NUMC sues ex-CEO Megan Ryan, claiming $1M in improper payouts | Long Island Business News

Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) has filed a lawsuit against former CEO Megan Ryan, hospital officials said Wednesday. The suit alleges she orchestrated data destruction, approved over $1 million in improper payouts to herself and 13 executives, coordinated mass resignations to create turmoil, reimbursed luxury expenses, and filed baseless lawsuits seeking $1 billion.

Ryan, who announced in May she would step down from leading Nassau County’s only public hospital, in East Meadow, in July, was later fired “for cause” after allegedly authorizing $3.5 million in termination payouts to herself and 12 employees. In July, Ryan announced plans to sue the hospital’s parent company, Nassau Health Care Corporation, and New York State Gov. Kathy’s Hochul‘s board appointees.

But on Wednesday, NUMC brought its suit forward, seeking $10 million in punitive damages.

“Our goal with this complaint is to be fully transparent about what occurred and to take decisive steps toward a stronger future,” said Stuart Rabinowitz, chair of NUMC’s Board of Directors, in a news release about the lawsuit.

“The taxpayers, patients, and employees who depend on this hospital deserve a clear accounting of how resources were used, and we have a duty to safeguard our mission, protect our ability to deliver care and ensure NUMC remains a pillar for this community,” he added.

The hospital has faced financial hardship for years, and a new state law, which took effect June 1, fostered state oversight with the goal of strengthening NUMC’s financial and operational stability, according to Hochul.

Under the new law, Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) obtained enhanced oversight, including the power to approve NHCC contracts exceeding $1 million and, under specific conditions, the authority to declare a control period over NHCC. It also removed the Nassau County executive’s approval authority of the NHCC chief executive.

A spokesman for Ryan pushed back against the “frivolous” allegations in the lawsuit that was filed Wednesday.

“If the political hacks who have been put in charge” of Nassau Health Care Corporation to “cover up the state’s massive fraud want a fight –  they’ll get one,” the spokesman said in an email to LIBN. “We have the evidence, the witnesses and the facts to ensure Ms. Ryan will be vindicated on all fronts.”

But Richard Becker, NUMC interim president and CEO, condemned the actions of the hospital’s former leadership and praised staff for maintaining patient care amid the executive turnover.

“The coordinated resignations of 14 top administrators and the active destruction of critical hospital management data were deliberate attempts to destabilize this hospital and disrupt care for the patients who rely on us most. But the team at NUMC has not allowed that to happen,” Becker said in the news release.

“Despite the legal and financial uncertainty left behind by the previous executive leadership, our clinicians, staff and administrators have rallied together to maintain care for Nassau’s most vulnerable residents,” Becker added.

The suit asserts an alleged orchestration of extensive data destruction and document deletion across hospital systems, with these actions intensifying in the weeks leading up to her departure.

The lawsuit alleges that improper payouts included “unearned bonuses, inflated leave payouts and self-serving compensatory time,” according to the news release. It also claims that there was a $7,800 reimbursement for a trip to Chicago that was either undocumented or never transpired.

In June, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he would not nominate anyone to NUMC’s newly restructured Board of Directors, accusing Hochul of an “illegal takeover,” and calling for local control of the hospital.

Since taking control in early June, NUMC’s new board said it has taken steps to swiftly recruit experienced administrators, pursue financial support and promote transparency, with the stated goal of delivering critical care services to underserved populations.