Hospital executives, administrators enjoy 6-figure pay

Scrutiny of fat hospital paychecks heads to New York, where hospital CEOs receive up to $750,000 in North Country and salaries for administrators can exceed $100,000, the Press-Republican reported.

Despite job cuts, CVPH Medical Center paid President Stephens Mundy $749,563 in salary, bonuses and other compensation in 2010. And at nearby Elizabethtown Community Hospital, President and CEO Rodney Boula took home $229,902 in 2010.

Leaders justify the hefty pay packages, saying that fewer people are qualified for the hospital CEO position, the article noted.

"We are seeing some turnover across the state the last few years as CEOs age out, which is why hospital boards are willing to pay higher salaries and bonuses to retain their management people," William Van Slyke of the Homecare Association of New York State told Press-Republican.

Meanwhile, at financially troubled SUNY Downstate Medical Center, administrators are getting taxpayer-funded salaries as high as $550,000, reported New York Daily News. SUNY Downstate paid 15 vice presidents and assistant vice presidents a total $4.4 million in 2011, while the hospital faced a $276 million loss.

Similarly in North Carolina, the top 10 executives at Carolinas HealthCare System each received more than $1 million in 2012, an 8 percent jump from the previous year, FierceHealthcare reported last week.

For more:
- read the Press-Republican article
- here's the New York Daily News article