EDITORIAL: Job well done by Martin Payson at NUMC

Martin Payson has been a guardian angel for those who rely on Nassau County's public mission hospital system. In his four years as chairman of the board of directors, he is credited with stabilizing the finances and governance of the system, which has perpetually had trouble hyphenated on to its many names.

Payson had already turned around Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn when he was asked to guide the public corporation, now called NuHealth, that runs Nassau University Medical Center. Working with Arthur Gianelli, its president, Payson used his knowledge of the system and door-opening connections to find every possible penny of state and federal reimbursement for an institution that doesn't treat many patients carrying private insurance. This translated into better care at the hospital and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility.

This year Payson, who volunteered his hundreds of hours of public service, was positioning NuHealth for the challenges of adapting to the new federal health care law and expected changes in state Medicaid funding.

County Executive Edward Mangano, however, has decided to exercise his right to name a new chairman. He has elevated NuHealth trustee Craig Rizzo, an affable malpractice attorney. Mangano says the switch doesn't mean that the county executive wants to run the hospital, but now that he has been in office for five months, he wants someone in place who will be loyal to him.

We thank Payson for his service and wish Rizzo good luck with the challenges ahead.hN