IS IT TRUE MARCH 23, 2016

1. I realize that being CEO of a hospital is a huge responsibility and requires some hard-to-come-by credentials, but I also realize that these are not famous research and teaching facilities. It is hard for me to swallow this kind of pay being handed to people in a place like Evansville, with its low median income and comparatively low cost-of-living.

   • Agreed. Our hospitals are something to be proud of reflective of the top level management. The level of compensation at the top seems to be excessive and I agree that talent at those levels is a challenge to obtain, but this is a non-profit organization. I remember when Andy Goebel, the then CEO of SIGECO was earning in the range of 500k per year and now the top dog at Vectren is reported to be earning well over 3 million. I guess we are living in the world of excess?

     • ATTENTION:
       Everyone totally and wholly unqualified to hire and supervise the CEO’s of the largest healthcare providers in Evansville (that’s a hospital, folks) please chime in that they think “the fat cats are overpaid.”
       You earn what you are paid. Those that can’t earn that, don’t get paid that. (And gripe from the bench.)

       “Far better it is to dare mighty things, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

       What a tired, useless, small-minded, frivolous “Is It True” today Editor.

       Might as well call this subject “click-bait” for that section of the CCO reader base best described as “I’m resentful of other’s success, and I want to gripe.”

       • ….today’s topic is pure distraction.
         Red meat for bony dogs hanging around a meat wagon.
         The CCO shows exceptionally poor leadership with this kind of material.

         • Like it or not, there are people in this world who ARE overpaid. What a good little plebein you are!

         • You should listen to English Bob, Mr. Becker–he is a proud member of the nonworking class and so plebeian that he does not even know how to spell the word!

           J. Coddington “Comrade Hugo” Fetlock IV
           Maximum co-coordinator
           Organizing for Idiocy
           Evansville Cell

       • +1 I want to know what those concerned with others compensation think is a “fair” wage. Low hanging fruit editor.

         • bonsoir moi j&osaur;qi un telephone montre et quand je lance la version opera mini4.2 je voi apparautre google wikipidia mais le tactile ne fonctionne plus!!!  a par les les outons sur le coté mais que on ne peut pas validé ou ecrire quoi que se soit!!!

2. And Mike Pence thinks $7.25/hr is overpaid.

   • Mike Pence is a great Governor.

3. Do these hospital CEOs merit their salary? Likely no.
   I vote that the hospital board of directors fire the CEOs and hire younger ones that will work more for less. This goes with any business. That’s what they do to the employees that do the work which provides the product/service for the business to exist!

4. …our only question is do you feel that CEO”S positions at St Mary’s and Deaconess Hospitals should be paid (in 2013) around $1.5 million dollars a year?
   Since we do not know what similar positions pay it is impossible to say if this is too much or not enough. The two locally seem to pay about the same. You can not compare it to many other jobs locally. As you said both facilities are ran well. You usually get what you pay for. Is the CCO implying they are overpaid in comparison to similar positions in other places?

5. LUTHERAN HEALTH NETWORK
   BLUFFTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER | DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL | DUPONT HOSPITAL* | KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL* LUTHERAN HEALTH PHYSICIANS | LUTHERAN HOSPITAL* | MEDSTAT | THE ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL* | REDIMED | REHABILITATION HOSPITAL* ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL* | HOME HEALTH

   *A physician owned hospital.

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

   As you can see above, not all hospitals in Indiana are operated as not-for-profits.

6. RANKINGS AND RATINGS

   http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/in/st-marys-medical-center-6420027/rankings

7. The average hospital CEO in 2013 was paid a base salary of $600,000 according to the article below. Given that one could conclude that the two hospital CEOs are overpaid.

   The reality is however that Evansville has two very excellent hospital systems which operate at well above average standards. The other fact is that with the unhealthy nature of the general population due to poor lifestyles, excessive air pollution, and water borne bacteria, Evansville needs to have exemplary medical service providers.

