It just keeps getting better and better.. Again The Local Hospital is trying to back track any and everything so the lies want come out! By CARLOS GALARZA-VEVE THE JOURNAL SENECA — The top administrator at Oconee Medical Center (OMC) told staff and employees this week that a news account published in The Journal over the weekend claiming that executive pay has gone up while revenues have gone down “is not the case.” The push back to The Journal’s story appears in an email addressed to “Everyone” from OMC president and chief executive officer (CEO) Jeanne Ward. A copy of the email, dated March 3, was obtained by The Journal on Wednesday. Ward Ward was unavailable for comment but OMC chief operating officer (COO) Hunter Kome did not confirm or deny Ward’s email. Kome said in an email response that the newspaper’s story Saturday referred to “executives,” “top executives,” and “nine major salaried officers.” He said an accompanying chart list salaries of nine people, but four of those are certified nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) who are not officers or executives. The Journal’s reporting was based on information filed by the hospital and its network of doctors — Oconee Physician Practices — in IRS 990 forms. Ward said in her message that salary figures published by the newspaper “are not the amounts that members of leadership take home in their paychecks. Ward said the amounts in the article include salary, health and dental benefits, pension and 403(b) contributions, as well as donations of personal time off (PTO) to the Hospital Foundation or other not-for-profit groups, which was acknowledged in the original reporting. According to Ward, some members of the hospital’s leadership group make large donations from their PTO, and the value of the donation appears on their W2 as if they had taken the PTO rather than donating it. Ward also states in the email that over the past five years administration reduced the number of people in senior leadership by eliminating the positions of vice president of professional services, vice president of support services and general counsel. “We have eliminated several leadership positions … members of senior leadership have experienced the same reductions, including furlough, as others in the organization,” Ward wrote in the email. Ward said members of leadership have not received any annual raises or bonuses other than those received by everyone in the organization. According to the IRS 990 forms from fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, OMC generated total revenue of $548.23 million and total expenditures of $513.19 million. However, the hospital’s $13.19 million surplus is wiped out by Oconee Physician Practices, which generated total revenue of $46.37 million and total expenditures of $66.01 million during the same period. The net result is a deficit of $6.45 million. The hospital’s total revenue dropped almost 10 percent — from $147.18 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, to $132.86 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012. Itemized compensation for the hospital’s CEO and chief financial officer (CFO) in fiscal 2009-10 totaled $763,102; in fiscal 2010-11, the CEO, CFO and interim CFO reported total compensation of $805,615; and in fiscal 2012, the CEO, former CFO, COO and the CFO reported total compensation of $1,062,024. Ward told staff through the email that the salary of the hospital’s leadership members is set by a national consultant used by the board of directors. “In almost every case, the salaries of our leadership team are below national bench marks, in some case far below,” Ward wrote. “No member of senior leadership other than me has a salary of $200,000 per year or more.” Ward said in the email that an independent national consultant determines fair market value salaries for the physicians employed by the hospital. “There is a tremendous physician shortage in our nation, and the market for their services is highly competitive,” Ward wrote. “We offer salaries that are appropriate compared to national benchmarks.” In fiscal 2011-12, salaries, other compensation and employee benefits for doctors at Oconee Physician Practices amounted to $14.8 million, or 71 percent of total expenses of $20.78 million. Total revenue that year at OPP was $15.56 million.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:29:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015