excellent first lady."

Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Wednesday he would resign effective Monday, turning over New York's top government post to David Paterson, 53, who will become the state's first black governor.

Before her current job with HIP Health Plans, an HMO, Paterson worked as community and government relations director at North General, where she networked with elected officials, community boards and worked on health care policy, Stent said.

"Her support for this hospital has been total and complete," said Stent, who took over for Paterson three years ago at North General, and is also listed as a lobbyist for the hospital on 2007-2008 Commission on Public Integrity records.

"She is truly the first lady of Harlem. She believes in this community."

New York is getting a "first lady who knows how government works," Daniel said.

While at North General, Paterson started a men's health forum and expanded the list of hospital volunteers, called Friends of North General, and worked on obtaining federal grants for the private, nonprofit hospital, Stent said.

"I think health care is a very important issue for her," said Basil Smikle, a Washington Heights political consultant who has known Paterson for about eight years.

"It's hard to say how much time or exposure she'll have to focus on that. Certainly, she can be an ally to the governor on the health care issue."