   Count your blessings that you have great hospitals with top notch CEOs. They may be overpaid a bit, but they are great. Would you prefer to dumb down the healthcare delivery system as many other business sectors have been by trying to scrimp on salaries?

   http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-are-hospital-ceos-paid-so-well/280604/

   • JOE……exactly. More of the same from the ignorant, witless crowd who believe the “low cost bidder” should always get the job. (And then are upset that the job is done poorly, or is a complete disaster.)

     • You’re nothing but a bootlicker. The 6 year olds in Bangladesh working 13 hour days in dangerous working conditions are paid what they are “worth.” That still doesn’t make it right.

       • WRONG. The point still stands. Perfectly.
         If you are asking if minimum wages and child labor should be subject to regulation?….I agree with that.
         But you weren’t doing that Bob.
         You aren’t a reasonable person…..and so you INVENT the idea (a straw man) that I said 6 yr olds should work 13 hour days. THAT is how weak your argument is….that you can’t stay on the subject but have to change the subject and drive it into the ditch.
         ….hurts your credibility E-B.

         • I have a problem with regulated monopolies like Vectren paying huge compensation packages, but other than that a CEO’s compensation is between the shareholders and stakeholders of the entity.

       • Bob, you pay dues to someone else who tells you when to work, where to work, how much you and how much you will be paid to work. You sound independent, but you are just licking a different pair of boots.

     • uploading is much easier this time.thank you youtube staff for doing this :)the processing is not that fast though, if you can do something about it,make it faster then it will be very much apcjapieted,rust like what you did in video uploading. again thanks and more power to you guys 😀

   • Thank you Joe. It helps the conversation when you know the facts. A $100,000 salary sounds excessive if you compare to average local salaries but is barely a living wage in some parts of our country. When you only have a couple of positions in a community you have to compare to what you could earn outside our area. Also benefits can really bump up a salary also. Thats where I usually see problems.

8. Lutheran Hospital (Ft Wayne)

   http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/in/lutheran-hospital-6420420

9. 2013 annual salaries for NPO CEOs.

   UNICEF: 1.2 MILLION
   Goodwill: 2,3 MILLION

   Salvation Army: 13 THOUSAND

   Veterans of Foreign Wars, Make a Wish, St. Jude Research Hospital, etc: 100% of donations go to the causes!

   http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp

   Hey gang…”High salaries brings top talent” is BULLSHIT!

   • Great job, partner. Don’t bother telling that to apologist bootlickers like Becker.

     • This much I know. If you are in charge or responsible for something…..English Bob thinks you are incompetent or a thief.
       Some people are just unhappy because their life is a mess. It’s not ALWAYS their boss’ fault.
       We live with all kinds. EB is one of them, and eternally resentful.

       • God will bring peace and understanding, after all he is in charge, isn’t he ?So what is this going on here. Educated people end with pessimism and tigers, and don’t mention a word of God as part of the solution. It is about time we take Pat Ro;7stron&#821ebs advice and put our faith in God and take over China !I mean, I have had with it !

   • So I guess this idea that union talent demands high wages is bull also? Fact is that higher compensation attracts the talent that maximizes your investments. A few exceptions based on different motivations does not change that fact.

10. I believe that these people are both probably earning closer to $2 million now, if they were making $1.5 million in 2013. I know our local hospitals are always getting awards, but so are all of the others. I think the associations that hand out all of the recognition are basically giving the hospitals that pay dues to them some good PR. It works sort of like the awards that the Courier passes out to their advertisers.
    While our hospitals are adequate for the most part, they are far from excellent. We don’t hold a candle to Johns Hopkins or Cleveland Clinic. Good care is the minimum to be expected when it comes to health care. I have served as an advocate for patients at both hospitals and have seen some, though rare, cases of failure to provide adequate care.

    • ELKAYBEE:
      If this were a hospital/healthcare provider forum website…..I could see how this might be a reasonable discussion.
      NO ONE in here is qualified to express an informed opinion on this, mind you…..but I guess, keep it up. It’s a free country.

