According to a recent article in Newsday, State Senator Kenneth P. Lavalle has proposed legislation to split SBUMC from the university.’ If this piece of legislation is passed, the hospital would be renamed SUNY Hospital at Stony Brook.’ The CEO of the hospital, instead of reporting directly to President Kenny, would now be under a 15-member governing board.’ All of these 15 individuals, chosen by the SUNY Board of Trustees, would be Suffolk County residents, and four of them would be physicians.

LaValle commented to Newsday that the proposed split is not related to the recent press concerning President Shirley Strum Kenny’s improper leadership of the medical center.’ LaValle also commented that he has been working on this piece of legislation for a while.

This recent news brings about many questions as the current title for the hospital, Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC), was just introduced in the past several months.’ Why, then, would the university pursue the expense of changing its name when its name would be changed again after another short time period?’ Does this motion to force a split between the university and the hospital reflect deeper divisions in the administration of the campus?

As of right now, there are too many questions, but too few answers.