Daniel J. Messina, PhD, FACHE, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC), a role he assumed in April 2014. A life-long resident of Staten Island, Dan is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of healthcare leadership experience.
During his tenure as President and CEO of RUMC, Dr. Messina has continued the expansion of the hospital’s primary acute and behavioral care networks along with the integration of those services. Under his leadership, RUMC formed an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), and was instrumental in the development of the Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS), one of New York State’s top performing Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) programs.
Under Dr. Messina’s leadership, RUMC has established a comprehensive Breast and Imaging Center; an outpatient Comprehensive Physical Rehabilitation Center; a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Center; new programs in robotic surgery, neurosurgery and neurovascular medicine; a Bariatric and Metabolic Institute for weight loss surgery; a state-of-the-art Center for Cancer Care; the Center for Integrated Behavioral Medicine; and the Post COVID-19 Care Center to assist people experiencing long-term symptoms and health impacts after exposure to COVID. RUMC has also established the Richmond Health Network, which features over 100 primary and specialty care physicians, medical specialists, and healthcare providers serving Staten Island through outpatient facilities across the borough and Brooklyn.
He also facilitated a merger with Staten Island Mental Health Society in 2019 bringing their robust behavioral health programs into the hospital’s network and cementing RUMC as Staten Island’s leading provider of behavioral health programs for children, adolescents and adults. In 2019, Dan also expanded healthcare services to Staten Island’s youth population through the creation of one of the few existing school-based health clinics in New York City at Susan Wagner High School. Additionally, Dan facilitated the merger of the Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island (VNASI) with RUMC after VNASI closed in January 2022. Additionally, he also facilitated the development of a vibrant high performing Foundation for RUMC that has yielded over $103 million in public and private funds.
With an eye to the future, Dr. Messina has also facilitated the development of a robust strategic plan leading to a partnership with Preston Hollow, a private equity firm that has created a financial engine to fund a broad range of expansion projects and renovations including a new state-of-the-art Medical Intensive Care Unit that opened in 2022; a new 35,000 sq. ft. Emergency Department which opened in January 2023; a new co-generation power plant; a new Surgical Department which includes 10 new operating suites; and renovation of the hospital’s Mother-Baby Center, which includes the conversion of all rooms to single-bed suites.
Prior to joining RUMC, Dr. Messina served as Vice President of Operations at Hackensack University Medical Center. He then went on to become the System Chief Operating Officer of CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, New Jersey for 13 years where he was responsible for all system operations for the Medical Center, Monmouth Crossing Assisted Living Facility, The Manor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and Applewood Estates Continuing Care Retirement Community. During that period, he also led efforts to be a top performer in Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction, LOS, and 100 Best Places to Work by Modern HealthCare Magazine, 100 Most Wired Hospital Status, as well as Magnet Nursing Designation. While in this role, Dan also developed growth strategies that included a new cancer center; proton therapy center; and additional growth and expansion strategies including the nationally recognized Linda E. Cardinale MS Center, one of the largest and most comprehensive multiple sclerosis centers in the region. Prior to his move to RUMC, he led the creation of a 6.31-megawatt solar electric project at CentraState Medical Center.
Dr. Messina received his AS in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the College of Staten Island; a BS in Health Science from Long Island University-Brooklyn, where he also played Division-I baseball; his MPA in Healthcare Administration from Long Island University-CW Post; and his PhD in Health Sciences from Seton Hall University. He is a former Regent for the American College of Health Care Executives and former President of the Health Executive Association of New Jersey.
Dan is Board Certified in Healthcare Management as an ACHE Fellow. Over the years, he has taught as an adjunct professor at several local universities and has been the recipient of many awards from local, state, and national organizations, including Seton Hall University, Wagner College, the MS Society, American College of Healthcare Executives, the New Dorp High School Hall of Fame, and the Atlas Foundation, to name a few. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Greater New York Hospital Association; Health Care Association of New York State, formerly the American Hospital Association Region II; the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the DiVinci Society, and the Staten island Hall of Fame.
Dan enjoys hiking and spending time in the gym. He has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, and hiked Machu Pichu, Mont Blanc, Mount Etna, and many other worldwide hiking locations. He has also completed nine New York City marathons.
The most important part of Dan’s life is his family, including late parents Rose and Sal; wife Debbie; son Daniel and his wife Ally; daughter Lianne and her husband Dr. Steven Erosa; and his pride and joy, his 5 grandchildren.