      My only point is smarter, wiser and more experienced people are charged with making these decisions.
      They are not subject to public election. But for all the bony dogs hanging out in here wanting some red meat to chew on…..it’s fun to spout off and tell them they don’t know what they are doing.

11. My niece is an RN and has worked at both hospitals. The nurses get paid fairly good, but she says the aides, housekeepers, and dietary works are treated like crap and paid worse. There is talk of them unionizing, and I wouldn’t blame them after finding out how much the big wheels make.

    • For the crap nurses put up with they are worth every penny,the techs ,housekeeping and dietary workers should be paid good wages also ,,,with benefits

12. Given how much profits have gone up for hospitals in the last few years, I think we would all be surprised to see how much the top tier management is making now.

13. These are the people who approve the compensation of Linda White:

    http://www.stmarys.org/smhs-board

    • UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA FOUNDATION

      BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011-2012

      Mrs. Judith M. Steenberg (Laurence)
      Director (2013)
      Boonville, IN 47601

    • https://www.evansville.edu/factsandtraditions/trustees.cfm

14. I see over 200 people in your poll think these CEOs are overpaid. I wonder how much they would think is fair compensation for this job? I would also be willing to bet they both have several assistants making $500,000. Dont that put your panties in a wad.

    • …right.
      “Put’em prison. Kill all the lawyers. Off with their heads.”
      Wait a minute, you people need clothing appropriate for the rabble-rousers crowded around the guillotine.
      Time to take this conversation onto Comedy Central TV channel.

    • They manage doctors that make more than 500k.

    • Average pay for that position should work, because they manage average hospitals.

15. I’m a single mother and I am a CNA at Deaconess and one of the girls I work with said to get on CCO and read this story. We do the hardest dirty work of patient care and we don’t make a decent living. A bunch of people at work are really mad to find out what the big boss makes and I’m one of them. I heard more talk today about joining a union than I had ever heard.

16. This was an interesting discourse today regarding the salaries of hospital CEOs. I reiterate my earlier post that both Evansville hospitals are run very well and actually serve a region of some 500,000 people. The small towns need the facilities as much as the people of Evansville do. These CEOs while being paid above the average are running above average performing hospitals.

    I know Linda White over at Deaconess very well and she is professional, compassionate, and charitable. She has dedicated her life to that hospital. I will not pretend to second guess the Deaconess Board of Directors on her compensation package. She is a magnificent asset to the Evansville region and to the boards that she serves on. You can search the world and not find a better person to be the CEO of Deaconess.

    As for the crowd who thinks every person in town should make $10 an hour from the dishwasher up to the brain surgeon, you folks reinforce my decision to move and spend the last 10 years of my career elsewhere.

    • Nobody said that. You’re just being a snob now.

      • No, he’s being honest. An individual with motivation, who has worked diligently, and brings success to their organization should be rewarded accordingly. If you have no ambition to improve yourself, you should also be rewarded accordingly. Neither whining nor jealousy justifies a reward.

        • It doesn’t work that way the majority of the time, but trying to explain that to you would be futile.

          • That displays both whining, and an apparent lack of motivation, proving my point exactly.

          • Your faith in free market capitalist principles is the same as a lot of people’s faith in a particular religion. They are so thoroughly brainwashed it’s impossible to communicate with them.

    • Oh, and yes I’m glad you live in the Paradise of enlightened intelligent conservatives like you in CALIFORNIA.

      • (Whew! Bob, when you run out of answers in a conversation, you resort to name-calling and labeling ….faster than the fascist Tea Party guys!!)

    • This sort of garbage does make you want to leave doesn’t it? Glad you have built a good life for yourself and your wife in another area of the country that suits you much better than this place, Joe. We hope to do the same on a small scale soon. If only there was not one factor (Important to us) that keeps us close to Evansville, it would be easy to leave with no regrets. I have no attachment to this city and cannot seem to find much of one at all except the aforementioned. It is always a pleasure having you write to put things in perspective on the CCO. And I will say you have a good perspective a high percentage of the time. Thanks!

