East Meadow-based Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) named Dr. Stephen Peterson is chairman of medicine.
Peterson brings more than 30 years of expertise in clinical leadership, medical education and research in internal medicine and cardiometabolic disease to the NUMC Department of Medicine.
Peterson previously served as chief of medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and vice chair of the Weill Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he also served as associate dean and clinical professor of medicine. He joined both institutions in 2013 and previously served on the Executive Faculty Board as a voting member from 2022. He spent nearly three decades as a faculty member of New York Medical College, serving as professor of medicine and professor of pharmacology.
“Dr. Peterson has spent more than three decades building some of the strongest internal medicine programs in the region, and NUMC patients and residents will benefit directly from his experience,” Thomas Stokes, president and CEO of Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC), the hospital’s operator, said in a news release.
“His track record in clinical leadership and medical education make him the right person to lead the Department of Medicine into its next chapter,” Stokes said.
NUMC is the only public safety hospital in Nassau.
The hospital struggled financially for years. Increasing medical costs, political infighting, inflation, challenges with Medicaid reimbursements and New York State aid reductions all play a role in the financial challenges facing NUMC, as LIBN has previously reported.
In January, Stokes joined NUMC after serving as chief financial officer at Weill Cornell Medicine and vice president of finance at Cornell University, with a focus on strengthening leadership and bringing long-term stability.
“NUMC has a proud history of serving this community, and I am excited to help lead the Department of Medicine into a new era,” Peterson said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the physicians, residents and staff here to strengthen patient care and continue to serve the community of Nassau County.”
Peterson has published more than 176 peer-reviewed research articles, primarily on heme oxygenase, cardiometabolic disease, and obesity. He has a Mastership in the American College of Physicians, is a member of the American Heart Association and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. During his career, he received 21 teaching awards. He earned his medical degree from Cebu Doctors’ College of Medicine and his bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University.
Keep exploring this topic