_______________ east meadow ______________
HERALD McVey named a top school
Koslow running for county exec.
EMFD battles house fire
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Vol. 25 No. 3
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JANUARY 16 - 22, 2025
NUMC reports fiscal health improvements monthly financial statements, the renegotiation of many of the hospital’s contracts, the creNassau University Medical ation of a financial dashboard Center reported significant with daily cash balances availimprovements in its financial able, and an updated charge master and billing health at the end of s o f t w a r e. T h o s e last year, due in reforms and addipart to significant tional upgrades to financial refor ms s e r v i c e s h ave introduced in lateresulted in a sub2023, despite an stantial turnongoing funding around for the hosbattle with state pital — without officials that hospiany financial assistal administrators tance from the say threatens its state, hospital offilong-term stability. cials said. NUMC, Long NUMC ended I s l a n d ’s l a r g e s t 2024 with nearly public safety-net $80 million in its hospital, serves all MEgAN RYAN cash reserves, up patients, including President, chief from $28 million in the uninsured and executive and chief December 2023 — a u n d o c u m e n t e d , legal officer, whopping $49 milregardless of their Nassau Health Care lion increase. ability to pay for Corporation Recent financial medical care. reports also show In November 2023, Matthew Bruder man, that NUMC’s revenue was up board chairman of the Nassau $6.2 million in November 2024, H e a l t h C a re C o r p o r at i o n , and its operating expenses which oversees NUMC’s opera- were down $1.7 million, when tions, unveiled an aggressive compared to 2023 numbers. The reforms produced the financial sustainability plan. The plan called for the hir- hospital’s first on-time budget ing of a chief financial officer, ever, and the fiscal improvethe implementation of timely Continued on page 10
By JoRDAN VAlloNE
jvallone@liherald.com
Holden Leeds/Herald
A greener Town of Hempstead Hempstead residents brought their natural Christmas trees to the annual Mulchfest last weekend, hosted at Veterans Memorial Park in East Meadow. Trees go through a chipper and are turned into mulch, to be used throughout the spring and summer. Above, James and Courtney Noumair with Supervisor Don Clavin. Story, photos, Page 3.
Students from East Meadow take part in Ice Falcons Hockey Club By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo jdalessandro@liherald.com
Young hockey players from East Meadow, Levittown and Hicksville are back on the ice for another season of action as part of the Ice Falcons Hockey Club, which unites players across school district lines. The Ice Falcons are a nonprofit, parent-funded hockey group for middle and high school students, usually hosting games at Cantiague Park in Hicksville, the Long Beach Ice Arena, or the Freeport Recreation Center. Currently, the club hosts 20 players from East Meadow, 30 from Levittown, and five from Hicksville. While the program is designed for students, it is not affiliated
with a specific school. The team qualified for playoffs for the first time since 2018 with an 11-1 victory against Cold Spring Harbor on Jan. 13. Hockey provides young players an outlet to make friends and learn life lessons about perseverance and teamwork. Falcons’ General Manager Tom Columbia of East Meadow oversees the league’s operations, organizes team events, coordinates with parents and maintains the club’s online presence. Columbia has been a hockey fan since childhood. “I’ve been playing hockey since I was 12 years old — I grew up in the Stanley Cup years in the Continued on page 4
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his is the most significant financial improvement NUMC has shown in years.