Bigger hospitals don't necessarily mean bigger paychecks for rank and file

The financial status of a hospital bears little relation to how much it is willing to pay its lower-echelon employees, according to a report by The Boston Globe, which surveyed hospitals in the greater Boston area. 

The analysis comes as hospitals have become one of the biggest job generators in the U.S. economy, and are seen by many observers as a way to obtain a solid foothold into middle-class earnings.

For example, Massachusetts General Hospital, which has about $3.3 billion in annual revenues and is the most renown acute care facility in New England, pays $12.63 per hour as its lowest wage. St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, which like Massachusetts General is also owned by Partners HealthCare, pays $12.87 per hour. Another hospital owned by Partners, Brigham and Women's Hospital, pays slightly more: $13.53 per hour.

By contrast, Partners' top executives received pay increases approaching 20 percent between 2012 and 2013.

Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in the Boston suburbs with revenue approaching $1 billion a year, pays a starting wage of $10 an hour, although hospital officials indicated most employees earned at least $12.

"Our wages are competitive for our service area, and we periodically review the marketplace to ensure we remain competitive and that includes consideration of moving towards a $15 per hour minimum wage," Lahey Hospital & Medical Center spokesperson Andrew Mastrangelo told the Globe.

By contrast, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and Boston Medical Center all pay starting wages of at least $15 an hour.

To learn more:
- read The Boston Globe article