Stony Brook hospital chief exec to resign

The chief executive of Stony Brook University Medical Center, Dr. Steven Strongwater, is resigning effective Nov. 15, a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday.

Until his departure, Strongwater, who came to Stony Brook in January 2007, "will transition this leadership role" to Fred Sganga, executive director of the Long Island State Veterans Home, hospital spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow said.

She said Sganga will serve as interim chief executive during the search for a new hospital head. He will continue to serve as executive director of the veterans home, Sheprow said.

"In order for Stony Brook University Hospital to achieve clinical, fiscal and academic growth, a decision was made some time ago to reorganize the leadership of the health sciences," Sheprow wrote in an email last night. "This process was begun with the recruitment of our new President and our new Senior Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine. Dr. Strongwater has agreed to step down to enable completion of this reorganization process."

In a statement Strongwater said he was "very proud of the progress Stony Brook University Hospital has made during my tenure, in particular in improving patient outcomes, access and efficiency. It has been a privilege to serve Stony Brook University Hospital and the community. I am evaluating a number of opportunities but have not finalized my plans."

Sheprow said Strongwater "led the organization through a period of extraordinary growth despite tremendous cost-containment pressures and has helped create a culture focused on patient safety."

Strongwater came to Stony Brook after a period of turmoil. The 591-bed hospital -- the biggest in Suffolk County -- had been without a permanent chief executive for about a year and a half and it had faced state fines and censure, and the closing of its pediatric cardiac surgery program following the death of three children there.