      • Martha…..LKB used to rant on and on all the time about moving out of town since no-one was listening to her too. I love Evansville. It’s a great place to raise a family, live a happy life, reward hard work and share a beer with friends after you’ve finished your day.
        Act on your words for God’s sake. This whole continuing diatribe about “I’m leaving like a rat swimming off a sinking ship” is tiring, misplaced and gray when the sun in clearly shining.

        • Just reminding people that things are not bright, happy and gay here in EVV. If you see it that way you are living in a different city that I am. If you love EVV then you must be part of what makes it what it is and that I do not like very much so I probably would not like you. Therefore I will keep saying what I choose here and where ever I choose and you can keep reading it or not. Up to you. BTW luckily I have/had no family to raise and beer makes me vomit. See, already I don’t belong here.

    • The Linda White you know isn’t like the one I know. Mine walks around with her nose in the air like something stinks. She isn’t interested in the little people at work unless somebody makes a mistake. I don’t think everybody should make $10 an hour but I wish we had a boss who thinks everybody should make that much or more.

      • Hey DW…..are you WORTH more?

        • Again, the child slaves are “worth” the 10 pennies an hour they make. That doesn’t make it right. It’s a question or morality, which you and Fitz don’t have.

          • Of*

          • More of this “child slave” narrative from you….go ahead….bring up Hitler, the Big Bang and Bonnie & Clyde to make weak, frivolous points Bob.

          • We are not talking about child labor-you are. Child labor is terrible, but let’s stay on topic. This issue has nothing to do with a dogmatic argument about economics, it has to do with personal responsibility. You whine and make excuses to the point of child labor in Asia, rather than acknowledge there are some jobs worth more than others. By the way-“It doesn’t always work that way”-is a copy out of the highest order.

          • It’s the exact same argument. That’s what the market will bear for those kids. A minimum wage argument is the same principle. It’s all about how we treat each other as a society. Unfortunately, without regulation, capitalism breeds slavery.

17. Since English Bob blames capitalism for slavery I did a search and found a map of where slaves are today. Here it is.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/10/17/this-map-shows-where-the-worlds-30-million-slaves-live-there-are-60000-in-the-u-s/

    The map is pretty clearly tilted against China, India, Russia, and sub-Saharan Africa. These are not exactly places known for capitalism or for much regulation. What seems to breed slavery are archaic laws like selling off young girls to adults as “wives”, prostitution, and undocumented workers. So the short answer to what breeds slavery are governments that support or turn a blind eye to inhumane (by western standards) practices. Blaming capitalism for slavery is simply a misinformed opinion to serve a twisted agenda.

    • Joe, well said. However facts and logic have little meaning to English Bob and other Occupy Wall Street types.

      • His post did nothing to invalidate my argument. Hell he even helped it by mentioning how regulations are necessary.

        • Let’s be clear.
          English Bob doesn’t believe in competition, capitalism or free markets.
          He doesn’t believe in Democratic Republics (voters electing their leaders).
          The people need a leader (Bob) to make decisions on what is best for them.
          That Lenin instantly abused his power…Bob wants to ignore that…thank you very much.
          I have no idea why he chooses to live in the United States.
          Reason, argument and logic don’t apply.

          Bob:
          “I don’t care what is right. I don’t even care about what is legal.
          All I care about is WHAT I WANT!!”
          (that is an exact quote by the way)

          • Bob told me this over coffee. (I paid, of course.)

          • Your post needs clarification, Mr. Becker.

            It is true that capitalism, free markets, democratic republics, political liberty, and other such bourgeois superstitions must be eradicated. It is true that people belonging to the vanguard of the proletariat–people with substantial trust funds, people who have attended the most exclusive educational institutions, and people with the sophistication and will to command every aspect of the little people’s lives–should be running the country.

            That being said, English Bob is in no way leadership material. As with Bandana, he was born to follow, a cringing cur trained to parrot the rhetoric and talking points of his superiors.

            J. Coddington “Comrade Hugo” Fetlock IV
            Maximum co-coordinator
            Organizing for Idiocy
            Evansville Cell

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