A Message from the CEO

To our friends, colleagues and supporters:

Ten years ago, a new public benefit corporation was created to manage the operations of the Nassau University Medical Center, the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, and a network of family health centers. It has been a long road, getting from there to here, but I am proud of the progress we have made in turning a disparate collection of medical facilities into a cohesive community health system with a progressive public mission.

As we enter our second decade, Nassau Health Care Corporation has changed its name to NuHealth and added a new slogan: Together through Life. This is not a cosmetic change: it is an outward sign of a deeper transformation that is part of a new approach to care.

In Washington, the national debate on health care reform is on full boil. Here, we have already decided one core issue: we believe everyone has a right to good, basic health care, and it is our job to see no one is left behind. At the heart of the NuHealth approach is an emphasis on wellness and primary care, and ensuring that every patient has a "medical home" — a practice in the community that helps the patient stay healthy and is his or her first stop for basic care. We are working to expand our network of Family Health Centers and bring more of the most needed specialties out into the community. By reducing hospital and emergency room visits and providing easier local access, we can lower the cost of providing care and improve the overall health of the population.

We are also redefining the mission of Nassau University Medical Center. We will serve everyone. We will be ready for anything. But while our physicians and other caregivers are more than capable of handling complex diagnoses, providing treatment for highly specialized fields of medicine requires an investment that is hard to justify in a region saturated with well-financed private hospitals. The fact is, in the course of their lives most patients will never need more than the kind of basic, 'bread and butter' medicine you might expect from a community hospital, and that's where we need to focus our energies to do the most good for the most people. Instead of trying to do it all, we are coordinating care for the most complex cases with affiliated specialists in the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and creating exciting new partnerships with some of top regional specialists to bring new treatment capabilities in-house.

And there are more changes coming in the future, including a new Emergency Department, a new Ambulatory Services Pavilion on our Nassau University Medical Center campus in East Meadow, and a new A. Holly Patterson Extended Care facility in Uniondale. I encourage you to check back with us and watch our progress as NuHealth works to bring essential health care to everyone, at every stage of life.

Sincerely,

Arthur Gianelli
CEO
Nassau Health Care Corporation