New NUMC CEO Thomas Stokes envisions comeback, greater morale for financially flailing hospital

On his first day as new CEO of Nassau University Medical Center, Thomas Stokes found himself with a blood pressure cuff around his left arm — part of a routine physical for all new employees — sitting next to a medical assistant eyeing numbers on a monitor, he recalled. 

"She took a step back and said a prayer for me. Then I saw the number and realized why," Stokes joked.   

A second reading showed his blood pressure was normal, but the funny encounter was an example of the small interactions he's had since his formal start on Jan. 15, when he took on the task of stabilizing Nassau's embattled and financially fraught safety-net health system. 

Stokes, 54, of Center Moriches was chief financial officer at Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan when in November he was tapped to begin an institutional turnaround by the new board of directors at Nassau Health Care Corporation. The public benefit corporation — more than a billion dollars in debt — runs the 530-bed main hospital in East Meadow also operates the neighboring A. Holly Patterson Nursing Home, county jail inmate care and community health centers.

It would be no small feat with the health system more than $1.4 billion in debt, ranking it among the most financially vulnerable in the region. The hospital also houses some of the region's unique medical specialties, such as its approach to treating burn victims, and takes on difficult cases other hospitals do not, relying primarily on public insurance like Medicare and Medicaid. 

State and local officials, as well as union leaders, say Stokes must build up trust, show a true commitment and shed the political gamesmanship that has plagued the institution. Stokes' hire comes after years of leadership turnover, high-profile lawsuits and executive turmoil that culminated in Gov. Kathy Hochul changing state law to transfer the governance power away from county lawmakers to state officials. He will earn a base salary of $1 million per year (Stokes took a pay cut coming to NUMC) with an annual performance bonus of up to $250,000.

"There are special people that exist here and are so dedicated in what they do. They need direction and they need support," Stokes told Newsday in an exclusive interview. "Let's ground ourselves in why we entered the health care field to begin with, and remain engaged, and yet run the place like a business. That's what we need to evolve into."

This scale of financial turnaround will take "years not months" and his commitment far exceeds pulling the institution out of the red, Stokes said. He began transitioning into his new role weeks before his official start and said a lack of data, deferred maintenance to the buildings and low staff morale are among his chief concerns. 

Raising quality care scores, making sure emergency and disaster readiness plans are updated and renegotiating with private payers are also top of mind, he said. Stokes has already begun leveraging his experience in finance and contacts in the private hospital space, tapping seasoned professionals for advice from his previous posts, he said.

Local roots

He also said he never abandoned his roots of having come from a modest upbringing in Shirley, raised by parents who had once relied on a public health system, which he says makes him more sensitive to the mission of a public hospital. His integrity, financial acumen and his experience with Nassau County government could help him navigate the rocky waters ahead, officials say.   

Stokes comes back to work in Nassau County after having served in the administration of then-County Executive Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, first as a consultant who helped streamline the Health and Human Services Department, setting up a system to match eligible residents with various aid programs. He had intended to return to the private sector, he said, before Suozzi offered him the post of deputy county executive for operations and finance, where he stayed until 2009.

He also served as a board member of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county's state-appointed fiscal watchdog. 

"I think he is hitting the ground running and is the right person. He's got a lot of things he needs to get accomplished, but he's the person who will turn this ship around," said NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel, who has known Stokes for about 20 years. "Hopefully the county will work with him."

For more than 15 years, Stokes was chief operating officer and chief financial officer in various segments of the Weill Cornell health system, first running its imaging practice, then its physician organization, where he helped navigate the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Stokes elevated to the role of chief financial officer of the entire medical organization and vice president for finance at Cornell University.

Like other teaching hospitals, Weill Cornell in April faced a significant loss of federal medical research funding in Trump administration cuts to higher education which resulted in cost-cutting measures. By November, Cornell had reached an agreement with the federal government to have $250 million restored.  

Early wins

Stokes' plans have been bolstered recently by a significant state cash infusion of nearly $110 million, which was announced at the first Board meeting he attended. The funding includes $82.1 million awarded through the state Department of Health’s Vital Access Provider Assurance Program, designed to help bail out struggling hospitals, and $27.5 million in enhanced Medicaid funding formula tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

It was double the $50 million the hospital received from the state in 2025 and is expected to reduce the 2026 operating loss from $167.1 million to $82.5 million, officials said. "I think there's a greater trust with the team they have in there now and that trust is very important," said Kessel, when asked why the state had provided more funding as Stokes takes the helm.

But Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who is challenging Hochul for governor, has not yet met with Stokes despite the inevitable entanglements between the hospital and the county. 

While he hasn't directly commented on Stokes, Blakeman has described the state's reconfiguration of the board as an "unlawful power grab." He decried the recent boost in funding and has previously threaten to sue the state. Along with county Legis. Howard Kopel, the Republican majority leader, Blakeman has refused to appoint anyone to the new board despite county taxpayers backing the hospital's debt, millions in county-hospital service contracts and other financial, real estate and employment commitments.

"Obviously, her plan to control NUMC has made the hospital more costly to taxpayers," Blakeman said of Hochul in a statement to Newsday.

Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, who leads the county legislature's Democratic caucus which did appoint a representative to the board, said Blakeman's political fight with Hochul has hurt the hospital. She said she hopes he and Republicans do not hamper Stokes' efforts. She points to millions in unspent money from a major opioid settlement the county is sitting on that could support the hospital's efforts in treating more patients suffering from addiction. 

"There are certain subjects that are above politics," DeRiggi-Whitton said. 

Forging trust

Building trust within the hospital walls will be vital, too.

Those representing employees say they hope to have an open line of communication with Stokes and the new leadership team. 

Shakira Settles, president of the CSEA Local 831, which represents about 2,800 employees across the main East Meadow hospital, the nursing home, the jail and the  health centers, said it was a good sign when the new board included union leadership in final CEO interviews, "which was great because nobody really includes us."

She said staffers were concerned after years of uncertainty, particularly after the Blakeman-appointed leadership team mounted a campaign in early 2025 telling employees and the community that a state takeover would result in the hospital's closure and, subsequent job loss. Blakeman in 2023 appointed GOP donor Matthew Bruderman, a businessman from Centre Island, to chair  the health system's board. Bruderman, against the advice of state health officials, promoted Megan Ryan to the role of permanent CEO. The Bruderman-Ryan leadership team had resisted state involvement resulting in state aid that was half of what the new leadership has since brought in.

The lack of cooperation between the two sides left employees in the middle. 

"It's been a challenge over the last few years," Settles said. "People were very, very worried and how can you blame them."

CSEA employees, Settles said, see the recent cash infusion as a sign the hospital will soon be in a position to come to the negotiating table on their new contract. For about three years, CSEA employees have been working under the terms of an expired contract.

She said many feel as if his first few weeks have made them feel more invested in the future of the institution. A town-hall meeting Stokes held in his first few days for hundreds employees was well received, she said.

Clear direction, honest dialogue and greater transparency will go a long way and employees want the Stokes' leadership team to hold themselves accountable during the turnaround period, she added.

"There's a lot of optimism, of course there are always going to be naysayers, but there is a lot more optimism than there was six to eight months ago," Settles said. "We care about the quality of care at this hospital because, remember, we are patients too. We use these services too."