NUMC is poised for recovery

With the hiring of a permanent chief executive, the long-troubled Nassau University Medical Center is poised to begin what will certainly be a lengthy and arduous, but extraordinarily important, turnaround effort.

In choosing Thomas W. Stokes, the new directors of Nassau Health Care Corp., NUMC's public health corporation, have put the hospital on a promising path. Long Island knows Stokes well — and Stokes knows the territory. As the chief financial officer of Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan and former Nassau County deputy county executive, the Brookhaven resident brings with him an important combination of vast health care experience and a deep understanding of Nassau's politics and communities. He previously served on the Nassau Interim Finance Authority's board, and was a top cand