Richard Fine Named SBU Medical School Dean, Jack Gallagher Interim CEO of SBU Hospital

STONY BROOK, NY — Stony Brook President Shirley Strum Kenny announced today that John (Jack) S. T. Gallagher, who developed the North Shore-LIJ Health System into the largest hospital system in the region during the 1990s, has been named Interim Director and CEO of Stony Brook University Hospital. Dr. Richard N. Fine, a nationally renowned pediatric nephrologist and Chair of Stony Brook's Department of Pediatrics, will be Dean of the School of Medicine.

“Jack Gallagher is an outstanding leader, and he is highly-regarded in the healthcare field and in the Long Island community,” Kenny said. “I'm delighted that someone with his vast experience and vision will serve as Interim CEO.”

Gallagher replaces Bruce Schroffel, who announced this week that he is leaving Stony Brook after nearly five years for the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver.

Gallagher was responsible for building the North Shore-LIJ system and transforming the healthcare landscape, including a final merger with Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He joined what was then North Shore University Hospital in 1971, was named President and CEO of the North Shore Health System in 1992, and became President and CEO of North Shore-LIJ upon the merger in 1997. The North Shore-LIJ system now includes 15 hospitals in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Staten Island.

Gallagher retired from North Shore-LIJ in January, 2002 and since that time he has served as a Deputy County Executive in Nassau, overseeing Health and Human Services.

“I am excited about the opportunity to steer Stony Brook University Hospital through its period of growth and expansion,” Gallagher said. “It has been recognized as an outstanding hospital for a long time. As part of an academic medical center, it has a unique role in the region, integrating research and clinical care. President Kenny and I share the same vision, the same goals, and the same commitment to making the hospital even better.”

Fine became Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine in 1991. He previously served as a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California and the University of California Center for Health Sciences. He replaces Dr. Norman H. Edelman.

“Richard Fine has been an important part of the School of Medicine for almost 15 years,” Kenny said. “With his understanding of the region, he is perfectly suited to lead our medical school as it continues to fulfill its missions of education, research, and community service.”

Fine was instrumental in adopting the emerging modalities of Dialysis and Renal Transplantation for pediatric patients and in establishing peritoneal dialysis as an alternative dialysis therapy for children with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). He helped pioneer recombinant human growth hormone to treat children with chronic renal insufficiency and ESRD and the use of recombinant human Erythropoetin for anemic children undergoing dialysis. Dr. Fine has co-authored six textbooks dealing with Chronic Renal Insufficiency and ESRD in children, and is the Editor-In-Chief of Pediatric Transplantation.

“The School of Medicine is nationally renowned for producing important research in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and many other areas,” Fine said. “It also produces outstanding and caring physicians. The commitment to research and education is an important one for Long Island, the state, and the nation.”

Stony Brook University Hospital and the School of Medicine are part of Long Island's only academic medical center. The 504-bed hospital offers advanced services including the only Regional Perinatal Center in Suffolk County, the Heart Center (which performs the only open-heart surgery in Suffolk County), the Long Island Cancer Center, and Long Island's only kidney transplantation center. It also is the site of the nation's only Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. Other facilities unique to Suffolk County include a Level 1 Trauma Center, Burn Center, and the Cody Center for Autism.

The School of Medicine at Stony Brook University is responsible for the preclinical and clinical education of medical students (current enrollment: 448). As the only School of Medicine in the region, it offers excellent research and clinical opportunities and has attracted a faculty of national and international renown. While advancing the most modern concepts of medical education, the faculty participates in joint instructional experiences with faculty in other schools of the Health Sciences Center, with students enjoying the benefits of exposure to this multidisciplinary approach to education.