The county comptroller has released a report saying the Nassau Health Care Corporation, which runs Nassau University Medical Center, needs to make drastic changes to avoid bankruptcy.

Comptroller Howard Weitzman says the corporation's cash flow situation is so dire that it has less than one half of the money necessary just to keep the doors open. Weitzman says the hospital has ignored a plan laid out by the county two years ago to get the hospital back on sound financial footing. He added that closing the hospital is not an option, because it would wreak havoc on the county's finances and overburden surrounding medical centers.

Hospital officials released a statement saying that the comptroller's report ignores the realities of providing health care to the poorest people in Nassau County. Officials stay steps have been taken to lower hospital expenses in the last 18 months.