So who really saved the Westchester Medical Center?
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- February
- 29
If you read one of the latest press releases put out by the Westchester Board of Legislators, it was Chairman Bill Ryan who played an instrumental role in rescuing the struggling Westchester Medical Center.
So much so, according to the release, that he was appointed to the newly-formed County Hospital Task Force of the National Association of Counties — “He was appointed due to his involvement in saving the Westchester Medical Center from financial collapse and closure in 2004,” says the release.
â€Å“Pulling the medical center back from the brink of financial ruin, equipped me with first-hand knowledge on dealing with a health care facility in crisis,â€? Ryan said in the press release. â€Å“I am anxious to participate in the work of this important and timely hospital task force. I look forward to bringing valuable information home to Westchester for our consideration.â€?
Ryan’s description of his own role in the medical center’s turnaround might come as news to County Executive Andrew Spano and members of Westchester’s statehouse delegation. While Ryan did serve — and continues to serve — on the hospital’s Financial Improvement Committee, his role in the turnaround has rarely garnered much attention.
A commonly-told version of events has the Spano administration playing the biggest role in changing the hospital’s management structure and state lawmakers — led by former state Sen. Nicholas Spano and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky — helping to arrange a financial bailout from the state
The release from the Board of Legislators was sent out Thursday by the board’s growing press operation and touted Ryan’s participation in NACO’s annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference begins Saturday stretches through mid-week. Ryan is one of at least three Westchester legislators taking part.
This entry was posted
on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 1:34 pm by Glenn Blain.
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Aha! now we see why he wants the raise. Saviors don’t come cheap!
I think Bob hit the old nail right on the head.
Ryan is just exactly what westchester doesn’t need
More delusions of grandeur at the county leg.
By the way, that bailout of this independent hospital was done on the backs of taxpayers. Some of the bailout came from county taxes, some came from increased fees and the rest came from state taxpayers. As usual, the only hero here is that taxpayers, who keep bailing out the irresponsible politicians in Westchester.
What we should be debating is whether it was appropriate to have the taxpayers pay for this bailout for a hospital that was spun-off from the County government in 1997. Why did we (taxpayers) have to pay for the corrupt actions of the the crew that ran that hospital into bankruptcy?
Isn’t Westchester Medical Center still under federal investigation? What is Bill Ryan going to do when the powers that be at Westchester Medical Center inform him they’re in debt again? He’s taking the credit for saving them from the brink of financial ruin, I hope the reporters remember that when, out of the blue, they’re in financial trouble again.
HE saved WCMC? Damn, that was nice of him. I’d like to throw in a couple bucks myself.
Andy and Nick Spano along with Richard Brodsky and Vincent Leibell saved the hospital.
Bill Ryan saved the hospital?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah !
Bill Ryan?
Get serious—
I AGREE WITH FACT. SPANO, SPANO , BRODSKY SAVED THE MEDICAL CENTER AFTER MIS MANAGEMENT BY ANDREA..
Another screw up by Cousins. SHE MUST GO!
The saving of the Westchester Medical Center was accomplished through the efforts of many people. Andy Spano and Larry Schwartz worked through the deatils, and Bill Ryan and County Legislature passed the initial legislation. Then the Westchester State Legislators worked together with Governor Pataki’s Administration for the rest of the funding for the bailout. This desrciption deals with “facts.” Nick Spano took a lead in the Senate, but giving all the credit to Richard Brodsky is a joke. Frankly, Adam Bradley, Any Paulin and Sandy Galef had as much or more to do with negotiating of the bailout as Brodsky. Brodsky actually caused more trouble than was helpful. Brodsky loves to get his name in the papers, but the hard work was done by Bradley, Paulin and Galef. Also, the Pataki Admininistration did lots of work on this.
But you are all missing the most important issue in this bailout. Why did the taxpayer’s have to pay for this mess? This hospital was spun-off from government control in 1997. We have hospitals in Westchester that are having fiscal problems (like Mount Vernon Hospital), and we even had United Hospital close, and no one is calling for an infusion of tax dollars to save those hospitals. This bailout was a total misuse of taxpayer dollars – that is the most important “fact.”
What can’t be saved if you throw enough dollars at it? Nothing. Except maybe money. Welcome to the state and county of mismanagement and debt.
The three Assembly members who fought hardest for the WCMC were Sandy Galef, Gary Pretlow and George Latimer. Brodsky and Paulin had other agendas. But it worked out in the end.
Well, who fought the hardest to find out to where all the money disappeared? The taxpayers, and the taxpayers alone saved this place, and if the politicians and the bureaucrats knew inch-one what they were doing and payed due diligence, it wouldn’t have needed saving to begin with. What a crock of revisionist history!
Lou,
Exactly how did Andrea screw up the medical center – all the people running the hospital were Republican appointees – Stolzenberg – Slatten et al.
The reality is that many people “saved” the Medical center – Andy Spano and the County Administration – who did the day to day work. The County Board of Legislators – who analyzed and approved the inital bailout package. The State then kicked in money that I believe actually showed up in 2007 or 2008.
The problem in sending out releases like Ryan did is it gives him too much credit (it is however his press release). Ryan does deserve credit – it just gets lost in this unnecessary spin.
ALL of the aforementioned contributed to the MISMANAGEMENT and effectual BANKRUPTCY of this Medical Center by their prior manipulations, lack of oversight, and non-feasance. They saved nothing. They asked US to bail them and the hospital out, and we did. Case closed. They all should be skulking in shame, not crowing and asking for plaudits from their rescuers.