Stuart Rabinowitz to step down as NUMC board chair

Stuart Rabinowitz, the chairman appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to lead a major turnaround of Nassau University Medical Center, plans to step down this month after less than 10 months into a four-year term, according to a hospital officials.

Rabinowitz, 80, of Woodbury had led a new board of directors at the hospital since June 1 after Hochul, through state legislation in 2025, restructured the board overseeing the Nassau Health Care Corporation, the quasi-public entity that operates NUMC in East Meadow, A. Holly Patterson nursing home, community health centers and jail inmate care.  

Rabinowitz's resignation is effective March 15. 

"From the outset, my role was intended to be transitional. I believe NUMC now stands on firmer footing — with leadership restored, financial realities clarified, governance strengthened, and a strategic direction articulated. The institution is positioned to move from crisis response to sustained rebuilding," Rabinowitz wrote in his resignation letter to Hochul.

Rabinowitz thanked his fellow board members and Dr. Richard Becker, the interim CEO he had appointed. 

Rabinowitz assumed the role at the hospital system as more than a dozen members of the prior administration’s executive team resigned in May 2025, in an apparent protest to Hochul shifting the majority of board appointments from county to state lawmakers.  

"Stu Rabinowitz stepped up when Nassau University Medical Center desperately needed steady, serious leadership,” Hochul said in a statement to Newsday on Monday. "His focus on accountability and fiscal management has helped put this critical safety-net hospital on the road to recovery, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the Long Island region."

There was no announcement yet on who would replace Rabinowitz, a spokesman for the governor told Newsday. 

Following more than a year of instability, Rabinowitz hired an interim CEO and transition team to fill the leadership void left by the prior administration, launched an audit of its finances and hired a new, permanent CEO through a national search. The hospital, deemed among the most financially distressed in the state, was facing a projected operating loss of $167 million this year.

NUMC — which serves a greater number of the region's poor and uninsured than other private hospitals — has lost money in 24 of the last 25 years, Newsday previously reported and carries $1.4 billion in long-term debt.   

During Rabinowitz's time, the health system was awarded a $110 million cash infusion from the state, double the $50 million the hospital received from the state in 2025 and is expected to reduce the 2026 operating loss to $82.5 million. Under Rabinowitz, the hospital withdrew a $1 billion lawsuit filed by the previous administration against the state and is suing seven former executives who allegedly took $1 million in improper payouts last May.  

“Stu stepped forward at a critical moment for this institution,” said CEO Tom Stokes, who started in January. “His leadership and the Board’s resolve helped create the stability necessary for NUMC to move forward. On behalf of our staff and the patients we serve, I thank him for his service.”

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.