NUMC execs charged steak, lobster to debt-ridden hospital night before state takeover: report
The May 29 outing at The Lobster Club in Midtown came just hours before Gov. Kathy Hochul was set to appoint new leadership to the financially struggling hospital, which is over $1 billion in debt, according to reimbursement records obtained by Newsday.
Seven executives including former CEO Meg Ryan attended the dinner, which the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority — the agency responsible for monitoring and overseeing the county's spending — called 'an absolute outrage.'
5 A new report emerged that just before the state of New York took complete control of Nassau University Medical Center, top executives billed a nearly $1,500 dinner at The Lobster Club in Midtown Manhattan.
Stefano Giovannini
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'On their last day, they went to the city and celebrated with a lobster dinner and other activities and spent hospital money,' NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel, who was appointed by Hochul in 2023, told Newsday.
'This is a hospital with deep financial challenges — that's got very low cash — and these guys were supposedly working for the betterment of the hospital and the taxpayers?'
The execs hit the restaurant after attending the Greater New York Hospital Association Annual Meeting, and receipts show the group's meal included a $175 lobster, $68 Wagyu skirt steak and mounds of sushi at the high-end Midtown restaurant.
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Under NUMC's expense policy, employees are expected to stay within limits of $20 for breakfast, $30 for lunch, $50 for dinner and request government rates for travel — unless specifically approved in advance by the CEO or CFO.
Many of the expenses submitted by the former leadership appear to exceed those limits, according to the hospital's finance records.
In the months leading up to the state takeover, Ryan and her executive team expensed thousands on travel to Albany, Washington, DC, and Chicago, the record show.
That includes a nearly $3,000, three-night stay at the Willard InterContinental in DC, a $1,000 hotel bill in Albany, and almost $8,000 for three round-trip flights to a Chicago health care conference.
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5 The outing occurred on May 29, hours prior to Gov. Kathy Hochul appointing new leadership to the hospital that was struggling financially, accumulating over $1 billion in debt.
Stefano Giovannini
5 The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority called the dinner an 'outrage.'
Stefano Giovannini
Tom Basile, a spokesperson for Ryan, told The Post the former CEO only stopped by the dinner briefly, but didn't eat any food, and wasn't the person who organized the event or submitted the reimbursement.
He also said that Ryan frequently was reimbursed for meetings with government officials and events where she was mainly invited to speak — even fronting the costs of round trip tickets for her and another administrator personally for a trip that was ultimately cancelled last minute.
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'Any suggestion that she did anything improper or was reimbursed inappropriately is just another effort to distract from the State's Medicaid corruption, now under investigation by Congress, the millions in illegal no-bid contracts approved by Hochul's new appointees and NHCC's violation of Ms. Ryan's employment contract,' Basile said.
Basile added that the majority of Ryan's expenses during her tenure were 'for the purpose of lobbying for additional resources' and 'to advocate for the restoration of the $1 billion in funding illegally withheld by the State government as part of its ongoing Medicaid scheme.'
5 Ex-CEO Meg Ryan was one of the notable executives who attended the dinner prior although a spokesperson said she didn't eat.
Stefano Giovannini
5 Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed new leadership to the troubled hospital.
James Messerschmidt
He pointed out that while the state and new hospital leadership cry foul at Ryan's previous expenses and salary of $550,000 — the new CEO, Richard Becker, makes over $760,000 per year, which was confirmed by NIFA documents.
'Unlike previous CEOs, who racked up hundreds of thousands in inappropriate expenses, Ms. Ryan, during her short tenure, personally paid thousands of dollars for initiatives that were not reimbursed, including food for employees, transportation, and supplies for community events,' Basile said.
Ryan was officially terminated 'for cause' the day after the dinner, with officials alleging Ryan improperly authorized $3.5 million in separation payouts to herself and a dozen other executives before stepping down — a claim Ryan denies.
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She has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital challenging the termination and disputing the allegations.
The spending is now under review as part of an ongoing audit ordered by the hospital's new leadership.
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