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UNIONDALE _____________
HERALD BEACON
.500 ain’t bad, but winning record is best
Waking up the gardens
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APRIL 18 - 24, 2024
Emergency funds and NUMC fate hang in balance By BRANDON CRUZ bcruz@liherald.com
Courtesy Pearl Jacobs
One of three water towers that supply Uniondale, next to Turtle Hook Middle School.
New EPA standards offer hope, but challenges remain By BRANDON CRUZ bcruz@liherald.com
Uniondale residents have been trying to raise awareness of the community’s water quality for years. Civic associations, like the Greater Uniondale Area Action Coalition, have had the drinking water tested by independent Nassau County labs and found elevated levels of PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally. PFAS are used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, food packaging, dental floss, waterproof clothing and furniture. In addition, the Town of Hempstead’s most
recent water quality report, in 2022, revealed high levels of 1,4-dioxane — a powerful chemical that is suspected of causing cancer — in Uniondale’s water. Though the report acknowledged that the concentrations it detected were above the state’s maximum contaminant level for dioxane, it aimed to assure residents that the water is still safe for consumption and “does not pose a significant health risk.” Lawrence Smith, a research analyst with Health Water Consultants, told the Herald that despite that disclaimer, he recommends proceeding with caution. Dioxane molecules are smaller than water molecules, making the chemical very difficult to effectively filter out. “This particular conCOnTinUed On page 16
As residents who rely on Nassau University Medical Center for their health care wait to see whether the county’s only public-benefit hospital will close in July — the month that NUMC Chairman Matthew Bruderman has said the facility will run out of money — the dispute between Bruderman and the state continues to heat up. The hospital needs the state’s proposed $83 million in emergency funds to preserve roughly 300 jobs and to continue to serve more than 270,000 patients a year, 80 percent of whom are on Medicare or Medicaid. State officials have said that in order for NUMC to receive the emergency funds, it would have to agree to conduct a nationwide search for a new chief executive, submit a detailed five-year plan to improve its operations and reduce losses, review its organizational structure and submit monthly progress reports. According to NUMC, the state would also tie funding to “additional controls” by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, which the hospital said in a statement would “conflict with a number of legal provisions” But Bruderman, who called
the state’s condition’s “extortion,” claims that the hospital has already implemented most of what the state has asked for, and says he is refusing to comply any further. “Over the past year, Nassau Health Care Corporation has undertaken significant management and operational reforms to enhance efficiency, increase revenue, reform financial stand a rd s a n d p r a c t i c e s, a n d improve the quality of services,” NUMC said in a statement, referring to the hospital’s parent company. “In 2023, NHCC initiated a comprehensive Financial Sustainability Reform Plan that is already increasing cash flow to the hospital and demonstrating that it can be financially sustainable,” the statement continued. “Through the continued execution of this refor m plan, NHCC’s goal is to rely on less State aid over time.” “Without the benefit of access to supporting documentation and data, it is difficult for me or members of the public who rely on NUMC to determine the accuracy of their claims,” County Legislator Siela Bynoe told the Herald. “ H oweve r, t h e h o s p i t a l administration and County COnTinUed On page 16