Wayne A. McNulty, HHC Corporate Compliance Officer

As a young man barely out of his teens, Wayne A. McNulty played the piano and dreamed of becoming a recording artist and engineer. While waiting for his big break, he took a job as an orderly and nurse’s aide, transporting patients from one area to another in what is now Jacobi Medical Center. That was nearly two decades ago.

Today, as the newly appointed HHC Corporate Compliance Officer, McNulty has one of the top jobs in the organization, and is charged with ensuring that HHC follows all federal, state and local laws and meets its high standards of conduct in the delivery of healthcare services to patients.

The journey from orderly to corporate officer involved a number of careers at HHC that give McNulty a unique perspective for his challenging new role.

As a respiratory therapist he cared for critically ill patients on ventilators and devised successful treatment plans to help them breathe on their own. As a hospital administrator he helped oversee the major construction project that created the modern Jacobi. And after going to school at night to get a Masters and law degree, he joined the HHC Office of Legal Affairs where he provided counsel on privacy and data security, electronic discovery, litigation, research, quality assurance and much more.

No matter what job he had, McNulty has kept his focus on delivery of safe and effective care to patients.

“I absolutely see the connection between my early days in patient care and planning and my new role to ensure that the Corporation complies not only with all the laws and regulations, but also with its own ethical standards, its mission and its core values,” McNulty said. “I know that ultimately the job I’m doing is going to lead to excellent patient care.”

McNulty remembers well one of the many patients who helped shape his compassionate style and his reputation for integrity and fairness.

“She was extremely sick. I worked with the physician to come up with a plan that successfully got her off the respirator. About a year later, she saw me in the street. She said, ‘I will never forget you. You helped me get off the machine,’ and she thanked me. To see her outside the hospital, walking around like everybody else - that was my most rewarding moment in this profession,” he said.

“Wayne always strove to better himself career-wise,” said Arthur Wagner, HHC Senior Vice President, who was Chief Operating Officer of Jacobi at the time McNulty worked there as a respiratory therapist. “He did it not just for self-improvement, but always with the concept that he could make a difference in healthcare. Wayne never forgot that each individual patient needed the best possible care at all times.”

McNulty grew up in Mount Vernon, NY. He earned his Masters of Science degree in Health Services Administration from Iona College, his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, and later completed a 2-year fellowship in the HHC Office of Legal Affairs. He briefly left the HHC system and went to work at a private law firm from 2004 to 2005. He got his Certification in Healthcare Compliance in 2009 from the Health Care Compliance Association.

McNulty enjoys spending time with his 7-year-old daughter, Madisyn. They like to go to amusement parks and have visited at least 13 so far, including a trip last summer to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

When asked if he has any regrets about not entering the music business, McNulty answers confidently: “Absolutely not,” he said. “This is the path God chose for me and I am very happy.”

“But one of these days, I may just rebuild that recording studio,” he added.